May 13, 2010
#14 NOTRE DAME (7-6) at #6 PRINCETON (11-4)
NCAA Championship – First Round
Sunday, May 16 – 2:30 p.m. (ET)
Class of 1952 Stadium – Princeton, N.J.
TV:â⒬ˆESPNU HD
Play-by-Play: Ben Holden; Analyst: Stephen McElduff
Gametracker on und.com
SETTING THE STAGE … Notre Dame will face Princeton at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 16 in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Championship in Princeton, N.J. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU HD. (ET). Ben Holden will handle play-by-play duties, while Stephen McElduff will serve as the analyst. Princeton is the tournament’s No. 6 seed, while the Irish are unseeded. This will be the second meeting all time between the Fighting Irish and Tigers.
NOTRE DAME IN NCAA PLAY … The Fighting Irish are making their 15th trip to the NCAA Championship in the 30-year history of the program … all of the appearances have occurred since the 1990 season … this is the Notre Dame’s fifth straight trip to the NCAAs … the Fighting Irish are 5-14 all-time in the NCAA Championship … the top performance by the Fighting Irish in the postseason was in 2001 as they made it to the national semifinals … Notre Dame has reached the NCAAâ⒬ˆquarterfinals four times (1995, 2000, 2001 and 2008) … last season, the seventh-seeded Irish were upended at home by Maryland, 7-3, in the first round … Notre Dame is 4-10 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Championship.
ABOUT THE IRISH … Notre Dame will bring a 7-6 record into Sunday’s contest … the Irish are 2-3 in true road games … the Fighting Irish posted a 2-4 record in the inaugural season of BIG EAST play … Notre Dame concluded the regular season with a 12-6 setback to Syracuse on May 1 … the Irish defense ranks seventh nationally by allowing just 8.08 goals per game … the Irish offense averages 9.46 goals per game … junior midfielder Zach Brenneman leads the Irish in goals with 23, while his 12 assists tie him for the team lead with senior attackman Neal Hicks … senior midfielder Grant Krebs has 21 goals … senior goalie Scott Rodgers, a third-team All-American last season, boasts a 6-4 record between the pipes … he has an 8.29 goals-against average and a .568 save percentage … Rodgers boasts a 21-5 career record.
ND-PRINCETON SERIES NOTES … The Fighting Irish and Tigers will be meeting for just the second time ever … Princeton captured a 6-4 victory over Notre Dame during the 1995 season in Baltimore, Md.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS … Princeton is 11-4 this season, including a 5-1 record at home … Princeton went 4-2 in Ivy League play to be among a four-team tie for the conference’s regular-season crown … the Tigers defeated Cornell, 10-9 in overtime, on Sunday in the title game of the Ivy League Tournament … the Tigers average 10.20 goals per game, while surrendering 8.73 per contest … junior attackman Jack McBride boasts team-high totals in goals (33) and points (46), while senior attackman Rob Engelke has a team-best 21 assists … sophomore Tyler Fiorito has every decision in goal … he has an 8.62 goals-against average with a .568 save percentage … Princeton went 13-3 one season ago and fell to Cornell, 6-4, during the quarterfinal round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament … Chris Bates is in his first season at the helm of the Tiger program.
IRISH AGAINST THE IVY … Notre Dame is 17-14 all-time against teams from the Ivy League … Sunday will mark Notre Dame’s first showdown with an Ivy League squad since the Irish defeated Dartmouth, 19-7, last season at home.
COMMON OPPONENTS … Notre Dame and Princeton have two common opponents this season (Syracuse and Rutgers) … the Irish fell to Syracuse, 12-6, while the Orange bested the Tigers, 13-4 … Rutgers defeated Notre Dame 10-8 and Princeton downed the Scarlet Knights 10-8.
THE FIGHTING IRISH AND THE FIELD … This season Notre Dame faced four teams that made the 16-team NCAA Championship field … the Irish went 3-1 against those squads … Notre Dame captured victories over fifth-seeded Duke (11-7), Loyola (11-9) and Denver (14-7) … the Fighting Irish fell to No. 2 seed Syracuse, 12-6.
FIVEâ⒬ˆIRISH PLAYERS EARN ALL-LEAGUE HONORS … Five Irish players garnered all-league honors as the BIG EAST Conference selected its inaugural men’s lacrosse major award winners and all-conference teams … junior midfielder Zach Brenneman was a first-team selection, while Scott Rodgers (Sr./G), David Earl (Jr./M), Grant Krebs (Sr./M) and Kevin Ridgway (Jr./D) were second-team picks.
UP NEXT … The winner of the Notre Dame-Princeton contest will take on the winner of the Maryland-Hofstra tilt in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, May 22 in Princeton, N.J.
QUITE A CROWD … The Notre Dame-Syracuse showdown on May 1 drew 4,063 fans to Arlotta Stadium … that signified the most fans to ever witness a Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse game at home.
LOCKING DOWN … Notre Dame ranks seventh nationally in overall team defense by surrendering just 8.08 goals per game … the Fighting Irish boast the nation’s 11th-best man-down defense (.733) … since the beginning of the 2007 season, the Fighting Irish defense has only allowed 10 or more goals eight times in the 61 games played during that span.
RODGERS IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS … Notre Dame senior goalie Scott Rodgers ranks 10th nationally in goals-against average (8.30) … Rodgers is 13th in save percentage (.568).
SCORELESS QUARTERS … When the Notre Dame defense held Syracuse scoreless in the second quarter on May 1, it marked the seventh time this season that the Irish held an opponent without a goal for an entire quarter … in the season opener, Notre Dame did not allow a fourth-quarter goal against Duke … the Fighting Irish held Loyola scoreless during the second quarter of the game on March 6 … the Irish shut out Drexel in the third period on March 9 … Notre Dame held Ohio State scoreless in the fourth quarter in the meeting on March 20 … Notre Dame blanked Rutgers in the first quarter on March 27 … the Irish defense held Providence scoreless in the second quarter on April 17.
QUALITY QUARTER … Notre Dame has out-scored its opponents 40-22 in the second quarter of play this season … over the past four games (Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Syracuse) the Irish have held a decisive 16-4 scoring advantage in the second quarter.
KREBS NETS ANOTHER 20 … Senior midfielder Grant Krebs has scored 21 goals this season … that marks the third straight season that he has tallied at least 20 goals … Krebs scored 26 as a sophomore and followed that up with 29 goals last season.
BREAKOUT YEAR FOR BRENNEMAN … Junior midfielder Zach Brenneman has posted single-season career-high numbers in goals (23), assists (12) and points (35) this season … entering the 2010 campaign, Brenneman had compiled 36 points on 27 goals and nine assists.
HAT TRICKS … Six Notre Dame players have registered hat tricks this season … midfielders Grant Krebs (Sr.) and Zach Brenneman (Jr.) both have four hat tricks … one of Krebs’ hat tricks was a four-goal performance against Georgetown … Neal Hicks (Sr./A) and David Earl (Jr./M) each have two hat tricks … sophomores Max Pfeifer (M) and Sean Rogers (A) have one hat trick apiece … Pfeifer’s hat trick was a four-goal effort against Drexel.
SPREADING THE WEALTH … The Fighting Irish have had 12 players score a goal this season … Notre Dame boasts four players with double-digit goal totals … Zach Brenneman (Jr./M) has a team-high 23 goals, while Grant Krebs (Sr./M) has 21 … Neal Hicks (Sr./A) has 19 goals and David Earl (Jr./M) has netted 15.
STREAKING … Junior midfielder Zach Brenneman has scored a goal in a team-best eight straight contests … Brenneman has netted 16 goals during that stretch.
IN THE NUMBERS … Notre Dame is averaging 11.3 goals per game in its seven wins, while the Irish are scoring 7.3 goals per game in their six setbacks.
FACING OFF … Trever Sipperly won 13 of his 15 faceoff attempts against Providence on April 17 … that was a personal-best single-game winning percentage (.867) for the senior midfielder … he ranks 17th nationally this season with a .562 winning percentage (145-113) … last season, Sipperly ranked 13th nationally with a .559 percentage (85-67).
QUALITY COMPETITION … The Fighting Irish played seven teams during the regular season that appear in the latest USILA coaches poll … Notre Dame opened the campaign with an 11-7 victory over current No. 5 Duke … the Blue Devils were ranked second at the time of the contest … Notre Dame took down current No. 11 Loyola, 11-9, on March 6 … Notre Dame topped No. 9 Denver, 14-7, on March 16 … the Irish fell at current No. 13 Drexel, 7-6 in overtime, on March 9 … the Fighting Irish were defeated by current No. 17 Villanova, 9-8, on April 3 … Notre Dame lost at No. 10 Georgetown, 11-8, on April 11 … the Irish were upended by No. 2 Syracuse, 12-6, on May 1 … Notre Dame is ranked 20th in the USILA poll.
BEATING THE BEST … Notre Dame has defeated two top-10 teams this season … the Irish knocked off No. 2 Duke, 11-7, in the season opener … that was the first time the Irish had even bested a team ranked in the top-two of the national polls … Notre Dame took down No. 10 Loyola, 11-9, on March 6 … the last time the Fighting Irish beat two top-10 teams in the same season was during the 2008 campaign … that season, Notre Dame topped No. 9 Ohio State, 17-12, during the regular season and then downed the 10th-ranked Buckeyes, 9-2, in the title game of the GWLL tournament … Notre Dame also beat No. 10 Colgate, 8-7 in overtime, in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Championship.
A COACHING MILESTONE … Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan earned his 200th victory at Notre Dame with the win over Denver on March 16 … Corrigan, who is in his 22nd season at Notre Dame, has a 203-102 (.666) record at the helm of the Fighting Irish program.
HOME SWEET HOME … Notre Dame has won 29 of its last 32 home games … the 10-8 setback to Rutgers on March 27 snapped Notre Dame’s 27-game regular-season home win streak … prior to the loss to the Scarlet Knights, the Irish had not dropped a regular-season home tilt since a 9-6 loss to Denver during the 2005 season.
WORKING OVERTIME … The 7-6 win over Ohio State on March 20 was Notre Dame’s second overtime game of the season … the Irish dropped a 7-6 overtime decision at Drexel on March 9 … the last time that Notre Dame played two overtime contests in the same season was in 2005 … the win over Ohio State was Notre Dame’s first overtime victory since an 8-7 win over Colgate in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.
A GOOD CAUSE … The Notre Dame-Fairfield contest on March 13 in Houston, Texas was part of the inaugural `Beating Cancer With a Stick Lacrosse Classic’ … the event, which was presented by Lacrosse 4 All, helped raise money for The Children’s Cancer Hospital at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center … it was the first NCAA Division I lacrosse game in Houston since 1970, when Johns Hopkins played Navy … it signified the second straight season that Notre Dame played a game in the state of Texas … last year, the Fighting Irish topped Vermont, 13-7, in Dallas … that contest was part of the Patriot Cup.
DEFENDING THE CAGE … Notre Dame currently ranks seventh nationally with an 8.08 goals-against average … Notre Dame boasted the nation’s top defense in 2009 by producing a school-record 6.19 goals-against average, which shattered the program standard of 6.66 from the 2007 season … in his first season as a starter, Scott Rodgers led all NCAA Division I goalies with a 6.14 goals-against average and a .663 save percentage en route to earning third-team All-America honors in 2009 … his 15 victories also established a Fighting Irish record … the Irish had the nation’s fifth-best scoring defense in 2008 by allowing 7.04 goals per game … in 2007, Notre Dame ranked fourth nationally with the 6.66 mark.
ARLOTTA STADIUM … Arlotta Stadium is the new home for the Notre Dame men’s and women’s lacrosse programs … construction of the facility began in August of 2008 and it held its first event on October 16, 2009 as the Notre Dame men’s team played the Iroquois National Team in an exhibition contest … the official stadium dedication was held on October 17, 2009 … Notre Dame defeated Denver 14-7 on March 16 in its first regular-season game in the facility … the stadium features over 2,000 permanent seats, lights, an artificial-turf field, locker rooms, player lounges, restrooms and concession areas … the state-of-the-art facility is named after Notre Dame graduate John Arlotta, president and chief executive officer of Denver-based Coram Inc. … he and his wife Bobbie pledged the lead gift toward the stadium, which was built to the east of the Joyce Center as part of the University’s new athletics quadrangle … the Arlotta children – Mindy, Andy and Jon – pledged an additional gift from The Arlotta Family Foundation toward the project … in addition to their generous donation, alumni and friends of the lacrosse programs donated over two million dollars.
BIG STAGE … Notre Dame has played in some big venues over the past few seasons … on March 6, the Irish defeated Loyola, 11-9, in front of 19,742 fans at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. during the Konica Minolta Face-Off Classic … last season, Notre Dame topped Ohio State 14-8 in front of an NCAA regular-season record crowd of 30,192 fans at Ohio Stadium … the game was played prior to Ohio State’s spring football game … the Fighting Irish bested Denver, 10-8, at Invesco Field at Mile High one season ago … in 2008, Notre Dame faced Denver at Toyota Park, which is home to the Chicago Machine (MLL) and Chicago Fire (MLS).
GETTING OFFENSIVE … The Notre Dame offense has been one of the best in the nation over the past few seasons … last season, the Irish tied for 10th nationally by averaging 11.00 goals per-game … in 2008, the Irish averaged 12.04 goals per game and that placed them fifth among all NCAA Division I teams … Notre Dame ranked fourth in 2007 with an 11.65 goals per-game average … the Irish are averaging 9.46 goals per game this season … that ranks 35th nationally.
DELIGHTFUL DEBUT … Notre Dame freshman midfielder Steve Murphy netted two goals in his collegiate debut against Duke on Feb. 20 … the last time a Fighting Irish freshman scored at least two goals in their Notre Dame debut was when Ryan Hoff and Peter Christman deposited two goals each in an 8-4 win over Penn State in 2006.
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS … Five Notre Dame players garnered preseason All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse … Scott Rodgers (Sr., G) was named to the first team, while Grant Krebs (Sr., M) and Sam Barnes (Sr., D) were second-team selections … Trever Sipperly (Sr., M/FO) and Andrew Irving (Jr., LSM) were honorable mention picks.
BIG EAST DEBUT … The 2010 campaign marks the first season of BIG EAST men’s lacrosse … the seven conference schools that participating in the newly-formed league are Georgetown, Notre Dame, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova … the teams will play a six-game single round-robin regular-season schedule … men’s lacrosse is the BIG EAST’s 11th men’s sport while the Conference conducts 13 women’s sports … Notre Dame already is a member of the BIG EAST in 23 other sports … Notre Dame was a member of the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) from 1994-2009 … the Fighting Irish captured 12 GWLL regular-season titles in addition to winning the only two GWLL Tournaments (2008 & 2009).
RODGERS NAMED A LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD FINALIST … Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers has been named one of 10 finalists for the 2010 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in the men’s lacrosse division … to be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence – classroom, character, community and competition … an acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities … Rodgers, a third-team All-American last season, carries a 3.077 cumulative grade-point average as a sociology major in Notre Dame’s College of Arts and Letters … nationwide balloting is underway to determine the winner … fan balloting is available at www.seniorCLASSaward.com, as well as through text messaging … fans can text LAX to 74567 to vote for the finalists … Lowe’s will announce the winner of the award in late May.
WINNING WAYS … In 2009, Notre Dame’s 15-1 mark established program records for wins and winning percentage in a single season … the Fighting Irish compiled the first undefeated regular season in program history and it marked the fourth straight season that the Irish have reached double figures in wins … Notre Dame’s 15-game win streak was a program best.
SUSTAINED SUCCESS … Notre Dame has earned five straight appearances to the NCAA Championship … the Irish garnered one of the tournament’s eight national seeds in 2008 and 2009 … Notre Dame has made 15 NCAA Tournament appearances since 1990 … Notre Dame is competing in its 30th season of varsity lacrosse … the Fighting Irish have an all-time record of 267-144 (.650) … Kevin Corrigan is in his 22nd season as the head coach of the Fighting Irish … he has a record of 203-102 (.666) during his Notre Dame tenure.