April 19, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
– The Game: Notre Dame (6-7) at #17/#20 Vanderbilt (7-7)
– Date/Time/Site: Wed., April 20, 2011 – 1:00 p.m. (CT) – Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex – Nashville, Tenn.
– The Game: Notre Dame (6-7/3-2) vs. #16/#17 Georgetown (7-5/5-0)
– Date/Time/Site: Sat., April 23, 2011 – 1:00 p.m. – Arlotta Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
-Television: The Notre Dame-Georgetown game will be televised by CBS College Sports on Saturday, April 23 at 1:00 p.m. Jason Knapp and Sheehan Stanwick Burch will provide the play-by-play and color commentary.
– Internet: The Notre Dame-Vanderbilt game will have live video streaming available at the Vanderbilt website – vucommodores.com. Gametracker will be available for both games this week at the Notre Dame website – und.com.
GOIN’ SOUTH, THEN HOME AGAIN: Notre Dame returns to action with a pair of games this week, playing one on the road and one at home. On Wednesday, April 20, the Irish travel south to Nashville, Tenn., for a non-conference game versus #17/#20 Vanderbilt. That game versus the Commodores will start at 1:00 p.m. (CT) at the Vanderbilt Lacrosse Complex. Notre Dame then returns home to close out the regular-season home schedule with Senior Day on Saturday, April 23 as the Irish play host to the #16/#17 Georgetown Hoyas. That game will begin at 1:00 p.m. at Arlotta Stadium and will be televised live by CBS College Sports. Jason Knapp and Sheehan Stanwick Burch will call all the action. Notre Dame opens the week with a 6-7 overall record and is 3-2 in BIG EAST play after winning its lone game last week – a 15-5 win at home over the University of Connecticut. Vanderbilt brings a 7-7 record into Wednesday’s game and is coming off a tough, 8-7 loss to American Lacrosse Conference leader Florida on April 17 at home. The Commodores have been involved in three consecutive one-goal games – on April 3, they won at Johns Hopkins, 14-13 before falling on April 10 at home to Ohio State, 17-16 and then to Florida last Sunday, 8-7. Georgetown opens the week, leading the BIG EAST with a 5-0 league mark and is 7-5 for the year. The Hoyas play a key conference game on Tuesday, April 19 when they travel to Loyola for a first-place showdown with the 4-0 Greyhounds. Georgetown is coming off a 12-8 win on April 16 versus Syracuse when both teams were undefeated. Following this week’s games, the Irish close out the regular season on the road at Louisville (April 29) and at Cincinnati (May 1).
IRISH VERSUS COMMODORES: Notre Dame and Vanderbilt have met 15 times in the all-time series with the Commodores holding a 10-5 edge in those games. At Vanderbilt, the Irish are 1-6 all-time with the lone win coming on May 1, 2003, a 22-11 victory. Last season, the two teams met on March 24 at Notre Dame with the Commodores winning, 10-9. The Irish led that game, 7-4, at halftime but were outscored, 6-2 in the second half. Hannah Clark got the game winner with 4:14 left on a free-position goal. Kailene Abt (Sr., Huntington, N.Y.) led the Irish with three goals in the game. Maggie Tamasitis (So., Boyertown, Pa.) had three assists and Gina Scioscia `10 had two goals and an assist. Goalkeeper Ellie Hilling (So., Rochester, N.Y.) made six saves for the Irish.
NOTRE DAME AND GEORGETOWN: The Irish and Hoyas also have met 15 times in the all-time series with Georgetown having an 11-4 edge in the games played to date. At South Bend, the Hoyas are 5-2 all-time. After losing the first seven meetings in the series, the Irish are 4-4 in their last eight games with Georgetown. Two of the four wins have come in the postseason with Notre Dame winning an NCAA quarterfinal game in 2006 in South Bend and then the BIG EAST Tournament in 2009 at Georgetown. Last year, the Hoyas won the lone meeting, 12-10, in Washington, D.C., on April 3. In that game, Kailene Abt (4g, 1a) and Gina Scioscia (2g, 3a) paced the Notre Dame attack with five-point games. Megan Sullivan (Jr., Winchester, Mass.) and Betsy Mastropieri (So., Richmond, Va.) had two goals each to round out the Irish goal scorers. Ellie Hilling made 10 saves in goal for the Irish.
THE IRISH ALL-TIME: Notre Dame’s win over Connecticut on April 16 improved the Irish all-time record to 143-96 in the 15th year of the women’s lacrosse program. Notre Dame now has an all-time winning percentage of .598. The record includes a 70-34 (.673) mark at home, a 59-53 (.527) record on the road and a 14-9 (.609) ledger on neutral fields.
HEAD COACH Tracy Coyne: Tracy Coyne is in her 15th season at Notre Dame and her 24th year in collegiate lacrosse. Coyne brings a 257-122 (.678) career record into this week’s games. She recorded her 250th career win on April 22, 2010 in a 12-11 victory at Ohio State, making her just the ninth coach in NCAA history to have 250 or more wins in her career. As the only head coach in the Notre Dame program’s history, Coyne is 143-96 (.598) and has guided the Irish to six NCAA tournaments (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010) where her teams have advanced to the Final Four once (2006) and the quarterfinals twice (2002, 2009). The Irish have participated in all four BIG EAST Tournaments to date, beginning in 2007 and they recorded their first BIG EAST title in 2009 with wins over Syracuse (16-10) and Georgetown (12-10). A 1983 Ohio University graduate, Coyne was 23-5 in two seasons at Denison (1988-89), 91-21 in seven years at Roanoke (1990-96) and 137-89 in this, her 15th season at Notre Dame. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native led Denison (1988) and Roanoke (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996) to the NCAA Division III tournament during stops at those schools. Coyne also has coached on the international level as the head coach for the Canadian women’s lacrosse national team from 1999-2005. In June of 2005, she led Team Canada to a fourth-place finish at the 2005 World Cup, her second, fourth-place finish (2001) as Canada’s field boss. As a head coach, Coyne 5-10 all-time versus Vanderbilt and 4-11 all-time against Georgetown.
LAX FOR THE CURE: The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will be sponsoring its LAX FOR THE CURE event on Saturday, April 20 when the Irish battle Georgetown at Arlotta Stadium. Fans will receive pink pom pons when entering the game while supplies last. Lax for the Cure t-shirts and Pink Crocs will be on sale for $10.00. The Irish women’s lacrosse team will also auction off pink warmup jerseys that will be worn by each team member. The auction will be conducted on und.com beginnin on Wed., April 20 at noon ET and will end on April 25th at noon ET. Visit und.com for more information on the auction. All proceeds will benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure of Northern Indiana.
SENIOR DAY: Notre Dame will honor its seven-member senior class on Saturday, April 23 prior to the start of the game with Georgetown. Seniors Kaileen Abt, Shaylyn Blaney (Stony Brook, N.Y.), Jackie Doherty (Ellicott City, Md.), Lauren Fenlon (Dayton, Md.), Kaitlin Keena (Vienna, Va.), Meredith Locasto (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Ansley Stewart (Alexandria, Va.) and their parents will be recognized on the field prior to the game. The seven-member class enters the week with a record of 45-26 (.634) and has played in three BIG EAST Tournaments, won a BIG EAST Championship (2009) and has been to three NCAA Tournaments.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK: April 16 – vs. Connecticut – Shaylyn Blaney scored four goals and added one assist for a five-point game and fellow seniors Ansley Stewart and Kailene Abt added three goals each as Notre Dame handed Connecticut a 15-5 loss at Arlotta Stadium. Kaitlyn Brosco (Fr., Shoreham, N.Y.) and Betsy Mastropieri scored two goals each and junior Maggie Tamasitis equaled a Notre Dame single-game record with six assists in the victory.The Irish led 6-2 at halftime and opened the second half with five straight goals on the way to an 11-2 lead before the Huskies would get on the board. Tamasitis equaled an Irish record with four assists in the first half. Notre Dame out shot Connecticut, 37-19, in the game. Goalkeeper Ellie Hilling made seven saves in the victory.
A SIX PACK: Maggie Tamasitis equaled a pair of Notre Dame single-game records in the 15-5 win over Connecticut on April 16. Her six-assist game tied a mark set by Gina Scioscia on March 17, 2009 against Rutgers and by Kerry Callahan `99 on March 17, 1999 versus Gannon. Tamasitis had four assists in the first half to tie a mark set by Jillian Byers `09 in the second half against Connecticut on April 18, 2009 and by Callahan in the first half versus Gannon.
OVER 30 CLUB: Maggie Tamasitis’ six-assist game versus Connecticut extended her point streak to 31 games this season, giving her the fourth longest point streak in Notre Dame history. She is just one of five players in the program’s history to have a scoring streak of 30 games or more. Tamasitis scored a point in all 18 games as a sophomore in 2010 and continued the run this season with at least one point in all 13 games to date. In her streak, Tamasitis has 32 goals and 57 assists for 89 points. Her six points against the Huskies puts her in the 11th spot on the all-time points list with 122 points on 45 goals and 77 assists.
TOP SCORING STREAKS (30 or more):
Caitlin McKinney (51 games)Gina Scioscia (37 games)Danielle Shearer (36 games)Maggie Tamasitis (31 games)Jillian Byers (30 games)
STREAKY IRISH: While Tamasitis’s streak has reached 31 games, she is joined by three other players with active point streaks for the Irish. Going into Wednesday’s game at Vanderbilt, these players have point streaks for the Irish.
Maggie Tamasitis - 31 games (32g, 57a, 89 pts)Shaylyn Blaney - 8 games (14g, 3a, 17 pts.)Ansley Stewart - 3 games (7g, 2a, 9 pts.)Kaitlyn Brosco - 3 games (5g, 3a, 8 pts.)
ROAD WARRIORS: The Irish have had their share of success on the road since the 2008 season, winning six road games in each of the last three campaigns. Following the 1-1 week on the road April 8-10, Notre Dame is now 3-3 on the road this season. Since the 2008 season, Notre Dame is 21-13 (.618) away from Arlotta Stadium.
VERSUS THE BEST: Notre Dame will play back-to-back games against ranked teams this week when they face #17/#20 Vanderbilt and #16/#17 Georgetown. To date, the Irish are 0-4 versus ranked teams this season. Notre Dame has lost at #12/#13 Stanford (13-12), to #2/#2 Northwestern (14-11), to #5/#4 Loyola (13-10) and at #13/#15 Syracuse (12-7). In 2010, Notre Dame was 6-5 versus ranked teams.
CENTURY CLUB: Senior midfielder Kailene Abt became just the ninth player in the history of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program to score 100 goals in her career. She reached the “Century” mark on April 16 when she scored three goals in the win over Connecticut. That gave her 101 career goals. For her career, Abt is 10th all-time in scoring with 128 career points.Junior Maggie Tamasitis became the 12th player in the 15-year history of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program to score 100 or more points in her career earlier this season. Tamasitis has now played in 52 career games and has 45 goals and 77 assists for 122 career points. She is 11th on the all-time points list at Notre Dame entering this week’s action.
SHARE THE WEALTH: Notre Dame has eight players on the roster with 17 or more points and eight players with 14 or more goals. Maggie Tamasitis leads the team in points (45) and assists (31). Shaylyn Blaney is tops on the squad with 21 goals this season.
TOP OF THE LIST: With five draw controls in the win over Connecticut, senior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney became Notre Dame’s all-time leader in draw controls with 156. That moved her past Jillian Byers `09 who had 154. Blaney, who is one of the top midfielders in the nation, is a standout performer all over the field. At Notre Dame, she ranks fourth all-time in goals (148), seventh in points (172), ninth in ground balls (122), first in draw controls (156) and fourth in caused turnovers (103).
BALL HAWKS: Seniors Jackie Doherty and Shaylyn Blaney are among the best in the nation when it comes to caused turnovers entering this week’s action. Doherty leads the team with 34 and is third in the NCAA with 2.62 per game. Blaney has 28 and ranks sixth in the NCAA with 2.15 per game. In the BIG EAST, Doherty is tops with 2.62 per game and Blaney is second with 2.15 per game. The duo has combined for 62 of Notre Dame’s 131 caused turnovers this season (47.3%). All-time, they are third and fourth on Notre Dame’s list with 105 and 103 respectively. The school record is 107 and held by Tina Fedarcyk `02.
THE SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Senior defender Jackie Doherty continues to be a dominate force on the Irish defense this season. She enters Wednesday’s game with Vanderbilt leading the team in ground balls (39), is second in draw controls (25) and first in caused turnovers with 34. She has had three games this season with six caused turnovers, tying the Irish record held by Shannon Burke “09.
CAREER YEAR: Sophomore midfielder Jenny Granger (East Setauket, N.Y.) has already put up career numbers for the Irish in her second season. Through 13 games, Granger already has scored 18 goals with nine assists for 27 points, all career highs. As a freshman in 16 games during the 2010 campaign, she had 12 goals and three assists for 15 points. Included in her season is a career-high four-goal, two-assist, career-best six-point game at California in the season opener.
MAKING THE STOPS: Sophomore goalkeeper Ellie Hilling has now started 31 consecutive games in goal for Notre Dame. As a freshman she played all but 2:17 of the season and was 11-7 with a 9.69 goals-against average and a .421 save percentage. This season, she is 6-7 with an 8.98 goals-against average and a .440 save percentage. She has played all but 11:34 this season. Against Syracuse, Hilling had a career-high 14 saves, making seven stops in each half. Her previous best was 13 in the season opener at California.
AHEAD OF PACE: After 13 games this season, senior midfielder Kaitlin Keena has already passed her goal output of the 2010 season. One of Notre Dame’s fastest players, Keena had four goals and eight assists for 12 points as a junior. In 13 games this season, the speedster is sixth in team scoring with 15 goals and four assists for 19 points. Keena’s best year for the Irish was 2009 when she had 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points.
FOR STARTERS: Two members of Notre Dame’s highly touted freshman class made their first career starts in the game at Hofstra (3/27). Kaitlyn Brosco (Shoreham, N.Y.) and Margaret Smith (Westminster, Md.) were in the starting lineup against the Pride. Brosco has played in all 13 games this season, making six starts and is fifth in scoring with 18 goals and five assists for 23 points this season. She had a career-best three goals in the 11-6 win over Rutgers. Smith has played in all 13 games, making five starts. Versus Villanova, she had a career-best four caused turnovers. This season, Smith has 18 ground balls, nine draw controls and 10 caused turnovers in her rookie year.
SEASON LOW: The four goals scored by Villanova on April 8 was a season low defensively for the Irish. The 12 shots that Notre Dame surrendered in the game also was a season low as were the seven shots on goal by the Wildcats
CLOSE ONES: For those Irish fans with heart problems, watching Notre Dame women’s lacrosse could be hazardous to your health. Through the first 13 games of the season, Notre Dame has gone right down to the wire, losing three games by one goal, including one in double overtime and owns one win by two goals. That gives the Irish a 1-3 mark in “close ones” this season. During the 2010 campaign, the Irish got in this habit as 11 of their 18 games were decided by two goals or less with eight decided by one goal, three by two goals and four games going to overtime. Notre Dame was 5-3 in one-goal games, 7-4 in games decided by two goals or less and 2-2 in overtime.
SLOW START: Notre Dame’s 6-7 start after 13 games is the slowest start for the Irish since the 2005 campaign when they were 3-10 after 13 contests. Since the start of the 2006 season, Notre Dame is 71-35 for a .670 winning percentage. Three of Notre Dame’s losses this season have come to unranked opponents – Ohio State, Cornell and Hofstra. The last time the Irish had two consecutive losses to unranked teams in one season was 2008 when they lost at Stanford (3/2) and to Oregon (3/6) on a neutral field.
OVERTIME IRISH: The 6-5 double overtime loss to Cornell on March 20 was the 20th overtime game for Notre Dame in the program’s history and that dropped the Irish to 8-12 in games that go longer than 60 minutes. Last season, Notre Dame played in four overtime games, including the longest game in BIG EAST history, a 72:58 affair against Syracuse in the conference semifinals, and was 2-2 in those games.
FRESHMEN FIRSTS: A pair of freshmen picked up the first goals of their careers in the win at Villanova. Molly Shawhan (Fulton, Md.), who has seen action in 10 games this season recorded her first goal, while fellow midfielder Grace Dooley (Chicago, Ill.), scored a goal in her first career game. Dooley missed the first 10 games of the season recovering from offseason surgery and is expected to see more action the remainder of the year.
A SCORING MACHINE: Sophomore Betsy Mastropieri turned in a career-best five-point game (4g, 1a) in the 15-4 win at Villanova on April 8. Her four-goal game equaled a career-high set in the 13-8 loss to Ohio State (3/10). As a freshman, Mastropieri played in 15 games and scored seven goals. This year, in 13 games off the bench, she has 14 goals and three assists for 17 points.
ANSLEY THE PLAYMAKER: Senior attack Ansley Stewart dished out a career-best three assists as part of her four-point game in the 13-8 loss to Ohio State. She is now tied for fifth on the team in scoring with 16 goals and seven assists for 23 points. The four-point game was the third of her career. Stewart has had a hot hand for the Irish over the last three games, getting seven goals and two assists for nine points.
SIX-POINTS: Senior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney equalled career highs for points (6) and assists (3) in the 12-10 win over Duquesne. The three-assist game was Blaney’s second of the season as she opened the year with three at California (2/11). The six-point afternoon matched a six-point game she had in the season opener with Hofstra in 2010. She also added two ground balls and three caused tunrovers versus the Dukes.
THE CAPTAINS: Senior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney and senior defender Jackie Doherty will serve as team captains of the 2011 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team. Blaney served as one of the team’s captains in 2010 while this is the first season for Doherty. Blaney is a two-time second team IWLCA All-American and leads the Irish offense. Doherty guides the defense and was selected as a first team IWLCA All-American in her junior year.