March 22, 2006
NOTRE DAME MEN’S LACROSSE WEEKLY NOTES PACKET
No. 11 Notre Dame vs. No. 5 Hofstra
Saturday, March 25 • 1:30 p.m. (ET)
James M. Shuart Stadium • Hempstead, N.Y.
TV: Fox Sports New York
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The No. 11 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will wrap up its three-game road stretch when the Irish travel to Hempstead, N.Y. to take on No. 5 Hofstra on Saturday, March 25. The Fighting Irish notched their third straight victory with an 8-2 win over Bellarmine on Saturday (March 18). Notre Dame has a 4-1 mark overall, while Hofstra also takes a 4-1 record into Saturday’s showdown. The game will be aired live on Fox Sports New York at 1:30 p.m.
ND-HOFSTRA SERIES NOTES: Saturday will mark the 13th meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Hofstra … the series is currently even at six wins apiece for both squads … the Irish are 2-4 at Hofstra, including a 9-8 overtime win last season … Notre Dame has won two straight games in the series … prior to that, the Pride had won five in-a-row … the Irish took four consecutive from 1992-98 … the first meeting between the two schools occurred during the 1991 season, a 10-5 Hofstra win in Hempstead, N.Y. … Hofstra holds a 112-111 scoring edge in the series … both teams have been ranked during the last five meetings, including this year’s tilt.
LAST YEAR’S MEETING: No. 9 Notre Dame pulled out a 9-8 double-overtime win at No. 13 Hofstra last season … Irish attackman Pat Walsh enjoyed a huge day as he scored a career-high six goals to go along with one assist … Notre Dame held a 6-3 advantage at halftime and a 7-5 lead heading into the fourth quarter … the Fighting Irish would extend the margin to 8-5, yet the Pride would notch three straight goals, including a man-up tally with just 40 seconds remaining in the period to force overtime … both teams were held scoreless during the first extra session but Walsh would notch the game-winner with just 1:55 left in the second overtime to give the Irish the victory.
SNAPSHOT OF THE IRISH: Notre Dame is in the midst of a three-game win streak with victories against North Carolina (9-7), Villanova (10-7) and Bellarmine (8-2) … the Irish opened the season with an 8-4 victory over No. 14 Penn State before falling to No. 8 Cornell, 9-6 … senior attackman Brian Hubschmann leads the team in points (17), goals (10) and assists (7) … sophomore goaltender Joey Kemp has logged all 300 minutes in goal … he has allowed 29 goals, while making 51 saves and boasts .637 save-percentage and a 5.80 goals-against average … senior All-American Pat Walsh is second on the team with 12 points, coming on six goals and six assists … Notre Dame will return home following the Hofstra tilt to host Brown on March 29 and Dartmouth on April 2 before hitting the road for four straight, including the GWLL opener on April 8 at Butler.
ABOUT HOFSTRA: Hofstra is 4-1 on the year following a 9-5 win over Princeton on Saturday (March 18) … following a season-opening loss to UMass (11-7), the Pride has won four in-a-row with victories over Brown (14-4), defending NCAA champion Johns Hopkins (11-6), North Carolina (6-5) and Princeton (9-5) … junior attackman Athan Iannucci leads Hofstra with 19 points on a team-high 14 goals and five assists … senior goaltender Matt Southard boasts a 5.94 goals-against average … senior Joe Mascaretti is 36-68 in faceoffs … senior defender Brett Moyer was named to the 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy `Watch List’ and was also an Inside Lacrosse preseason first team All-American … freshman Tom Dooley was named the CAA Men’s Lacrosse Player of the Week after his three goal performance in an 11-6 win over Johns Hopkins (3/11) … he also posted two goals and one assist against North Carolina (3/15).
COMMON OPPONENTS: Notre Dame and Hofstra have played one common opponent during the 2006 season … the Fighting Irish defeated North Carolina, 9-7, on March 11, while the Pride also took down the Tar Heels, 6-5, on March 15.
IRISH VS. THE CAA: Notre Dame is 13-10 all-time against the Colonial Athletic Association, including a 10-10 mark in the Kevin Corrigan era … the Irish defeated CAA member Villanova, 10-7, on March 14 … those are the only two CAA teams on Notre Dame’s 2006 schedule … the Fighting Irish defeated both of those squads one year ago.
THREE IN-A-ROW: Notre Dame’s 8-2 victory over Bellarmine marked the third straight victory for the Irish … Notre Dame has won at least three games in-a-row in 23 of 26 varsity seasons … the only years that the Irish failed to win three consecutive was during the first varsity campaign in 1981 then again in 1983 and 1991.
IRISH D: The Notre Dame defense held Bellarmine to just two goals on March 18 … the two tallies were the fewest allowed by an Irish defense since a 12-2 victory over Air Force during the 2004 season … the Irish have also held their first five opponents to nine goals or less … last year, Notre Dame surrendered 10 goals or more on four occasions.
SECOND HALF SHUTOUT: The Fighting Irish defense held Bellarmine scoreless during the second half on March 18 … that marked the first time a Notre Dame defense held a team scoreless since the first half against Butler during the 2003 campaign … the Irish would go on to win that contest 9-2.
TWO FOR POLK: Junior midfielder Lucius Polk matched a career-high with two goals against Bellarmine … his other two-goal performances came against Butler and Fairfield during the 2004 season.
5-0 RUNS: Notre Dame put together key 5-0 runs in wins over North Carolina and Villanova … against North Carolina, the Fighting Irish used a 5-0 spurt to break open a 3-3 contest and take an 8-3 lead early in the third quarter … the Tar Heels would make a run of their own to cut the margin to one (8-7), yet that is as close as they would get before falling 9-7 … in the Villanova tilt, the Irish trailed 3-2 before running off five unanswered goals to take a 7-3 lead right before halftime … the Wildcats made a surge to make in an 8-7 contest, however the Irish would prevail 10-7.
DOUBLE DIGITS: The Fighting Irish tallied 10 or more goals for the first time this season when they did so in the 10-7 win over Villanova … Notre Dame scored in double-figures in seven of its 11 games one season ago … five of those games were wins.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP: Seniors occupy the top four spots on the Irish point-leaders list … Brian Hubschmann leads with 17 (10G, 7A), while Pat Walsh has 12 (6G, 6A), Matt Ryan has eight (5G, 3A), Matt Karweck has seven (6G, 1A).
HUBSCHMANN BACK IN ACTION: Senior attackman Brian Hubschmann, who is back in the Irish lineup after missing all of last season to injury, is leading the team with 17 points … he has notched four straight multiple-goal games. he collected a career-high tying four goals against Villanova … he also notched an assist against the Wildcats … prior to the Villanova game, Hubschmann scored two goals and assisted on two others against both Cornell and North Carolina … for his career, he has seven games with four or more points … Hubschmann was a 2005 Inside Lacrosse preseason honorable mention All-America selection … as a sophomore in 2004, he totaled 29 points on 18 goals and 11 assists and copped all-GWLL second team honors.
HELPING HAND: Pat Walsh was involved in six of Notre Dame’s nine goals in the victory over North Carolina on March 11 … the senior attackman collected five assists and scored a goal … the five assists tied a career-high for a single game, which he also accomplished versus Denver as a freshman in 2003 … he now has nine games with six or more points during his Fighting Irish career … his high-point mark is eight, which came against Harvard in 2003.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Senior attackman Pat Walsh is currently fourth all-time in school history with 86 assists … he is two assists shy from the third spot, 14 away from second and is 24 assists away from tying David Ulrich’s (1998-2001) program record of 110 … Walsh is also sixth in program history with 154 points coming on 68 goals and 86 assists … he is 27 points away from making it into the top-three all-time in school history … Randy Colley (1991-95) is the school record holder with 273 career points (173 G, 100 A).
WALSH POINT-LESS: In Notre Dame’s 8-2 win over Bellarmine, Pat Walsh was held without a point for just the third time in his collegiate career … he was also held point-less in a 9-6 loss at Denver last season and in a 10-4 setback to Maryland in 2003.
STREAKING: Junior midfielder Bill Liva holds the most current point streak on the Irish with five straight games, a career-best … he has tallied at least one point in every game so far this season … Liva has three goals and three assists on the year … Pat Walsh had his seven-game streak snapped in the Bellarmine contest.
GOING FOR TWO: Notre Dame has had two players score multiple goals in every game so far this season … overall, the Irish have had multiple players score at least two goals in a game in 11 straight contests dating back to last season … the last game that did not happen was in a 9-8 overtime win at Hofstra on March 26, 2005 … freshmen Peter Christman and Ryan Hoff did the honors with two goals apiece in this year’s season-opener versus Penn State … Brian Hubschmann and Pat Walsh both netted two against Cornell … Hubschmann, Walsh and Matt Karweck all notched a pair versus North Carolina … Hubschmann and Walsh struck again with four and two goals, respectively, against Villanova … Hubschmann, Karweck and Lucius Polk all notched two goals against Bellarmine.
FRESH FACES: The two-goal performances by Peter Christman and Ryan Hoff against Penn State marked the first time two freshmen had scored multiple goals in a game for the Irish since the 2003 season as current seniors Pat Walsh and Drew Peters both netted three goals versus Hartford.
FACEOFFS: Sophomore Taylor Clagett has won 40 of 69 faceoffs so far this season for a .580 percentage … he ranked sixth in the country with a .612 percentage (131-214) as a freshman last year … senior Steve Panos won 8 of 12 faceoffs against Bellarmine and is 9 of 16 on the year (.562).
SAVING THE DAY: Sophomore goaltender Joey Kemp boasts a .637 save percentage on the year … he has made 51 saves, while allowing 29 goals … Kemp led the nation with a .652 percentage in 2005, making 131 saves and giving up 70 goals … he also has a 5.80 goals-against average so far this season.
CLEARING THE WAY: Notre Dame has a .830 clear percentage while the Irish have held opponents to a .654 percentage … last season, the Irish had a .763 clear percentage and their opponents had a mark of .771.
FAN SUPPORT: The Notre Dame-Cornell game in Lisle, Ill. on March 4 drew 3,523 fans … the Irish have now played in front of crowds of at least 1,000 people in nine contests over the past two seasons … Notre Dame and Bellarmine played in front of 2,700 fans at Trinity High School in Louisville, Ky. on March 18 … last year’s meeting with North Carolina in the First 4 invitational drew 7,182 fans into the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. … that was the largest crowd ever for a lacrosse contest west of the Mississippi River.
BELLARMINE RECAP: Notre Dame captured its third straight victory by downing Bellarmine 8-2 on Saturday, March 18, in front of 2,700 fans at Louisville’s Trinity High School … the Fighting Irish had two-goal performances from Brian Hubschmann, Matt Karweck and Lucius Polk … the game marked the first-ever meeting between Notre Dame and Bellarmine on the lacrosse field … Joey Kemp made 10 saves for the Irish, while allowing a career-low goal total for a complete game … the Irish jumped in front just 1:15 into the game as Matt Ryan registered an unassisted goal for his fifth tally of the season … Bellarmine evened the contest with a Bryan Brown score, on an assist from Ray Finnegan, at the six-minute mark of the first quarter … Notre Dame would find the back of the net twice in the final 18 seconds of the quarter to take a 3-1 lead after the first 15 minutes of play … Bill Liva scored off a pass from Ryan with 18 seconds remaining and then Polk would add his first score of the day right before time expired … Hubschmann made it 4-1 Irish just over a minute into the second period with an unassisted tally … both teams would be held scoreless over the next eight minutes before Polk netted another unassisted goal with 5:47 left to play in the half … the Knights cut the Fighting Irish lead to three (5-2) heading into halftime as Finnegan scored a man-up goal with just 1:28 remaining in the period, yet that is as close as Bellarmine would get for the remainder of the afternoon … Notre Dame would hold Bellarmine scoreless for the entire second half and add on three more goals to make it an 8-2 final … Karweck notched both third quarter goals for the Irish and Hubschmann collected his team-leading 10th goal of the season with 14:23 remaining in the game … Notre Dame out-shot Bellarmine 29-16 and the Irish also stopped 11 clear attempts for the Knights.
NOTRE DAME IN THE POLLS: Notre Dame debuted in the Lacrosse magazine preseason rankings at No. 10, while the Irish were No. 12 in the Inside Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook preseason poll … the Irish are No. 12 in the most recent Inside Lacrosse media poll, which was released on March 20 … the latest USILA coaches poll (March 20) has the Irish 11th.
PLAYING THE BEST: Notre Dame faced defending NCAA champion Johns Hopkins to conclude fall ball and then opened spring exhibition play versus national runner-up Duke and Bucknell in Durham, N.C. … the Fighting Irish have three teams that appear in the latest USILA coaches poll on their 2006 ledger … Notre Dame fell to current No. 3 Cornell, 9-6, on March 4 … Notre Dame will have a road game at No. 5 Hofstra on March 25 and a Great Western Lacrosse league match-up at No. 12 Denver on Apr. 14.
IRISH VS. TOP-10: Since 1990, Notre Dame has a 9-31 mark against teams ranked in the top-10 … the Irish dropped a 9-6 decision to No. 8 Cornell on March 4 in their only battle versus a top-10 team so far this season … the Irish will have a chance to improve that mark when they battle No. 5 Hofstra on Saturday … Notre Dame’s last win versus a top-10 squad occurred last season as the Irish knocked off No. 10 North Carolina, 9-7, in the First 4 invitational in Carson, Calif.
IRISH O: Notre Dame boasted the nation’s fourth highest-scoring offense last season (11.91 goals-per-game) and this year’s squad hopes to duplicate that success … All-American attackman Pat Walsh is back for his senior season after leading the Irish in scoring his first three campaigns … last year, Walsh posted 43 points on 21 goals and 22 assists … ND did lose leading goal-scorer Jim Morrison (25 G) to graduation, yet the return of senior attackman Brian Hubschmann from an injury that kept him out all of last season should help to pick up the scoring slack … Hubschmann notched 29 points (18 G, 11 A) as a sophomore in 2004 … other factors in the Irish offense will be seniors Matt Karweck (26 pts. in ’05) and Matt Ryan (21 pts. in ’05).
FINE LINE: Close losses past two seasons have kept Notre Dame out of NCAA tournament … five of Notre Dame’s last six losses over the course of the past two seasons have been by one goal, including three in overtime … the Irish hope a stronger and more seasoned defense will make the difference this season and return them to the field of 16 … Notre Dame’s last NCAA tournament berth back in 2001 culminated with the program’s first-ever appearance in the national semifinals … the Irish have yet to play a one-goal contest in 2006.
DRISCOLL AND PETERS NAMED `06 IRISH CAPTAINS: Seniors D.J. Driscoll and Drew Peters have been selected as co-captains for this year’s Fighting Irish squad … Driscoll was named the Great Western Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Year and was tabbed as a STX/USILA honorable mention All-American last season … he was also selected as a 2006 Inside Lacrosse preseason third team All-American … Peters, a three-time monogram winner, has played in all 39 games during his Notre Dame career … he will help to anchor the Fighting Irish midfield again this season.
IRISH EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Four Fighting Irish players received preseason All-America honors by Inside Lacrosse and Face-Off Yearbook with senior Pat Walsh (A) leading the way as he was tabbed as a second-team selection … fellow senior D.J. Driscoll (D) was selected to the third-team, while sophomores Taylor Clagett (M) and Joey Kemp (G) received honorable mention distinction … Walsh is a three-time All-America honoree … last year, he earned STX/USILA honorable mention All-America honors along with Driscoll … Driscoll was tabbed as the 2005 Great Western Lacrosse League Defensive Player of the Year, while Kemp was named the GWLL Rookie of the Year … Clagett led the Irish with a .612 face-off percentage last season.
WALSH NAMED TO TEWAARATON AWARD WATCH LIST: For the third year in a row, senior attackman Pat Walsh has been listed among the 53 players on the `Watch List’ for the Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the top player in college lacrosse at the end of the season … Walsh is the only Irish player ever named the to watch list for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is in its sixth year, though attackman Tom Glatzel was a finalist for the award in 2001 … Walsh has gone on to be listed as a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee the past two seasons.
IRISH ADD NINE FOR NEXT SEASON: Head coach Kevin Corrigan has announced the commitment of nine student-athletes who will join the program next season … the Irish will finalize their 2005-06 recruiting class during the late signing period in April … log onto und.com for more information.
NAME POSITION HIGH SCHOOL
Sean Callinan Defense Deerfield Academy (Mass.)Matt Ciambella Attack Orchard Park (N.Y.)Mike Creighton Defense Malvern Prep (Pa.)Adam Felicetti Midfield Central Bucks East (Pa.)Neal Hicks Attack Lovett School (Ga.)Grant Krebs Midfield St. Mary's (Md.)Chip Lanser Defense Dulaney (Md.)Kelly McKenna Midfield Penfield (N.Y.)Brett Vecchio Midfield Cold Spring Harbor (N.Y.)
ND ON THE TUBE: The Irish will appear on television five times during the 2006 regular season … Notre Dame’s contest at Hofstra on March 25 will be aired on Fox Sports New York and the Irish home match against Dartmouth on April 2 will be carried by College Sports Television (CSTV) … the Notre Dame-Brown contest at Moose Krause Stadium on March 29 along with a road contests at Butler on April 8 and Denver on April 14 will be carried by Comcast.
FOLLOW ALL ND HOME GAMES ONLINE: All Notre Dame home games will feature livestats available through und.com, the official web site of all 26 varsity athletic programs at the University … simply go to the men’s lacrosse page and click on `Schedule’ at the top of the page and find the game that is being played that day and click on `Gametracker’ to follow the game for free.