May 9, 1999

Notre Dame, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team (8-5), making its seventh NCAA tournament appearance in the last eight years, will face fifth-seeded Georgetown (11-2) in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Sunday, May 16 at Minnegan Stadium in Towson, Md. at noon. The winner of the game will play fourth-seeded Duke (13-2) at Hofstra Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. on Saturday, May 22 in a quarterfinal matchup.

The contest is one of just two first round games scheduled at Towson as sixth-seeded Delaware will play Maryland-Baltimore County (11-3) 45 minutes following the conclusion of the Notre Dame-Georgetown contest.

The Irish and Hoyas will be meeting for the second time this season. Georgetown, ranked fifth nationally, beat the 13th-ranked Irish 12-8 on April 10 at Notre Dame. In that game, Notre Dame jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Hoyas came back to defeat the Irish for the second consecutive year. This will be the ninth meeting between the two schools with Georgetown holding a 5-3 advantage in the series, including three straight wins over Notre Dame. It is the first time the two teams will be playing in the NCAA tournament.

The matchup also features a family reunion for Irish attack Chris Dusseau (Columbus, Ohio), whose brother Steve is a freshman midfielder for the Hoyas.

Notre Dame is making its eighth NCAA appearance since 1990 as the Irish own a 1-7 record in tournament games. All eight tournament berths have come under 11-year head coach Kevin Corrigan. Notre Dame’s lone victory in the tournament came in 1995 when the Irish beat fifth-seeded Duke 12-10 in Durham, N.C. It marked the first-ever win for Corrigan’s squad in Notre Dame’s fourth NCAA appearance and also was the first, and only time in tournament history, that a team from the West had claimed a victory over a higher-seeded opponent.

The Irish missed the NCAA tournament after six consecutive appearances last year after finishing the 1998 campaign with a 5-7 record.

-ND-