March 9, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. –
Complete Release in PDF Format
– The Game: #11/#13 Notre Dame (2-2) vs. Ohio State (3-3)
– Date/Time/Site: Thursday, March 10, 2011 – 4:00 p.m. – Loftus Center – Notre Dame, Ind.
– Internet: Live video streaming will be available on the Notre Dame website at www.und.com. This event is free of charge.
HOME SWEET HOME: After starting the 2011 season with three of four games on the road in February, the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team returns home for a two-game homestand that will feature visits from Ohio State and Boston University. The Irish and Buckeyes will meet at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 10 at the Loftus Center. That game can be seen via live video streaming on the Notre Dame website at und.com. On Tuesday, March 15, the Boston University Terriers will visit Notre Dame for a 4:00 p.m. game. Weather permitting, that game will be played at Arlotta Stadium on the Notre Dame campus. The Irish return to action after a 10-day break following their last game on Feb. 27, a 12-10 win at Duquesne. The Buckeyes opened the week on Monday, March 7 with a 23-7 victory over Canisius. That win improved them to 3-3 on the season. Boston University is currently 1-2 on the year and hosts Dartmouth on March 9 and George Mason on March 12 before traveling to Notre Dame next week.
IRISH VERSUS THE BUCKEYES: Notre Dame and Ohio State are long-time rivals in women’s lacrosse having met 15 times in the all-time series. The Irish are 9-6 all-time versus the Buckeyes. In games played at Notre Dame, the Irish are just 4-4. When the teams meet in Columbus, Ohio, Notre Dame owns a 5-2 record. The two teams met last April 22 in Ohio with the Irish taking a 12-11 decision. Shaylyn Blaney (Sr., Stony Brook, N.Y.) led the Notre Dame attack with five goals, including four in the second half and Maggie Tamasitis (Jr., Boyertown, Pa.) got the game-winning goal with 24 seconds left in the contest.
LAST TIME OUT: The Irish closed out February with a come-from-behind win against Duquesne in a game that was moved back a day because of snow and bad weather in Pittsburgh. Originally scheduled for Feb. 26, the teams played 24 hours later with the Dukes jumping out to a 7-4 halftime lead. Notre Dame rallied by outscoring Duquesne, 8-3, in the second half, getting five of the first six goals in the half to take a 9-8 lead. Shaylyn Blaney led the way with three goals and three assists while fellow senior Ansley Stewart (Alexandria, Va.) scored three times in the victory. Jenny Granger (So., East Setauket, N.Y.) and Kaitlyn Brosco (Fr., Shoreham, N.Y.) each had two goals while Kailene Abt (Sr., Huntington, N.Y.) and Kaitlin Keena (Sr., Vienna, Va.) chipped in one goal each. Goalkeeper Ellie Hilling (So., Rochester, N.Y.) had six saves in the win. The win over the Dukes was the seventh straight in the all-time series for the Irish.
THE IRISH ALL-TIME: Notre Dame enters its game with Ohio State on Thursday with an all-time record of 139-91 over the first 14-plus years of the program. That gives the Irish a .605 winning percentage. That record includes a 67-32 (.667) mark at home, a 58-51 (.532) record on the road and a 14-8 (.636) ledger on neutral fields.
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.
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 four games, Granger already has scored 10 goals with four assists for 14 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. Tied with Granger for the team point lead is Tamasitis who has four goals and a team-high 10 assists for her 14 points out of the gate. A year ago, she was econd 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. She is already eighth on the Irish all-time assist list with 56 for her career.
HEAD COACH Tracy Coyne: Tracy Coyne is in her 15th season at Notre Dame and her 24th year in collegiate lacrosse. Coyne brings a 253-117 (.684) career record into this week’s game. 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 139-91 (.604) 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, she is 9-6 all-time against Ohio State.
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 22 games. She is joined by five others with point streaks entering the game with Ohio State.
Maggie Tamasitis - 22 games (22g, 36a, 58 pts)Kailene Abt - 14 games (19g, 6a, 25 pts)Jenny Granger - 7 games (15g, 6a, 21 pts.)Kaitlin Keena - 5 games (7g, 3a, 10 pts)Shaylyn Blaney - 4 games (7g, 6a, 13 pts)Kaitlyn Brosco - 4 games (8g, 1a, 9 pts)
MAKING THE STOPS: Sophomore goalkeeper Ellie Hilling has now started 22 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 2-2 with an 10.76 goals-against average and a .442 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.
FAST STARTER: Freshman midfielder Kaitlyn Brosco (Shoreham, N.Y.) has gotten her Notre Dame career off to a fast start as she has scored two goals in each of her first four games. She is second on the team with eight goals and has one assist for nine points on the year.
THE CAPTAINS: Senior midfielder Shaylyn Blaney (Stony Brook, N.Y.) 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.
AHEAD OF PACE: Just four games into her senior season, 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 just four games this season, the speedster is fifth in team scoring with seven goals and two assists for nine points. Keena’s best year for the Irish was 2009 when she had 19 goals and 15 assists for 34 points.
ROAD WARRIORS: With the win at Duquesne on Feb. 27, Notre Dame is 2-1 on the season away from home. A year ago, the Irish were 6-4 away from South Bend and have now had three consecutive seasons of at least six wins on the road. Since the 2008 season, Notre Dame is 20-11 (.645) on the road.
CHART CLIMBERS: With three goals in the win against Duquesne, senior Shaylyn Blaney added to her fourth-place standing on Notre Dame’s all-time goals list with 134 for her career. She is just 18 behind third-place Caitlin McKinney `09 who finished with 152. With three ground balls against Duquesne, senior Jackie Doherty moved into fourth on the ground balls list with 134. She moved past Erin Goodman `09, who had 128 in her career. With three caused turnovers against Northwestern and one versus Duquesne, Doherty moved into fifth all-time with 76, moving past Maureen Henwood `03, who also had 75 in four seasons for the Irish. Blaney is now tied for third all-time with 83 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.
HERE WE GO AGAIN?: During the 2010 season, Notre Dame saw 11 of its 18 games decided by two goals or less. Twice this season, the Irish have seen it happen. First was the 13-12 loss at Stanford on Feb. 13 and then Notre Dame pulled out a 12-10 win at Duquesne on Feb. 27. Last season, the Irish had four overtime contests, eight games decided by one goal and 11 decided by two goals or less. In overtime, the Irish were 2-2. They were 5-3 in one goal games and 7-4 in games decided by two or less. In the BIG EAST Tournament, the Irish dropped a 12-11, four overtime game to Syracuse in the semifinals. That game was decided after 72:58, the longest game in Notre Dame history and the longest in the history of the BIG EAST Tournament. So far this season, the Irish are 1-1 in “close” games.
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 is tied for the team lead in scoring with four goals and 10 assists for 14 points. Tamasitis is eighth on the all-time assist list with 56.
SPEAKING OF ASSISTS: Senior Shaylyn Blaney is known for putting the ball in the net as she has 134 goals to her credit as the Irish prepare for Ohio State. This season, she has become the passer as she has a pair of three-assist games versus California and Duquesne. This season, Blaney has six assists after getting just three all last season. Her career-best season was nine as a freshman in 2008.
KEY CONTRIBUTOR: Junior midfielder Megan Sullivan became a key contributor to the Irish offense in 2010. Strong in transition, the speedy middie had career highs in goals (16), assists (6) and points (20) to finish sixth on the team in scoring. Through the first four games this season, Sullivan has scored a pair of goals. Versus Duquesne, she had career-highs with five ground balls and three draw controls.
FIRST TIMERS: Several Notre Dame players scored their first career goals in the games played in California last weekend. Leading the way was freshman Kaitlyn Brosco who had four in the two games. Joining Brosco were two sophomores who scored their first career goals. That group included midfielder McKenzie Brown (Greenwood Village, Colo.) who scored versus California and defender Emily Conner (Alexandria, Va.) who had one goal in each game of the trip. Seeing their first career action on the weekend were freshmen Molly Shawhan (Fulton, Md.) and Margaret Smith (Westminster, Md.) plus sophomores Adele Bruggeman (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Michelle Tremblay (Tonka Bay, Minn.). Brown and Tremblay sat out the 2010 season due to injuries. Bruggeman is in her first season at Notre Dame as a goaltender. She played the final 17 seconds of the game against Stanford.
NEW FACES: Head coach Tracy Coyne has two new assistant coaches this season as they replace Merideth Simon `04, who is now an assistant at Cal and Kateri Linville, who was an assistant with the Irish for five seasons. Linville is now the head coach at her alma mater – the University of Delaware. Replacing them are former Irish All-American Crysti Foote `06 and Nick Williams, a former standout lacrosse and football player at Towson. Foote, who helped lead Notre Dame to its only appearance in an NCAA women’s lacrosse Final Four joined Coyne’s staff in July after spending last season working on her Masters Degree at Long Island University. She has been an assistant coach at Drew University and Columbia since graduating. A member of Canada’s national team and a veteran of two World Cups (`05, `09), Foote was a two-time All-American and a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist in 2006. She owned virtually every offensive record for the Irish upon her graduation. Williams also joined the staff in July after one season as an assistant coach at Towson. A two-sport athlete at Towson, Williams was a four-year member of the lacrosse and football teams. In lacrosse, Williams helped the Tigers to a pair of CAA titles and in football is the program’s fifth leading rusher. He will work with the Irish defense and the goalkeepers while Foote works with the attack.
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 (Westminster, Md.) 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.
THREE IN A ROW: Notre Dame has been to the NCAA Tournament six times (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010) in its first 14 seasons of the women’s lacrosse program and three times in the last three years, a first for the program. With an 11-7 record last year, the Irish have now had five straight seasons with 10 or more wins, starting with the 2006 campaign. Since 2006, Notre Dame is 67-31 (.684).
SISTER ACT: The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program has a long history of sisters playng for coach Tracy Coyne. This season, Coyne welcomes her ninth set of sisters to play at Notre Dame as junior midfielder Megan Sullivan (Winchester, Mass.) will be joined by her younger sister, Lauren, a freshman on this year’s roster who is out for the season with a knee injury. The Sullivan’s join eight other sister duos to play at Notre Dame – Maggie `10 and Lena Zentraf `07, twin sisters Heather and Lindsey Ferguson `08; Julie `08 and Crysti Foote `06; Lauren `09 and Meghan deMello `06; Kelly and Kristen Gaudreau `04; Carol `06 and Angela Dixon `03 and Annemarie `09 and Mary McGrath `06. The sisters who started the tradition are Amy `98 and Mara Grace `98. They played in 1997 and 1998, the first two years of the program.
VERSUS THE BEST: Notre Dame will face six teams that are ranked in the top 20 of IWLCA weekly poll. The Irish have already faced No. 2 Northwestern and No. 8 Stanford. In the future the Irish will face No. 6 Loyola, No. 9 Georgetown, No. 12 Syracuse and No. 13 Vanderbilt. The games versus Georgetown, Loyola and Syracuse are BIG EAST games.