May 19, 1997

Six Notre Dame Lacrosse Players Earn Great Western League Honors

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Six Notre Dame men’s lacrosse players topped the listof 1997 Great Western Lacrosse League honorees. Claiming first-teamhonors were CHRIS DUSSEAU (Columbus, Ohio), JIMMY KEENAN (Floral Park,N.Y.), TODD RASSAS (Northfield, Ill.), DAVE CASHEN (Chester, N.J.) andALEX CADE (North Potomac, Md.), while BURKE HAYES (Chevy Chase, Md.) wasa second-eam honoree.

DUSSEAU, KEENAN, RASSAS and CADE were first-team selections for thesecond consecutive year, while CASHEN and HAYES were first-time GWLLhonorees.

DUSSEAU, a sophomore on at attack, was the leading goal scorer for theIrish for the second consecutive year as he finished with 29 goals,which equaled his goal-scoring production of a year ago. He was thethird leading scorer as he also dished off five assists for 34 points.

KEENAN, a two-year starter in the midfield, was Notre Dame’ssecond-leading scorer as a junior. He finished the ’97 campaign with 12goals and 28 assists (40 points). His 28 assists set the Irish mark forsingle-season assists by a midfield player and ranks sixth nationally inassists per game. KEENAN earned United States Intercollegiate LacrosseAssociation (USILA) honorable mention All-America honors as a sophomore.

RASSAS, one of the nation’s top defenders and a third-team USILAAll-America honoree last season, led an Irish defense that allowed just8.91 goals per game. He also finished second on the team with 68 groundballs.

CADE, ranked in the top five nationally in goals against average (8.86)as he played 663 of a possible 720 minutes. In 12 games, he allowed 98goals and made 133 saves for a .576 save percentage.

CASHEN had his best season in helping anchor the Irish defense. Atwo-year starter, the senior, along with KEENAN, CADE and senior WILLDeRISO (Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.) served as a captain this season. Hehad 31 ground balls and finished with 86 for his career.

HAYES, a junior in the Notre Dame midfield, enjoyed a stellar season ashe registered 23 goals (second best on the team) and dished off threeassists (23 points).

Notre Dame won its sixth straight GWLL title and earned a sixthconsecutive NCAA tournament berth. The Irish finished ninth in thefinal USILA poll (its highest final ranking in school history) andcomplete the season with a 9-3 mark.