May 19, 2010
#14 NOTRE DAME (8-6) vs. #3 MARYLAND (12-3)
NCAA Championship – Quarterfinals
Saturday, May 22 – Noon (ET)
Princeton Stadium – Princeton, N.J.
TV: ESPNU HD
Play-by-Play: Eamon McAnaney; Analyst: Quint Kessenich
Gametracker on und.com
SETTING THE STAGE … Notre Dame will face Maryland at noon (ET) on Saturday, May 22 in the quarterfinals of the 2010 NCAA Championship in Princeton, N.J. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU HD. Eamon McAnaney will handle play-by-play duties, while Quint Kessenich will serve as the analyst. Maryland is the tournament’s No. 3 seed, while the Irish are unseeded. This will be the fifth meeting all-time between the Fighting Irish and Terrapins. Maryland topped Notre Dame, 7-3, during the first round of last season’s NCAA Tournament.
HOW THEY GOT HERE … Notre Dame downed sixth-seeded Princeton 8-5 in the NCAA Tournament first round on Sunday … Maryland bested Hofstra, 11-8, during first-round play on Saturday.
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 6-14 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 … including this season, Notre Dame has reached the NCAA quarterfinals five times (1995, 2000, 2001, 2008 and 2010).
ABOUT THE IRISH … Notre Dame will bring an 8-6 record into Saturday’s contest … the Fighting Irish defense ranks third nationally by allowing just 7.86 goals per game … the Notre Dame offense averages 9.36 goals per game … the Fighting Irish posted a 2-4 record in the inaugural season of BIG EAST play … junior midfielder David Earl scored a career-high five goals in Notre Dame’s 8-5 first-round win at Princeton on Sunday … that was the most goals scored by an Irish player this season … junior midfielder Zach Brenneman has team-high totals in goals (23) and points (35) … senior attackman Neal Hicks has a team-best 13 assists … senior goalie Scott Rodgers carries a 7-4 record between the pipes … he ranks sixth nationally in goals-against average (7.99) and eighth in save percentage (.584) … Rodgers boasts a 22-5 career record.
ND-MARYLAND SERIES NOTES … This will be the fifth meeting between Notre Dame and Maryland … the Terrapins have won all four previous encounters … this will be the third time the two schools have met in the NCAA Tournament … last season, the Terrapins defeated the seventh-seeded Irish, 7-3, during the NCAA first round in Notre Dame, Ind. … in 1995, Notre Dame fell at Maryland, 14-11, in the quarterfinals … that was the first meeting ever between the Fighting Irish and Terrapins.
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS … Maryland is 12-3 this season … the Terrapins defeated Hofstra, 11-8, on Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Championship … Maryland went 1-2 in ACC regular-season play and were the runner-up in the conference tournament … the Terrapins offense is averaging 11.71 goals per game, while the defense surrenders 8.45 goals per contest … junior attackman Grant Catalino has team-high totals in goals (34) and points (54) … junior attackman Ryan Young has a team-high 29 assists … senior Brian Phipps has started all 15 games in goal and has an 8.27 goals-against average with a .549 save percentage … the Terrapins went 10-7 last season and fell to Syracuse, 11-6, in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship … head coach Dave Cottle is in his ninth season at Maryland.
THE LAST TIME … Maryland captured a 7-3 win over Notre Dame during the first round of the 2009 NCAA Championship in Notre Dame, Ind. … the Irish were the tournament’s seventh seed, while the Terrapins were not seeded … Dan Groot netted a game-high two goals for the Terrapins … Maryland goalie Brian Phipps picked up the win by making nine saves … Grant Krebs, Zach Brenneman and Peter Christman all scored goals for the Irish … Notre Dame’s Scott Rodgers made 14 saves in the loss.
IRISH AGAINST THE ACC … Notre Dame is 7-18 all-time against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) teams … the Irish faced one ACC squad (Duke) this season … the Irish topped the Blue Devils 11-7 on Feb. 20 in Durham, N.C. … this season, the ACC is 44-1 in out-of-conference games with the lone loss being Notre Dame’s 11-7 win at Duke … Notre Dame is 1-5 against ACCâ⒬ˆfoes in the NCAAâ⒬ˆChampionship … the win was a 12-10 triumph at Duke during the first round of the 1995 tournament … the last ACC squad Notre Dame faced in the NCAA Tournament was Maryland last season and the Terrapins came away with a 7-3 first-round victory.
COMMON OPPONENTS … Notre Dame and Maryland have three common opponents this season (Duke, Fairfield, Georgetown) … the Irish went 1-2 against those squads, while the Terrapins were 3-0 … Notre Dame defeated Duke, 11-7, and Maryland bested the Blue Devils 11-10 … the Fighting Irish were topped by Fairfield, 10-8, while the Terrapins captured a 17-4 win over the Stags … Notre Dame fell to Georgetown, 11-8, and Maryland defeated the Hoyas, 15-13.
QUARTERFINAL HISTORY … The first-round win over Princeton placed Notre Dame in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals for the fifth time in program history … Notre Dame is 1-3 all-time in NCAA quarterfinal games … the first trip occurred in 1995 and the Irish fell at Maryland, 14-11 … Notre Dame advanced to the quarters in 2000 and dropped a 15-11 decision to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Md. … the Fighting Irish returned to the quarterfinals the following season in 2001 and defeated Johns Hopkins, 13-9, in College Park, Md. … in 2008, Notre Dame was upended by Syracuse, 11-9, in the quarterfinals in Ithaca, N.Y.
IRISH TAME THE TIGERS … The Fighting Irish defense allowed just one second-half goal en route to the 8-5 win over Princeton on Sunday … the five goals were the fewest allowed by Notre Dame in an NCAA Tournament game … Notre Dame held Princeton scoreless for the final 22:13 of the contest … earlier in the game, the Irish held the Tigers without a goal for a stretch of 19:35, which spanned parts of the first and second quarters.
CAREER DAY FOR EARL … Junior midfielder David Earl deposited a career-high five goals in Notre Dame’s 8-5 win over Princeton on Sunday … the five goals from Earl matched the most goals ever scored by a Notre Dame player in an NCAA Tournament game … Randy Colley had five goals in a 12-10 victory over Duke in the first round of the 1995 NCAA Championship.
ALL-AROUND DAY FOR IRVING … Junior long-stick midfielder Andrew Irving aided the Irish effort in several ways during the 8-5 triumph of Princeton on Sunday … in addition to helping the Irish defense limit the Tigers to just five goals, Irving posted game-high totals with four caused turnovers and five ground balls along with scoring a goal that knotted the game (4-4) in the opening minutes of the second half.
MIDFIELD PRODUCTION … Notre Dame midfielders Zach Brenneman (Jr.), Grant Krebs (Sr.) and David Earl (Jr.) all have scored at least 20 goals this season … Brenneman has a team-best 23 tallies, while Krebs and Earl have 22 and 20 goals, respectively.
TAKING DOWN A TOP-10 FOE … Notre Dame has defeated three 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 Fighting Irish bested No. 6 Princeton, 8-5, on Sunday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament … prior to this season, the last time the Fighting Irish beat three top-10 teams in the same season was during the 2008 campaign … the last time the Irish defeated four top-10 teams in the same season was 2001.
THE FIGHTING IRISH AND THE FIELD … During the regular 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.
FIVE IRISH 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-Maryland contest will take on the winner of the Cornell-Army tilt in the semifinal round on Saturday, May 29 in Baltimore, Md. … Cornell is the tournament’s seventh seed, while Army is not seeded.
LOCKING DOWN … Notre Dame ranks third nationally in overall team defense by surrendering just 7.86 goals per game … the Fighting Irish boast the nation’s eighth-best man-down defense (.742) … since the beginning of the 2007 season, the Fighting Irish defense has only allowed 10 or more goals eight times in the 62 games played during that span.
QUALITY QUARTER … Notre Dame has out-scored its opponents 42-25 in the second quarter of play this season … over the past five games (Georgetown, Providence, St. John’s, Syracuse, Princeton) the Irish have held a decisive 18-7 scoring advantage in the second quarter.
KREBS NETS ANOTHER 20 … Senior midfielder Grant Krebs has scored 22 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 … David Earl (Jr./M) has three hat tricks, including a five-goal effort against Princeton … Neal Hicks (Sr./A) has 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 five players with double-digit goal totals … Zach Brenneman (Jr./M) has a team-high 23 goals, while Grant Krebs (Sr./M) has 22 … David Earl (Jr./M) has 20 goals, while Neal Hicks (Sr./A) has 19 tallies and Nicholas Beattie (So./A) has netted 10.
STREAKING … Senior midfielder Grant Krebs has scored a goal in a team-best seven straight contests … Krebs has netted 13 goals during that stretch.
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 20th nationally this season with a .558 winning percentage (153-121) … 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.
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 204-102 (.667) 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.
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.
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 third nationally with an 7.86 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 9.36 goals per game this season … that ranks 36th 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 marked 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 played 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 268-144 (.650) … Kevin Corrigan is in his 22nd season as the head coach of the Fighting Irish … he has a record of 204-102 (.667) during his Notre Dame tenure.