March 9, 2006
NOTRE DAME MEN’S LACROSSE NOTES PACKET
–/#20 North Carolina vs. #12/13 Notre Dame
Saturday, March 11, 2006 • 1:00 p.m. (EST)
Moose Krause Stadium • Notre Dame, Ind.
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The No. 12 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team returns home for a showdown with North Carolina on Saturday (March 11) at 1:00 p.m. (EST). The Fighting Irish, who are 1-1 on the season, are coming off a 9-6 setback to Cornell on March 4. The Tar Heels carry a 2-3 mark into the contest after falling to Penn, 13-4, on Tuesday. This will mark Notre Dame’s first game at Moose Krause Stadium this season. The Irish played the home-opener in the Loftus Sports Center, which will be used the rest of the season as a backup facility if inclement weather prevents any game from being played outdoors.
ND-UNC SERIES NOTES: Saturday will be the sixth meeting all-time between the Fighting Irish and the Tar Heels on the lacrosse field, with North Carolina holding a 3-2 advantage in the series … Notre Dame claimed a 9-7 victory in last year’s contest, which was part of the First 4 invitational in Carson, Calif. … North Carolina is 2-0 all-time at Notre Dame … the last meeting between the two schools at Notre Dame was a 14-11 decision in the Loftus Sports Center back in 2004.
SNAPSHOT OF THE IRISH: Notre Dame is off to a 1-1 start this season following an 8-4 win over Penn State in the season-opener (Feb. 26) and a 9-6 setback to Cornell on March 4 … senior attackman Brian Hubschmann leads the team in points with six coming on two goals and four assists … sophomore goaltender Joey Kemp has logged all 120 minutes in goal … he has allowed 13 goals, while making 27 saves and boasts .675 save-percentage and a 6.50 goals-against average … sophomore Michael Podgajny has registered four points on one goal and three assists … senior All-American Pat Walsh leads the team with three goals … sophomore Taylor Clagett has won 23 of 33 (.697) faceoff attempts so far this season.
ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA: North Carolina carries a 2-3 mark into the meeting with the Irish … the Tar Heels posted two straight wins over Ohio State (14-5) and Air Force (8-6) to open the season, yet have suffered three straight defeats since then … all of the losses were against ranked teams as the Heels fell to No. 20 Denver (11-8) No. 6 Navy (11-3) and No. 20 Penn (13-4) … North Carolina is 0-2 at home this season, 0-1 on the road and 2-0 at neutral sites … freshman attackman Michael Burns leads the team with 12 points on eight goals and four assists … senior attackman Ryan Blair is right behind him with 10 points (6G, 4A) … freshman Bart Wagner (A) has a team-high five assists … senior defenseman Stephen McElduff was a third team All-American last season … junior goaltender Trey Sheain has seen the majority of the minutes in net … he has allowed 28 goals, while making 31 stops for a goals-against average of 8.11 and a .525 save-percentage … Carolina began the season ranked 14th in the Inside Lacrosse/Face-Off Yearbook preseason poll and 18th in the Lacrosse magazine rankings … the Tar Heels finished 5-8 one year ago.
IRISH VS. THE ACC: Notre Dame is 4-14 all-time against the Atlantic Coast Conference, including a 4-11 mark in the Kevin Corrigan era … the Irish last squared off against an ACC squad when they defeated North Carolina, 9-7, last season.
KARWECK STREAKING: Senior midfielder Matt Karweck has notched at least one point in each of his last 10 games dating back to last season … during that stretch, he has collected a total of 24 points on 12 goals and 12 assists … this is the longest point streak of his Notre Dame career … his previous long was eight games in 2004.
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 six points … he notched two assists versus Penn State and two goals and two assists against Cornell … the game against the Big Red was his fifth game with four or more points during his Notre Dame career … 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.
GOING FOR TWO: Senior attackmen Brian Hubschmann and Pat Walsh both had two-goal performances versus Cornell … Walsh has registered 19 multiple goal games in his Fighting Irish career, while Hubschmann has seven.
FRESH FACES: Freshmen Peter Christman and Ryan Hoff scored two goals apiece in the season-opening victory over Penn State … that 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 23 of 33 faceoffs so far this season for a .697 percentage … last year he ranked sixth in the country with a .612 percentage (131-214).
FAN SUPPORT: The Notre Dame-Cornell game in Lisle, Ill. drew 3,523 fans … the Irish have now played in front of crowds of at least 1,000 people in eight of their last 11 contests … 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.
TALENT ON DISPLAY: There will be a total of six Inside Lacrosse preseason All-America honorees playing in Saturday’s match … making the first team was North Carolina defenseman Stephen McElduff, while Notre Dame senior attackman Pat Walsh garnered second-team honors … Walsh’s classmate D.J. Driscoll, a defenseman, was a third-team selection … receiving honorable mention honors were sophomores Taylor Clagett (M) and Joey Kemp (G) from Notre Dame and Ryan Blair (A) from North Carolina … Walsh, McElduff and Blair were also named to the `Watch List’ for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is given annually to the nation’s top collegiate lacrosse player.
LAST YEAR’S MEETING: The 14th-ranked Fighting Irish topped the 10th-ranked Tar Heels 9-7 in last year’s tilt, which was part of the First 4 invitational in Carson, Calif. … Notre Dame attackman Pat Walsh had a five-point game as he totaled one goal and four assists … Michael Podgajny and Jim Morrison both registered hat tricks for the Irish and Brian Giordano notched two goals of his own … North Carolina’s Mike McCall, a senior at the time, had a game-high five goals in the contest … Notre Dame opened with a three-goal first quarter and would go on to lead 5-3 at the break … both teams traded one goal in the third period and three more in the fourth as the Irish came away with the victory … current sophomore Joey Kemp made his first collegiate start for the Irish in the game and would go on to be named the game’s MVP by College Sports Television … he stopped 13 shots and picked up a season-high five groundballs and became the first Notre Dame goalie to beat a ranked team in his first college start.
CORNELL RECAP: Notre Dame had two-goal efforts by senior attackmen Brian Hubschmann and Pat Walsh yet that was not enough as No. 8 Cornell topped the 12th-ranked Irish 9-6 at the Sports Complex at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. on Saturday, March 4 … the contest, which was the first-ever NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse game in the Chicago area, was played in front of 3,523 fans … Cornell used a controversial goal by attackman Eric Pittard at the end of the first half to give the Big Red a 4-2 advantage after the opening 30 minutes of play … Pittard connected on a shot with what appeared to be no time left on the clock … Notre Dame cut the Cornell lead to one less than a minute into the second half as senior midfielder Matt Karweck tallied an unassisted goal … Cornell All-American Joe Boulukos would then take over as he notched a game-high three goals, which all came in the second half … his first tally would come at the 12:09 mark of the third period to make it 5-3 … Casey Lewis would then add to the lead with a score on a pass from David Mitchell … the Irish did not go away as Hubschmann collected his second score of the day with the assist going to Matt Ryan to make it a 6-4 contest with six minutes remaining in the third … the Big Red would then run off three straight goals for the second time on the day … Boulukos collected the first two scores in that stretch, while Pittard netted his second of the day to make it a 9-4 game with 1:44 left in the contest … Walsh and Ryan would connect on tallies just 18 seconds apart to trim the lead to 9-6 with just over one minute remaining … however, the Irish would not get any closer and fall to the Big Red by the final margin of 9-6 … Cornell opened the game with three unanswered goals in the first period of play to make the Irish play catch-up all day long … Mitchell notched two of the scores to bring his season total to 10 … Big Red freshman Max Seibald netted the third goal of the stanza to give his team a 3-0 lead after the first 15 minutes of play … Notre Dame countered as Hubschmann tallied his first of the day with 11:18 left in the second quarter on an assist from sophomore Michael Podgajny … the Irish would slice the deficit to one after Walsh took a Bill Liva pass and sent it into the back of the net at the 1:29 mark of the half.
IRISH D: The Notre Dame defense held Penn State to just four goals in the season-opener on Feb. 26 … the four tallies were the fewest allowed by an Irish defense since a 12-2 victory over Air Force during the 2004 season and the fewest in a season-opener since 2000, a 10-4 win over Penn State.
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.
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. 13 in the most recent Inside Lacrosse media poll, which was released on March 6 … the first USILA coaches poll of the season came out on March 6 and the Irish are 12th in those rankings.
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 four teams that appear in the latest USILA coaches poll on their 2006 ledger … Notre Dame fell to No. 6 Cornell, 9-6, on March 4 … the Irish will host No. 14 Dartmouth on Apr. 2 … Notre Dame will have a road game at No. 15 Hofstra on March 25 and a Great Western Lacrosse league match-up at No. 13 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 … 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.
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 OFFENSE: 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).
MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Senior attackman Pat Walsh is currently fourth all-time in school history with 80 assists … he is eight assists shy from the third spot, 20 away from second and is 30 assists away from tying David Ulrich’s (1998-2001) program record of 110 … Walsh is also seventh in program history with 145 points coming on 65 goals and 80 assists … he is 35 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).
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.
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 four times during the 2006 regular season … Notre Dame’s contest at Hofstra on March 25 will be aired by College Sports Television (CSTV) as will the Irish home match against Dartmouth on April 2 … the Notre Dame-Brown contest at Moose Krause Stadium on March 29 along with a road contest at Butler on April 8 will both be carried by Comcast Local.
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.