May 8, 2008
#10 Colgate (11-5) vs. #5 Notre Dame (13-2)
NCAA Tournament First Round
Sunday, May 11 • 12:00 p.m. (ET)
Alumni Field • Notre Dame, Ind.
Television: ESPNU (Live)
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Notre Dame will play host to an NCAA Tournament game for the first time as the sixth-seeded Irish welcome Colgate to Alumni Field on Sunday for a 12 noon (ET) start. This will be the 13th NCAA appearance for the Fighting Irish, while the Raiders are making their first trip to the NCAAs. Notre Dame is coming off a 9-2 win over Ohio State in the Great Western Lacrosse League Tournament title game on Sunday, May 4. Colgate, the champions of the Patriot League, defeated Syracuse, 12-11, last Saturday.
HOW TO FOLLOW: Sunday’s game will be aired live on ESPNU … Dave Cohen will handle play-by-play duties, while Mark Dixon will be the analyst … you can also follow the game via `Gametracker’ on und.com … simply go to the men’s lacrosse page and click on `Schedule’ and find the Colgate game and click on `Gametracker’ … fans can also sign up for `Irish Alert’, a text messaging service designed to give fans up-to-the-minute game updates for all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame.
ND-COLGATE SERIES NOTES: This will be just the second meeting ever between Notre Dame and Colgate … the Fighting Irish captured an 11-10 win over the Raiders in Geneva, N.Y. during the 1987 season.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame (13-2) is riding a season-best six-game win streak into the NCAA Tournament … Notre Dame has also won a program-record 18 straight games at home … the Irish are coming off a 9-2 victory over No. 10 Ohio State in the title game of the inaugural GWLL Tournament … Notre Dame has defeated five ranked teams this season (#17 Loyola, 7-6; #13 Albany, 7-6; #11 Drexel, 13-6; #9 Ohio State, 17-12; #10 Ohio State 9-2) … the Fighting Irish concluded the regular season with an 11-2 record, including a 4-1 mark in the Great Western Lacrosse League to finish among a three-way tie for the conference title with Ohio State and Denver … that marked the 11th GWLL regular-season title for Notre Dame since the league was founded in 1994 … the Irish are currently ranked fifth in this week’s USILA coaches poll and sixth in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media rankings … that matches the team’s highest ranking of the season … junior attackman Ryan Hoff leads the Fighting Irish with 39 goals this season … senior attackman Alex Wharton has team-high totals in points (47) and assists (29), both career-best marks … sophomore midfielder Grant Krebs is second on the team with 24 goals … senior midfielder Michael Podgajny and junior attackman Duncan Swezey both have 22 goals … Notre Dame boasts the nation’s fifth-best scoring offense by notching 12.60 goals per game … the Irish defense also ranks fifth nationally as they surrender just 6.80 goals per game … senior goaltender Joey Kemp ranks second nationally with a .642 save percentage and he is third with a 6.38 goals-against average … the Irish have the top faceoff unit in the country with a .649 winning percentage … senior Taylor Clagett has won faceoffs at a .644 (186-289) clip to rank second in the nation … Notre Dame returned seven starters and 17 letterwinners from last year’s team that posted an 11-4 record and captured the GWLL title with a perfect 5-0 conference mark … in 2007, Notre Dame fell to eventual national champion Johns Hopkins, 11-10, in overtime during the first round of the NCAA Tournament … Kevin Corrigan is in his 20th season as the head coach of Notre Dame … he has a record of 180-94 (.657) during his Fighting Irish tenure … Corrigan was named the 2007 GWLL Coach of the Year … that marked the fourth time he has received that honor.
ABOUT COLGATE: The Raiders (11-5) are making their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance … Colgate won its first-ever Patriot League title this season … Colgate heads into the tournament on a seven-game win streak, which includes a 12-11 win over No. 2 Syracuse in the regular-season finale … the Raiders have defeated a ranked opponent in each of the past four games … the 11 wins ties the program record for wins in a season and is the third consecutive season Colgate has posted 11 victories … headlining Colgate’s attack are juniors Brandon Corp and Kevin Colleluori and senior Matt Lalli … Corp leads all scorers with 40 goals and 14 assists for 54 points, while Lalli has 19 tallies and a team-best 26 helpers for 45 points. … Colleluori has 33 goals and nine assists for 42 points overall … senior Chris Eck has a 193-116 record in faceoffs for a .625 win percentage … in goal, sophomore Tim Harrington sports a 10-5 record and .586 save percentage and 8.73 goals against average … as a team, Colgate averages 9.94 goals per game on offense, while surrendering 8.81 per game … head coach Jim Nagle is in his sixth season with the Raiders.
UP NEXT: The winner of the Notre Dame-Colgate game will take on the winner of the Syracuse-Canisius tilt in the NCAA quarterfinals on Sunday, May 18 at Schoellkopf Field in Ithaca, N.Y. … Syracuse is the tournament’s third seed, while Canisius is unseeded … the Orange and Griffins will battle on Sunday, May 11 at 7:30 p.m. (ET) in Syracuse, N.Y.
NOTRE DAME IN NCAA PLAY: The Fighting Irish are making their 13th trip to the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship in the 28-year history of the program … all of the appearances have occurred since the 1990 season … the Fighting Irish carry a 4-12 mark in NCAA Tournament games … the best performance by the Fighting Irish in the postseason was in 2001 as they made it to the national semifinals … in addition to the 2001 campaign, the Irish reached the quarterfinals of the tournament in 1995 and 2000 … this is the school’s third straight trip to the NCAAs … Notre Dame has fell to the eventual national champion in the first round in each of the past two tournaments … last season, the Irish dropped a thrilling, 11-10, overtime contest at Johns Hopkins … in 2006, Notre Dame was bested at Virginia, 14-10.
SEEDING: This season marks just the second time ever that Notre Dame has been seeded for the NCAA Tournament … prior to being the sixth seed for this year’s championship, the only other time the Irish were seeded was in 2001 … that season, Notre Dame was the fifth seed and made the program’s only appearance in the national semifinals.
COMMON OPPONENTS: Notre Dame and Colgate have faced three common opponents this season (Denver, Ohio State, Lehigh) … Colgate opened the season with a 15-5 loss at Denver … Notre Dame also fell to the Pioneers, 9-8, in Bridgeview, Ill. … Colgate then dropped a 13-6 decision at Ohio State … the Irish defeated the Buckeyes twice this season (17-12, 9-2) … both teams defeated Lehigh … the Raiders downed the Mountain Hawks, 5-3, and Notre Dame bested Lehigh, 14-7.
IRISH AGAINST THE NCAA FIELD: The Fighting Irish played a total of four teams (Loyola, Ohio State (twice), Denver, North Carolina) that made this year’s NCAA Tournament field … Notre Dame posted a 3-2 record against those squads … the Irish won at Loyola, 7-6, in the season opener … Notre Dame topped Ohio State, 17-12, at home in the regular-season finale and then defeated the Buckeyes, 9-2, a week later in the GWLL title game in Birmingham, Mich. … the Irish fell at North Carolina, 8-6, and to Denver, 9-8, in a game played at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, Ill. … those are the only two losses for Notre Dame this season.
VS. TOP 10: Since 1990, Notre Dame has an 11-36 mark against teams ranked in the top 10 … the Irish will look to improve that mark against No. 10 Colgate on Sunday … this season, the Fighting Irish are 2-1 against the top-10 … Notre Dame’s 17-12 victory over Ohio State on April 27 marked the first win over a top-10 team since a 9-7 triumph of No. 10 North Carolina in 2005 … the Irish topped the 10th-ranked Buckeyes, 9-2, in the GWLL title game on May 4.
GWLL SUCCESS: Notre Dame defeated Ohio State, 9-2, in the championship game of the inaugural Great Western Lacrosse League Tournament on Sunday, May 4 in Birmingham, Mich. … the Fighting Irish have won 11 GWLL regular-season titles, including this year’s co-championship with Ohio State and Denver … the Irish have won the title outright seven times, while earning a share of the crown four times … Notre Dame is 55-10 (.846) all-time in GWLL regular-season play … this is the 15th season for the GWLL … Notre Dame has gone undefeated in GWLL play on seven occasions, including last season’s 5-0 mark.
WELL REPRESENTED: For the first time in the 15-year history of the conference, three teams from the Great Western Lacrosse League have received bids to the NCAA Tournament … Notre Dame, Ohio State and Denver are all among the 16-team NCAA field … this is just the second time that the GWLL has placed multiple teams into the tournament … the other occurred in 2006 as Denver received the automatic bid and Notre Dame was an at-large selection.
SHUTTING DOWN THE BUCKEYES: Notre Dame held No. 10 Ohio State to a single goal in each half during the 9-2 victory in the GWLL championship game on May 2 … that was the fewest goals allowed by a Notre Dame defense since a 14-2 win over Lehigh last April … it also marked the fewest goals surrendered by an Irish defense against a ranked opponent in the history of the program … the Buckeyes entered the contest averaging over 14 goals a game, which ranked them in the top-five nationally for scoring offense.
KEMP GARNERS NATIONAL ACCOLADE: Senior goaltender Joey Kemp was named the Nike/Inside Lacrosse National Player of the Week for his stellar performance in the 9-2 win over No. 10 Ohio State in the GWLL Tournament championship game on May 4th … Kemp made a season-high 18 saves in shutting down the Buckeyes, who entered the contest averaging over 14 goals per game.
GWLL HONORS: Six Fighting Irish players received All-Great Western Lacrosse League honors for the 2008 campaign … Michael Podgajny (Sr., M), Sean Dougherty (Sr., D), Ross Zimmerman (Sr., D) and Joey Kemp (Sr., G) earned first-team accolades, while Ryan Hoff (Jr., A) and Alex Wharton (Sr., A) were named to the second team … this marked the third all-league first-team honor for Kemp and the second for both Dougherty and Zimmerman … Podgajny was a second-team pick last season … Hoff earned a first-team nod last season, while this is Wharton’s first all-conference honor.
LUCKY 13: Notre Dame’s 13 victories this season marks the most for the program since the 2001 campaign … the Fighting Irish went 14-2 that season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
HAT TRICKS FOR HOFF: Ryan Hoff led the Fighting Irish with three goals in the 10-6 win over Quinnipiac in the GWLL semifinals … that marked the seventh game this season in which Hoff, a junior attackman, has scored three or more goals … that is the most for any Fighting Irish player this season … Hoff leads Notre Dame with 39 goals this season after pacing the team with 40 goals last year … his six goals against Penn State (Feb. 24) were just one shy of the school record that he shares with Randy Colley (class of 1995) … Hoff netted seven goals in a 16-5 win over Drexel last season … Hoff also notched a five-goal game this season in a 16-6 triumph of Villanova (March 4)
REACHING THE CENTURY MARK: Junior attackman Ryan Hoff notched his 100th career goal in the win over Ohio State in the GWLL title game on May 4th … his 100 goals currently ranks fifth in the Notre Dame record books … he is six goals away from moving into the top-four … Randy Colley (1992-95) is the program record-holder with 173 tallies.
RECORD-SETTING CAREER: Senior goaltender Joey Kemp notched his school-record 33rd career victory in the 19-7 win over Bellarmine on March 29 … Kemp is now 39-13 overall during his Irish career … in addition, Kemp is currently first in Irish history with a 7.14 goals-against average and with 3067:14 minutes played for a goaltender … he is also first in games started for a goaltender (43) … the two-time All-American currently ranks third in school history in saves (606).
KEMP AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS: Joey Kemp ranks in the top-three nationally in both save percentage (2nd, .642) and goals-against average (3rd, 6.38) this season … last season, he ranked fourth nationally in both goals-against average (6.78) and save percentage (.614) en route to being named the 2007 Great Western Lacrosse League Player of the Year and an honorable-mention All-American.
LOCKING DOWN: While the Notre Dame offense has reached double digits 10 times this season, the Irish defense has only surrendered a double-digit tally on one occasion (12g, Ohio State) … the Fighting Irish are surrendering just 6.80 goals per game this season, which ranks in a tie for fifth nationally … the Irish have held opponents to six goals on seven occasions, five goals once (Air Force) and allowed a season-low two goals against Ohio State on May 4th … Notre Dame boasted the nation’s fourth-best scoring defense in 2007 by allowing a school-record 6.66 goals per game … several key components to the Irish defense are back this season, including goaltender Joey Kemp and starting defensemen Sean Dougherty, Ross Zimmerman and Regis McDermott.
DOMINATING THE X: As a team, Notre Dame boasts the nation’s top faceoff percentage (.649) … senior Taylor Clagett ranks second nationally in that category with a .644 (186-289) win percentage … Clagett has been a valuable asset for the Irish during his Notre Dame career as he has won over 60-percent (.609) of his faceoff opportunities … injuries have hampered Clagett over the past two seasons, yet he has kept Notre Dame among the nation’s best in faceoffs … last season, Clagett ranked 16th nationally as he won 164 of 189 faceoff attempts … in 2006, he won 126 of 205 attempts for a .615 percentage, which would have ranked him sixth in the country had he appeared in enough games.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: The Fighting Irish are averaging 12.60 goals a game, which ranks fifth nationally … in 2007, Notre Dame had the nation’s fourth-best offense by averaging 11.65 goals per game … Notre Dame’s scoring margin of +5.80 is the third-best mark among all NCAA Division I squads this season.
FAST STARTS: Notre Dame has out scored its opponents 52-18 during the first quarter of play this season … the Fighting Irish have held opponents scoreless in the first quarter on five occasions (Loyola, Penn State, Albany, Dartmouth, Air Force).
SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Fighting Irish have had 22 different players notch at least one goal this season … the season-high total was 13 players with a goal in a 19-7 victory over Bellarmine on March 29 … the Irish used 12 goalscorers in a 19-7 win against Dartmouth on March 15 … last season, the Irish had 18 players score a goal … Notre Dame has had at least 10 goalscorers in a game on six occasions this season and most recently in a 17-12 win over No. 9 Ohio State (April 27)… 10 Irish players scored a goal in that contest.
STREAKING: Junior attackman Ryan Hoff has a team-best 12-game goal streak … Hoff has notched a goal in 23 of the last 24 games dating back to last season … the junior attackman was held without a goal in a 7-6 win over Albany on March 1 … that snapped an 11-game goal streak.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: Notre Dame’s 19-goal performance in a 19-7 win over Bellarmine on March 29 matched a season-high total that was also achieved in a 19-7 victory against Dartmouth on March 15 … this marked the first time since 1994 that the Irish have produced two games with 19-plus goals in one season … overall, Notre Dame has reached double figures in 10 of 15 games this season … the Irish reached double figures 11 times last season.
NOTRE DAME IN THE POLLS: Notre Dame is fifth in this week’s USILA coaches poll and sixth in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll … the No. 5 ranking matches a season-best spot for the Irish in the USILA poll … Notre Dame was also fifth in the March 3rd and March 17th polls … Notre Dame’s highest Inside Lacrosse ranking is sixth in the March 17, April 28 and in the most recent poll.
QUALITY COMPETITION: The Fighting Irish are 5-2 against ranked opponents this season … Notre Dame opened the campaign with a 7-6 victory over No. 17 Loyola … the Irish topped No. 13 Albany, 7-6, on March 1 … Notre Dame fell at No. 4 North Carolina, 8-6, on March 8 … Notre Dame defeated No. 11 Drexel, 13-6, on March 25 … the Irish fell to No. 19 Denver, 9-8, on April 5 … Notre Dame bested No. 9 Ohio State, 17-12, on April 27 … the Irish then topped the 10th-ranked Buckeyes, 9-2, in the GWLL title game on May 4th.
HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame has won a program-record 18 straight games at home … the Irish are 5-0 at home this season … the current streak stems back to a 14-13 overtime win against Air Force on April 10, 2005 … Notre Dame’s last loss at home was a 9-6 setback to Denver on April 7, 2005 … the Irish went a perfect 6-0 at home during the 2006 campaign and followed it up with a 6-0 mark in 2007 … four of the games during the streak have been played in the Loftus Sports Center, while 12 have taken place outside at Moose Krause Stadium … the last two home victories have taken place at School Field and Alumni Field, respectively … Notre Dame owns an overall home record of 119-35 (.773) during the 28 years of varsity lacrosse at the University.
NO PLACE TO CALL HOME: This season, Notre Dame has played its five home games at four different locations … the Irish defeated Penn State and Albany inside the Loftus Sports Center … Notre Dame topped Drexel at Moose Krause Stadium … a victory over Quinnipiac occurred at School Field, which is located just south of the Notre Dame campus … the Irish returned to campus to top Ohio State at Alumni Field.
NO MORE MOOSE: The win over Drexel on March 25 marked the final game at Moose Krause Stadium for the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse program … the stadium is being torn down to make room for the state-of-the-art Arlotta Stadium that will be the new home for the Irish.
ARLOTTA GROUNDBREAKING: The official groundbreaking ceremony for Arlotta Stadium was held on Friday, April 18 … the stadium will be the new home for the Notre Dame men’s and women’s lacrosse teams … conceptual plans suggest a 2,000-seat, lighted stadium that would include an artificial-turf field, locker rooms, 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 to be built to the east of the Joyce Center as part of the University’s new athletics quadrangle … the Arlotta children – Mindy, Andy and Jon – also have 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 have donated over two million dollars … completion is scheduled for June of 2009.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: The Notre Dame men’s and women’s lacrosse teams are in the NCAA Tournament during the same season for just the second time ever … the other occurrence was in 2006 … the Irish women face top-seeded Northwestern in the first round on Sunday (May 11) … a total of seven schools are represented in both the men’s and women’s NCAA Division I Lacrosse Championship this season (Colgate, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Virginia).
KEMP ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST: Senior goaltender Joey Kemp was named to the 51-man watch list for the Tewaaraton Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top player … this marks the second straight season that Kemp has been named to the award’s watch list.
IRISH EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Seven Notre Dame players earned preseason All-America recognition from Inside Lacrosse Magazine and its Face-Off Yearbook … headlining the group for the Fighting Irish were second-team honorees Taylor Clagett (M/FO), Sean Dougherty (D), Joey Kemp (G) and Will Yeatman (A) … joining the quartet of second-team picks for the Irish were third-team member Michael Podgajny (M) and honorable mention selections Ryan Hoff (A) and Ross Zimmerman (D).
FOUR IRISH PLAYERS AMONG IL TOP 50: Four Irish athletes were named to the Inside Lacrosse top-50 players list for the 2008 season … senior goaltender Joey Kemp was the highest-ranked Fighting Irish player as he was 13th overall and the second-ranked goaltender on the list … sophomore attackman Will Yeatman was 15th, while senior defenseman Sean Dougherty and senior midfielder Michael Podgajny were 35th and 37th, respectively.
KEMP AND WHARTON NAMED `08 IRISH CAPTAINS: Seniors Joey Kemp (G) and Alex Wharton (A) are the Fighting Irish team captains for the 2008 season … Kemp was one of three captains for the Fighting Irish last season, while this will mark Wharton’s first year as a co-captain.
KEEPING UP WITH FIGHTING IRISH MEN’S LACROSSE: For results of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse games, call the Notre Dame Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #5 and #1 … the hotline provides schedules and result information for all 26 varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the match recaps and weekly releases provided on the official athletic website, www.und.com … in addition, media members and fans may be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting assistant sports information director Sean Carroll at Carroll.64@nd.edu … all requests for story ideas, interview access, match credentials, and further information on Irish men’s lacrosse should similarly be directed to Carroll … credential and interview requests should be made at least 24 hours in advance.