Feb. 21, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team opens the 2006 regular-season schedule this weekend on the road in California. The Irish travel to Berkeley, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 24 for a 3:30 p.m. (PST) contest versus the University of California. They then face Stanford on Sunday, Feb. 26 in a 12:00 noon (PST) game in Palo Alto, Calif.
For Irish head coach Tracy Coyne and her coaching staff, the start of the season can’t get here fast enough.
The only coach that the program has known in its 10-year history, Coyne wants to erase the disappointment of a 3-12 season from her memory and that of her team.
“Last year was definitely disappointing coming off the successful year that we had the year before. We lost a lot of experienced players from that team and it showed,” says Coyne.
“Seven of our losses were by three goals or fewer with four of them by one goal. We just never seemed to get the key goal when we needed it or to make the key defensive play at the right time.”
While the overall season was disappointing, Coyne was able to work several younger players into the lineup, giving them valuable playing time and experience against some of the top teams at the Divison I level.
“Many of our younger players got significant playing time last season and were able to show us what they could do. There’s no question how valuable that experience was, and we should see it pay off this year.”
While the returning players and what they bring to the lineup has Coyne excited, her 10-player freshman class brings a smile to her face.
Ranked as the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation by Inside Lacrosse magazine, the group includes five high school All-Americans.
“We’re very excited to have such a talented group of freshmen join our program,” says Coyne.
“Each individual brings a unique dimension to the game that will make us a more-competitive team in 2006. We should be fun to watch.”
The 10 newcomers will look to replace a solid senior class that graduated last May with two NCAA appearances to their credit. Heading the list were team captains Jess Mikula and Lindsay Shaffer, along with Bridget Higgins, Maura Costello and Jackie Bowers who graduated last May.
Fifth-year senior Carol Dixon returns as Notre Dame’s starting goalkeeper. She has played 1,924:40 of a possible 1,938:00 minutes over the last two seasons. |
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One senior from 2005 who is not leaving is goalkeeper Carol Dixon (Gr., Pennsauken, N.J.). A fifth-year senior this season, Dixon returns to give the Irish a three-year veteran in goal.
A proven collegiate goalkeeper, Dixon has played 1,924:40 of a possible 1,938:00 minutes over the last two seasons and owns a 9.68 career goals-against average and a .480 save percentage. Her numbers took a hit last season as she was 3-12 with an 11.04 goals-against and a .447 save percentage.
The strength of Dixon’s game is her competitiveness and athleticism. She anticipates well and has the knack of coming up with the big save. Dixon clears the ball as well as anyone ever to play at Notre Dame, and she has worked hard in the off season to improve her all-around game.
Notre Dame’s second goalkeeper will be freshman Erin Goodman (Cortlandt Manor, N.Y.). Goodman brings outstanding credentials to the Irish lineup, as she was a high school All-American at Lakeland High School in 2005. She has good size (5-10) and outstanding athletic ability. She will benefit from having a veteran goalkeeper in front of her to learn from as she works to take over in the future.
While the Irish lost a great deal of experience on defense from 2005, several underclassmen made the most of their playing time to move into starting roles this season.
Leading the group on defense are senior Kerry Van Shura (Bel Air, Md.) and Meaghan Fitzpatrick (Jr., Farmingdale, N.Y.).
Junior Meaghan Fitzpatrick will be one of the leaders of Notre Dame’s defense in 2006. |
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Van Shura has won three monograms, playing regularly in all three seasons both as a starter and off the bench.
A tough, gritty, hard-working competitor, she brings a strong understanding of the game to the backline. As a junior, she showed an ability to jump into the offense with a pair of goals, but her strength remains on the defensive side of the ball. In 15 games in 2005, including seven starts, Van Shura recorded 19 ground balls, 15 draw controls and seven caused turnovers.
Fitzpatrick moved into a starting role as a sophomore and quickly became a mainstay for the defense. An outstanding one-on-one defender, Fitzpatrick took over as the team’s “stopper,” going head-to-head against the opposition’s top scorer and will take that role again this season.
A tough, tenacious defender around the arc, she has outstanding speed and moves the ball well. In 14 games in 2005, she had 24 ground balls and 15 caused turnovers.
Expected to join Van Shura and Fitzpatrick on the Irish defense in the starting rotation are junior Kristin Hopson (Rosemont, Pa.) and Becky Ranck (So., Radnor, Pa.).
Hopson played in all 15 games last season, making 10 starts, and Ranck saw action in 11 games as a freshman. The duo has played together in the past as teammates at Radnor High School.
Hopson has quietly worked her way into one of the starting spots on the Irish defense with her outstanding work ethic and no-nonsense approach to the game. She has great speed and a non-stop, aggressive style of play that disrupts the opponent’s attack. As a sophomore, Hopson had 17 ground balls and eight caused turnovers as her playing time increased as the season went on.
Ranck quickly became one of the team’s top reserves on defense as a freshman and will be in the running to start this season. She has outstanding defensive instincts and uses her size and speed to make life miserable for opponents on attack.
Two seniors – Meghan deMello (Manlius, N.Y.) and Katie Killeen (Manhasset, N.Y.) – will be joined by freshman Shannon Burke (Baltimore, Md.) as the top reserves on defense. All three will see action during the season.
Earning her first monogram last season was deMello, who played in eight games off the bench for the Irish. A hard-working player with a tremendous attitude, deMello will look to get in the mix for playing time this season.
For the first time in her career, Killeen is healthy, as she has battled injuries in her first three seasons. A tough, tenacious player with excellent defensive skills, she has been limited to just five games in her first three seasons.
Burke is the lone freshman in the group of defenders and will compete for significant playing time this season.
A highly-competitive player, Burke has good size and speed and excellent defensive skills. An all-state player as a junior and senior in high school, she gives the Irish outstanding depth at the defensive end of the field.
The midfield position will be a key spot for both the Irish offense and defense. Speed, skill and aggressiveness best describe the midfield position among both the returnees and the newcomers to the roster.
The lone senior in the group is Lena Zentgraf (Charlottesville, Va.). An all-BIG EAST preseason selection, Zentgraf was a second-team choice in 2005 both in the BIG EAST and IWLCA Mid-Atlantic Region in her first full year as a starter.
One of the team’s leaders on and off the field, Zentgraf is a tough and athletic player with outstanding stick skills and a driving will to win. She has the uncanny knack for finding open teammates and setting them up for good scoring chances.
Zentgraf was fourth in team scoring last season with 11 goals and eight assists for 19 points. She had 27 ground balls and recorded 12 draw controls and 12 caused turnovers.
The lone junior in the midfield is Kaki Orr (Darien, Conn.). Like Zentgraf, Orr is a tough, physical player who has developed into one of the team’s top all-around midfielders.
Junior Kaki Orr scored 11 goals in her first season as a starter at midfield for the Irish. |
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In just her first season as a regular, Orr contributed 11 goals and one assist for 12 points while finishing third in ground balls (32) and third in draw controls (18).
Sophomores and freshmen make up the remainder of the midfield and their skill and speed should make the Irish offense tough to stop.
Sophomores Mary Carpenter (Rochester, N.Y.) and Caitlin McKinney (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) will be integral parts of the Irish attack this season. Lindsey Ferguson (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Caitlin Lucas (Baldwin, N.Y.) are two sophomores who didn’t see action in 2005, and will look to continue improving their skills.
Speedy Caitlin McKinney was a unanimous all-BIG EAST preseason selection in her sophomore year. She finished second in scoring on the team as a freshman with 28 goals and 12 assists for 40 points. |
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Carpenter saw action in 15 games as a freshman, collecting six goals and three assists for nine points as a key reserve. A player with tremendous endurance and work ethic, Carpenter’s game continues to improve and a strong offseason earned her a starting spot this year.
McKinney started from day one as a frosh, scoring four goals in her first collegiate game and never looking back. Blessed with blinding speed, the elusive McKinney scored 28 goals and added 12 assists for 40 points, just one point off the program’s rookie record.
A preseason all-BIG EAST selection this year, McKinney was a second-team pick as a freshman and was also a second team all-Mid-Atlantic region choice. All-America honors are not far behind for the speedster as she was also named to the U.S. National Developmental Team following last season.Speed and outstanding lacrosse skills are the strengths of McKinney’s game. Those assets make her tough to defend since she can set a teammate up, as well as score goals.
Ferguson used her freshman year to watch and learn and will most likely see duty at midfield/defense this season as she works to get into the rotation.
Lucas has made giant strides with her game and needs playing time to build her confidence. She has impressive speed and could push for playing time on a regular basis this season.
The freshman contingent at midfield includes several of the team’s top recruits.
Alicia Billings (Potomac, Md.), Beth Koloup (Phoenix, Md.) and Annemarie McGrath (Radnor, Pa.) will see action in the midfield/defense slot.
Billings was a high school All-American last season and has impressed the coaches in the fall and preseason with speed and skill. She has the ability to catch in tight spaces and can open the middle of the field. Billings’ speed makes her dangerous, especially in the transition game. She should be an impact player this season.
Koloup is a two-sport athlete, playing both soccer and lacrosse at Notre Dame. A talented, all-around athlete, Koloup has only played lacrosse since the fall of 2003, but impressed the Irish staff enough with her talent to get a chance to play at Notre Dame. She will use her freshman year to adapt to the college game and improve her all-around skills.
McGrath joins the roster from the outstanding high school program at Radnor High School. A solid, all-around defensive midfielder, McGrath is learning to play at the collegiate level while adapting to the speed of the game.
On the offensive side of the midfield three freshmen join the Notre Dame lineup. Jill Byers (Northport, N.Y.), Kelly Gaudreau (Annapolis, Md.) and Jane Stoeckert (Mendham, N.J.) bring speed and quickness to the midfield. Byers and Stoeckert are considered impact players and are expected to be regulars in the Notre Dame lineup to start the season.
Byers is a talented, all-around athlete who brings more speed, quickness and scoring skills to the Irish lineup. The strength of her game is the ability to make everyone around her better. A total team player, Byers was a two-time high school All-American and is recognized as one of the most-dominant women’s lacrosse players from the Long Island area.
Gaudreau is another incoming freshman that excels in the transition game. A product of the outstanding program at St. Mary’s in Annapolis, Md., Gaudreau has good stick skills and has a proven ability to score in key situations.
Stoeckert is a proven goal scorer who can take over the midfield with her size, speed and stick skills. One of five high school All-Americans in the Irish freshman class, Stoeckert is highly creative on the field and is equally adept at going to the net or setting up a teammate. She and Byers give Notre Dame an impressive one-two punch from the midfield.
From midfield to the attack, Coyne’s squad has excellent depth. The Irish should be stronger up front in 2006 due to younger players getting experience a year ago and the addition of several top freshmen at the position.
When talking about Notre Dame’s attack, one must start with senior captain Crysti Foote (Suffern, N.Y.).
All-American candidate Crysti Foote returns for her final season with the Irish. A third-team All-American in 2005, she led the team in scoring with 34 goals and 16 assists for 50 points a year ago. |
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A third-team IWLCA All-American last season, Foote is coming off her best season ever as a junior. In 2005, she led Notre Dame with 34 goals and 16 assists for 50 points. She also led the Irish with 28 draw controls, tied for fifth with 27 ground balls and was second with 15 caused turnovers.
A unanimous all-BIG EAST preseason selection, Foote starred in the women’s World Cup for her native Canada last summer, leading the Canadians in scoring with 20 goals and seven assists in eight games on the way to a fourth-place finish.
Foote gives the Irish versatility, as she will also line up at midfield from time-to-time. A natural goal scorer, she can beat an opponent one-on-one or set up a teammate from any spot in the attack zone.
Joining Foote up front from the senior class is Brittany Fox (Annapolis, Md.). She had a break out season in 2005, finishing third in scoring with 18 goals and five assists in 14 games. Fox excelled coming off the bench to give the team a spark and may take that role again this season. A left-handed shot, she gives goalkeepers a different look when she enters the game.
Senior Brittany Fox sparked the Irish last season with a career-high 18-goal season. |
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Returning to the lineup this season is junior Meghan Murphy (Centennial, Colo.). Murphy got off to a fast start in 2005 with six goals and one assist in two-plus games before going down with a season-ending knee injury in the third game against Cornell. She will move from midfield to attack this season.
A highly-skilled player, Murphy knows how to get open and work for a good shot. She’s got a strong accurate shot and will give the Irish attack a boost this season.
Heather Ferguson (Newtown Square, Pa.) and Julie Foote (Suffern, N.Y.) are sophomore members of the Notre Dame attack.
Ferguson, the twin sister of midfielder Lindsey, played in 15 games as a freshman, making eight starts and scoring four goals with five assists for nine points. Ferguson uses her quickness and instincts to find open spots and has a strong accurate shot.
Foote is the younger sister of senior Crysti Foote and did not get into any games as a freshman. She missed most of the fall due to an injury and will look to get into the regular rotation this season. She’s got excellent stick skills and good instincts around the goal, but needs to build confidence in her own ability.
Rounding out the members of the attack are freshmen Lauren deMello (Manlius, N.Y.) and Mary Veith (Silver Springs, Md.).
The sister of senior Meghan deMello, Lauren is working her way back into action after sitting out the fall due to injuries. She has strong stick skills and is a talented playmaker. Her progress as a freshman will depend on how fast she can return from her injuries.
Veith is the fifth high school All-American in the freshman class and is also recovering from postseason knee surgery. A midfielder in high school, Veith will see action at attack in college. A tough aggressive player, Veith brings a high level of skill and intensity to the lineup.Coyne is ready for the start of a new season.
“We’ve had a strong fall and preseason has gone well, but I think we are ready to start playing. The opening weekend of scrimmages (Feb. 18 at Penn) will give us an indication of where we are for the season opener at California,” says Coyne.
As usual, the Irish face a challenging schedule with eight teams ranked in the top 20 of the preseason rankings. And, with the addition of Loyola (Md.) to the BIG EAST, the conference is that much more challenging.
“Our goal is always to win the BIG EAST and make the NCAA Tournament. That hasn’t changed. We have a very competitive schedule and that’s the way we like it. The conference added Loyola this season, and they are a perennial top 10 team. I can’t wait to get started,” says Coyne.