March 30, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
– The Game: Notre Dame (3-5/0-0) vs. Rutgers (6-3/1-1)
– Date/Time/Site: Friday, April 1, 2011 – 7:00 p.m. – Arlotta Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
– The Game: Notre Dame (3-5/0-0) vs. #5/#4 Loyola (8-0/0-0)
– Date/Time/Site: Sunday, April 3, 2011 – 1:00 p.m. – Arlotta Stadium – Notre Dame, Ind.
– Internet: Both of Notre Dame’s game this weekend will have live video streaming that is free of charge on the Irish website at www.und.com. Livestats will be available on the same website.
THE BIG EAST OPENER: Coach Tracy Coyne and her Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will be looking to get back on the winning track this weekend and they’ve picked a really tough way to do it. After suffering tough, one-goal losses at Cornell (6-5 in 2ot) and at Hofstra (10-9) on a goal with eight seconds left, the Irish return home to open the BIG EAST schedule and against a pair of the conference’s top teams. At 7:00 p.m., on Friday, April 1, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights invade Arlotta Stadium for a rare night game versus the Fighting Irish. From there, Notre Dame will play host to #5/#4 Loyola (Md.) on Sunday, April 3 at 1:00 p.m. The Irish open the week with a 3-5 overall record and are 0-0 in the conference. Included in the five Notre Dame losses are three, one-goal decisions that show the Irish on the losing end in each one. Rutgers is 6-3 on the season and 1-1 in the BIG EAST. The Scarlet Knights are coming off an 11-7 home loss to Syracuse on March 26. The Greyhounds of Loyola are off to an impressive start this season, going 8-0 out of the blocks and also will be playing their first BIG EAST games of the season. Loyola is coming off a 20-10 win over Denver at home on March 27 and will play at Cincinnati on Friday night before facing the Irish on Sunday afternoon. Following this weekend’s games, the Irish will take to the road for games at Villanova (April 8) and at Syracuse (April 10) next weekend. The Syracuse game will be televised live by CBS College Sports at 1:00 p.m.
IRISH VERSUS SCARLET KNIGHTS: Notre Dame and Rutgers have met 11 times in the all-time series with the Irish holding a 7-4 advantage. At home, the Irish have a 4-1 record versus the Scarlet Knights while at Rutgers, the series is even at 3-3. Last year, the two teams met in Piscataway, N.J., on April 12, with Notre Dame dropping a 12-11 decision in overtime. Shaylyn Blaney (Sr., Stony Brook, N.Y.) and Gina Scioscia `10 led in a second-half rally that saw the Irish come back from a 7-1 halftime deficit to tie the game in regulation and then lose it in overtime by a goal, 12-11.
NOTRE DAME AND LOYOLA: The Irish and Greyhounds have met five times since Loyola became an affiliate member of the BIG EAST and have won all five games. Notre Dame is 3-0 against the Greyhounds at home, 1-0 in Baltimore and 1-0 in neutral site games. Last season, the two teams met in Baltimore with the Irish winning a one-goal decision, 11-10. The Irish trailed at half time, 6-4 and were down 8-5 in the second before rallying for the win. Ansley Stewart (Sr., Alexandria, Va.) was the hero as she scored the game-winning goal with six seconds left to end a two-game losing streak. Gina Scioscia `10 scored twice and had three assists while Maggie Tamasitis (Jr., Boyertown, Pa.) and Shaylyn Blaney had three goal games in the win.
A LOOK BACK AT LAST WEEK: Notre Dame had just one game on the docket last week and suffered a heartbreaking, 10-9, loss at Hofstra. Lindsay McKinnon scored a free-position goal with eight seconds left in the game to cap a late, four-goal rally to give the Pride the win. Sophomore attack Maggie Tamasitis paced the Irish with five points (2g, 3a) while junior Shaylyn Blaney had three goals and one assist. Senior Kailene Abt (Huntington, N.Y.) had a two goals and an assist while Betsy Mastropieri (So., Richmond, Va.) had a goal and an assist and Jenny Granger (So., East Setauket, N.Y.) added one goal. The Irish led, 6-5, at the half and built a 9-6 lead with 23:23 left in the game. The score stayed that way until there was 7:27 left when Hofstra started its final four-goal run. Jill Maier scored twice with Stephanie Rice adding the third goal before McKinnon’s game winner. Notre Dame out shot the Pride, 27-17, in the game. Ellie Hilling (So., Rochester, N.Y.) made four saves in the game while Jackie Pandolf made 11 for Hofstra in the contest. The win was the first in four meetings for Hofstra versus Notre Dame.
THE IRISH ALL-TIME: Notre Dame enters its game with Rutgers on Friday evening with a 140-94 mark in the 15th year of the women’s lacrosse program. That gives the Irish a .598 winning percentage. That record includes a 68-33 (.673) mark at home, a 58-52 (.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 254-120 (.679) 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 140-94 (.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 is 7-4 all-time versus Rutgers and 5-0 against Loyola.
CLOSE ONES: For those Irish fans with heart problems, watching Notre Dame women’s lacrosse could be hazardous to your health. Through the first eight 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 3-5 start is the worst for the Irish since starting the 2005 campaign with a 2-6 record. Since the start of the 2006 season, Notre Dame is 68-33 for a .673 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.
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. The loss at Hofstra dropped the Irish to 2-2 this year on the road after they were 6-4 a year ago. Since the 2008 season, Notre Dame is 20-12 (.625) away from Arlotta Stadium.
STREAKY IRISH: During the 2010 season two Notre Dame players – Maggie Tamasitis and Gina Scioscia `10 scored points in all 18 games. Scioscia finished her career with the second longest scoring streak in the program’s history – 37 games. Tamasitis has picked up where she left off last season and has now scored at least one point in each of her last 26 games. She is joined by three others with point streaks entering the weekend versus Rutgers and Loyola.
Maggie Tamasitis - 26 games (28g, 44a, 72 pts)Jenny Granger - 11 games (19g, 8a, 27 pts.)Kailene Abt - 6 games (9g, 4a, 13 pts.)Shaylyn Blaney - 3 games (5g, 2a, 7 pts.)
FOR STARTERS: Two members of Notre Dame’s highly touted freshman class made their first career starts in the game at Hofstra. Kaitlyn Brosco (Shoreham, N.Y.) and Margaret Smith (Westminster, Md.) were in the starting lineup against the Pride. Brosco has played in all eight games this season and had 10 goals and two assists for 12 points in the previous seven games. She was held scoreless versus Hofstra. Smith also has seen action in all eight games. She has five ground balls, two draw controls and two caused turnovers in her rookie year.
FINDING HER GAME: Senior Kailene Abt had her third consecutive multiple-point game in the loss to Hofstra, getting a pair of goals with one assist. That followed a two-goal game in the 6-5 double overtime loss to Cornell and three goals and one assist in the 14-5 win over Boston University. Abt has seven goals and two assists for nine points in her last three games, nine goals and four assists for 13 points in a six-game streak and is fourth this season in scoring with 11 goals and five assists for 16 points.
A SCORING MACHINE: Sophomore Betsy Mastropieri had a career-high, four-goal game in the 13-8 loss to Ohio State. As a freshman, Mastropieri played in 15 games and scored seven goals. This year, in eight games off the bench, she already has eight goals and two assists for 10 points. She had a goal and an assist in the loss to Hofstra.
ALL OVER THE FIELD: Senior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney showed people in the Hofstra game why she is one of the top midfielders in the country as she contributed all over the field. Offensively, Blaney had three goals and an assist while getting six shots on goal. She also grabbed a pair of ground balls, had five draw controls and caused four turnovers on the defensive side of the ball.
ANSLEY THE PLAYMAKER: Senior attack Ansley Stewart (Alexandria, Va.) 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 fifth on the team in scoring with eight goals and five assists for 13 points. The four-point game was the third of her career.
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.
AHEAD OF PACE: Just eight games into her senior season, midfielder Kaitlin Keena (Vienna, Va.) 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 just eight games this season, the speedster is tied for sixth in team scoring with 10 goals and two assists for 12 points. Keena’s best year for the Irish was 2009 when she had 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points.
NICE STARTS: Sophomore midfielder Jenny Granger and junior attack Maggie Tamasitis have wasted little time in getting their 2011 seasons off to fast starts. Through eight games, Granger already has scored 14 goals with six assists for 20 points. As a freshman in 16 games last year, she had 12 goals and three assists for 15 points. Included in her fast start is a career-high four-goal, two-assist, career-best six-point game at California in the season opener. Granger helped Notre Dame to a 12-10 win at Duquesne with two goals and an assist for three points. Leading the team in scoring is Tamasitis with 10 goals and a team-high 18 assists for 28 points. A year ago, she was second on the team with 18 goals and 26 assists for 44 points. After getting career highs in assists (4) and points (5) against Northwestern on Feb. 19, Duquesne held the slick playmaker to just one assist in the 12-10 Irish win on Feb. 27. Versus Ohio State, Tamasitis had a goal and three assists for a four-point game. She is already seventh on the Irish all-time assist list with 64 for her career.
MAKING THE STOPS: Sophomore goalkeeper Ellie Hilling has now started 26 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 3-5 with an 9.51 goals-against average and a .412 save percentage. She has played all but 17 seconds this season. Against California, Hilling turned in a career-high 13 saves while giving up a season-low six goals. Over the last three games, Hilling is just 1-2 but has given up just 6.76 goals-per game and has made 16 stops for a .432 save percentage.
THE CAPTAINS: Senior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney and senior defender Jackie Doherty (Ellicott City, Md.) 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.
PRESEASON HONORS: Three members of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team were selected by the BIG EAST coaches as members of the 2011 preseason all-BIG EAST team. Leading the group is Shaylyn Blaney who is a three-time all-BIG EAST selection (first team twice and second team once) in her career. She is joined by senior defender Jackie Doherty who was a first team choice last season. Joing those two is midfielder Kailene Abt who was a second team all-BIG EAST selection last season.
CHART CLIMBERS: Senior Shaylyn Blaney is currently fourth on Notre Dame’s all-time goals list with 139 for her career. She is just 13 behind third-place Caitlin McKinney `09 who finished with 152. Jackie Doherty has moved into third in ground balls with 144 and is now fourth in caused turnovers with 87. Blaney is now third all-time with 94 caused turnovers.
FOR OPENERS: The Irish are now 13-2 all-time in season openers after defeating California, 20-6, on Feb. 11. Notre Dame is now 14-1 in road-opening games. The loss to Northwestern in the home opener on Feb. 19 dropped the Irish to 9-6 all-time in home openers.
THREE FOR ANSLEY: Senior attack Ansley Stewart scored a season-high three goals in the win over Duquesne and has picked up points in three of the team’s four games this season. For the season, she has six goals and two assists for eight points.
RUNNING THE SHOW: With the graduation of attack standout Gina Scioscia `10, look for junior Maggie Tamasitis to run the Irish offense in 2011. Tamasitis finished second on the Irish in scoring last season with career highs in goals (18), assists (26) and points (44). The senior playmaker leads the team in scoring with 10 goals and 18 assists for 28 points. Tamasitis is seventh on the all-time assist list with 64.
SPEAKING OF ASSISTS: Senior Shaylyn Blaney is known for putting the ball in the net as she has 139 goals to her credit as the Irish prepare for Rutgers. This season, she has become the passer as she has a pair of three-assist games versus California and Duquesne. This season, Blaney has eight assists after getting just three all last season. Her career-best season was nine as a freshman in 2008.
NEW KIDS: Head coach Tracy Coyne’s eight-member freshman class was ranked as the fourth-best freshman class in the nation by Inside Lacrosse in September. Three members of the class were ranked among the top 25 freshmen in the country – midfielders Kaitlyn Brosco, Margaret Smith and Grace Dooley (Chicago, Ill.) with a fourth midfielder, Molly Shawhan (Fulton, Md.) named to the magazine’s “Watch List,” that listed 40 other top women’s lacrosse players who will play their first Division I season this spring. Ranked ahead of the Irish in the team rankings were Georgetown, North Carolina and Maryland while Northwestern, Syracuse, Virginia, Duke, Penn State and Johns Hopkins rounded out the top 10. Brosco was listed as the number three freshman, Smith, seventh and Dooley, 23rd overall.