March 18, 1999

NOTRE DAME, IND. — The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team (3-1, 2-0) moved up two spots from 19th to 17th in this week’s STX/United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) ranking following its 14-10 victory over Villanova on March 13. The Irish travel to Baltimore, Md. this Saturday, March 20 to face their second ranked opponent of the 1999 campaign as Coach Kevin Corrigan’s squad battles top-ranked Loyola at 12:00 p.m.

The Greyhounds, who have won the previous eight meetings against Notre Dame, are 2-0 on the season.

WEEK IN REVIEW – Villanova: Notre Dame extended its current win-streak to three games as the Irish won their first road contest of the 1999 campaign with a 14-10 victory at Villanova. Junior Chris Dusseau (Columbus, Ohio) and sophomore Tom Glatzel (Ellicott City, Md.) each scored three goals, while sophomore David Ulrich (Baltimore, Md.) had a goal and five assists in the victory. The Irish jumped out to a 4-0 lead before the Wildcats scored four unanswered goals of their own. Notre Dame, however, closed out the first half to lead 8-4 at the intermission. Villanova closed to within 9-7 with 14:31 remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Irish ended the contest outscoring the Wildcats 5-2. Todd Ulrich (Baltimore, Md.) added two goals in the win, while Sean Meehan (St. James, N.Y.) recorded the first two points of his career with a goal and an assist. Notre Dame outshot Villanova 39-24 in the game and goalie Kirk Howell (Nashville, Tenn.) made seven saves in net.

HEAD COACH KEVIN CORRIGAN – Kevin Corrigan is in his 11th season at the Notre Dame helm and his 13th in the collegiate ranks. The three-time Great Western Lacrosse League coach of the year starts the 1999 campaign needing just one more win for his 100th career victory. He owns a 99-65 (.604) overall ledger and an 89-50 (.640) mark with the Irish. Corrigan has guided Notre Dame to seven NCAA tournament appearances and conference titles. Prior to 1998, he had led the Irish to six straight tournament berths from 1992-97. Under Corrigan in 1995, Notre Dame won its first-ever NCAA tournament which propelled the Irish into the quarterfinals for the first time in school history.

SERIES RECORD VS. LOYOLA – This will be the ninth meeting between the two teams. Notre Dame will be looking for its first-ever win over the Greyhounds. Last season, Loyola beat Notre Dame 16-8 in a game played at Hempstead, N.Y. The Irish are 0-4 against Loyola in games played in Baltimore, Md. During the 1997 regular-season, Notre Dame lost a 12-11 decision, the closest goal differential in the eight-game series.

CORRIGAN GOES AFTER WIN 100 – Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan will be going after his 100th career win when Notre Dame faces Loyola on Saturday. Corrigan, only the second coach in the program’s history, has an 89-50 record with the Irish. Previous to his tenure at Notre Dame, he served as head coach at Randolph-Macon during the 1985 and 1986 campaign where his teams compiled a 10-15 mark.

DUSSEAU REACHES THE CENTURY MARK – Notre Dame senior attack Chris Dusseau reached the 100-point mark for his career against Villanova. The Irish co-captain has scored 89 goals and dished off 11 assists during his three-plus campaigns. He has started all 41 games throughout his career and has led Notre Dame in goals scored in each of his three previous seasons. He stands 13th on the all-time scoring list and is fifth all-time in goals scored. This season, Dusseau, has seven goals and two assists (nine points) on the season.

TOUGH STRETCH – Three of Notre Dame’s next five games are against teams ranked in the USILA top 20. Following its contest against top-ranked Loyola on Saturday, the Irish will face 18th-ranked Butler at home on Tuesday, March 20 at 3:00 p.m. and also hosts sixth-ranked Georgetown on Saturday, April 10 at 1:00 p.m.

GOALS A PLENTY – Notre Dame is averaging 13.75 goals per game and 15.7 in its last three outings. The Irish scored 17 goals in a win over Denver on March 5 and then followed it up two days later with 16 goals versus Air Force. Against Villanova, the Irish recorded 14 goals. The last time a Notre Dame team scored 14-plus goals in three consecutive games was during the 1994 campaign when they had 18 goals against Butler in an 18-10 win, 20 versus Air Force in a 20-8 victory and 19 against Ohio State in a 19-10 win.

BALTIMORE HOMECOMING – Saturday’s game at Loyola marks a homecoming for several players who are from the Baltimore area – senior David Biddison (Baltimore), sophomore Tom Glatzel (Ellicott City), senior Revere LaNoue (Baltimore), freshman Devin Ryan (Kensington), senior Ben Savage (Ellicott City), sophomores David and Todd Ulrich (Baltimore), senior Ned Webster (Baltimore) and freshman A.J. Wright (Timonium).

GOOD START – Junior Kirk Howell, who was the back-up to four-year starter Alex Cade ’98 the past two seasons, is the starting Irish goalie this season. He has played well in his first four games as he has a .537 save percentage and 8.30 goals against average. He has given up 31 goals and made 36 saves.

TOUGH DEFENSE – Notre Dame held Air Force scoreless for the second, third and fourth quarters in its 16-2 victory over the Falcons. The Irish defense has given up just 23 goals combined (seven in the second and third and nine in the fourth) in those quarters. Irish opponents are averaging 2.75 goals in the first quarter, 1.75 in both the second and third quarters, and 2.25 in the fourth period. Notre Dame is allowing just 8.00 overall in four contests.

SEEING DOUBLE – Sophomores David and Todd Ulrich are the first twin brothers to play on the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team. David plays attack, while Todd is in the midfield. Both have been in the starting lineup all four games this season and played their high school lacrosse at Boys’ Latin. They are one of four players who played at Boys’ Latin in Baltimore – the other two are Ned Webster and Tom Glatzel.

IRISH STRONG AT HOME – In three (1994, 1995 and 1997) of the last five years, Notre Dame finished the home portion of its season undefeated. The Irish posted 5-0 marks in both ’94 and ’95 and were 6-0 in ’97. The ’99 schedule features seven home games and five road contests. Notre Dame opens up the season by playing four of its first seven games at home. Since 1984, Notre Dame has a 76-24 (.760) record at home and is 36-7 (.837) over the last seven-plus seasons.

IRISH SCHEDULE REMAINS CONSISTENT – The 12-game 1999 schedule features all but two teams from the 1998 schedule. The two new schools which appear on this year’s schedule are Villanova and Army. The Irish face the Cadets on Saturday, April 17 at Moose Krause Stadium in a 1:00 p.m. face-off.

DUSSEAU PICKED FOR LACROSSE PRESEASON HONORS – Senior attack Chris Dusseau was selected to College Lacrosse USA’s Preseason All-America team. He was the only Irish player tabbed for preseason All-America honors.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE – Last season’s uncharacteristic 5-7 record marked the fewest wins in the 18-year history of the program and was only the second time ever that a Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team had finished below the .500-mark. The last time an Irish team was under .500 was in 1983 when it finished with a 6-7 record. Notre Dame went on to post a 9-3 record that following season (1984).

ULRICH HONORED BY GWLL – Sophomore David Urlich was honored as this week’s Great Western Lacrosse League Player of the Week after he scored a goal and tied his career-high with five assists in Notre Dame’s 14-10 victory at Villanova. Ulrich becomes the second Irish player named to earn the award as Tom Glatzel copped the honor last week. Ulrich leads the team with six goals and 15 assists (21 points). He also had five assists against Air Force on March 7.

UNITED STATES INTERCOLLEGIATELACROSSE ASSOCIATION POLL(Week of March 15)                         Pts.1.  Loyola (2-0)         1992.  Syracuse (3-0)       1873.  Duke (4-0)           1844.  Virginia (1-1)       1645.  Johns Hopkins (1-1)  1516.  Georgetown (3-0)     1427.  Maryland (2-1)       1418.  Princeton (0-2)      1359.  UMBC (3-0)           13210. Delaware (3-0)       10411. Navy (2-1)           10112. Penn State (2-0)     9113. Cornell (2-1)        63    Towson (1-0)         6315. Pennsylvania (2-1)   5616. North Carolina (4-2) 4617. NOTRE DAME (3-1)     2918. Butler (2-3)         2619. Massachusetts (2-1)  2420. Army (2-1)           20
FACE-OFF LACROSSE POLL(Week of March 15)                   Pts.1.  Loyola         2172.  Syracuse       2093.  Duke           2004.  Virginia       1765.  Johns Hopkins  1756.  Georgetown     1647.  Princeton      1498.  Maryland       1449.  UMBC           13710. Navy           11211. Delaware       10912. Penn State     8013. Towson         7514  Cornell        5715. Massachusetts  5116. Pennsylvania   4617. Army           4118. North Carolina 3919. Hofstra        3020. NOTRE DAME     21