April 11, 2001
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NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The sixth-ranked Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team (8-1, 3-0) continues its homestand as the Irish play host to Army on Sat., Apr. 14 at 1:00 p.m. on Moose Krause Stadium. Coach Kevin Corrigan’s squad will be looking to extend its current win streak to four games as the Irish are off the their best start since 1993 when it began the season 7-0 (its best start in school history).
Notre Dame picked up a pair of Great Western Lacrosse League wins last week outscoring GWLL foes 29-8 with victories over Denver (16-6) and Air Force (13-2). The Irish three straight since suffering its only setback of the season – an 11-10 loss to Hofstra in overtime.
The Irish have beaten four ranked opponents (all on the road) thus far in 2001 – Penn State, Rutgers, Virginia and Loyola. Four of Notre Dame’s opponents this season currently are ranked in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Poll this week.
Corrigan’s squad is 3-0 at home and 5-1 on the road this season. With four games remaining in the regular season, the Irish will play three of those contests at home.
RECAP OF DENVER GAME – Notre Dame returned home for the first time in more than a month after five straight road games and used a balanced scoring attack in recording a 16-6 victory over Denver. Senior midfield Todd Ulrich (Baltimore, Md.) scored a season-high four goals while Tom Glatzel (Ellicott City, Md.) and Jon Harvey (Winchester, Mass.) added three goals each in the win. In addition to his three goals, Glatzel also dished off two assists. John Flandina (West Islip, N.Y.) also was a multiple-goal scorer as he added two goals.
The contest was never in doubt as the Irish raced to a 5-0 lead after the first quarter and 8-2 advantage at the intermission. Todd Ulrich scored Notre Dame’s first two goals of the game less than four minutes into the contest, while Glatzel, Steve Bishko (West Islip, N.Y.) and Harvey rounded out the first-quarter scoring. After the Pioneers cut the Irish lead to 6-2 with 8:48 remaining in the second quarter, Notre Dame scored three unanswered goals on scores by Flandina, Dave Ulrich (Baltimore, Md.) and Harvey.
Denver tallied the opening goal of the third quarter, but the Irish responded with eight straight goals as Todd Ulrich and Glatzel each contributed two goals.
Sophomore Kyle Frigon (Salem, Mass.) and freshman Matt Howell (Huntington, N.Y.) each tallied their first collegiate goals in the contest.
RECAP OF AIR FORCE GAME – Jon Harvey (Winchester, Mass.) and Todd Ulrich (Baltimore, Md.) scored three goals each as Notre Dame won for the eighth time in nine games as the Irish held an opponent to under five goals for the fourth time this season in recording a 13-2 victory. The win was the 13th straight for Notre Dame who scored the first nine goals of the game and held the Falcons scoreless until the 12:13 mark of the fourth quarter.
Devin Ryan (Kensington, Md.) got the Irish on the scoreboard with the first of his two goals 13:50 into the contest. Notre Dame led 4-0 after the first quarter with Steve Bishko, Todd Ulrich and Harvey each rounding out the first-quarter scoring.
Todd Ulrich scored twice in the second quarter with Ryan and Harvey also adding scores as the Irish led 8-0 at intermission.
Owen Asplundh (Bryn Athyn, Pa.) tallied two goals in the game, while freshmen John Mulflur (Eastern Md.) and Steve Clagett (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) each scored the first two goals of their careers. Mulflur also added his first career assist on Asplundh second goal of the game.
HEAD COACH KEVIN CORRIGAN – Kevin Corrigan is in his 13th season at Notre Dame and 15th in the collegiate ranks. The three-time Great Western Lacrosse League coach of the year earned his 100th career win during the ’99 season in Notre Dame’s 10-8 victory over Hobart on March 27 and notched his 100th win as the Irish head coach in 2000 with his team’s 10-5 victory at Army . He owns a 122-75 (.619) overall ledger and an 112-60 (.651) mark with the Irish. Corrigan has guided Notre Dame to nine NCAA tournament appearances in the last 11 years and 10 (either outright or shared) conference titles. Prior to 1998, he had led the Irish to six straight tournament berths from 1992-97. Under Corrigan, Notre Dame has been victorious in the first round of the NCAA tournament on two occasions. In 1995, Notre Dame won its first-ever NCAA tournament game with a 12-10 victory over Duke which propelled the Irish into the quarterfinals for the first time in school history. Last season, his squad upset fifth-seeded Loyola (Md.) in 15-13 in the first round for the school’s first-ever win over the Greyhounds. 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.
SERIES RECORD VS. ARMY – Notre Dame leads the series 2-0. This will be the third straight season the two teams have met. The Cadets travel to Moose Krause Stadium for the second time after falling 15-7 in the inaugural meeting between the two teams. Last year, the Irish earned a 10-5 victory at West Point.
SERIES RECORD VS. SERVICE ACADEMIES – Notre Dame faces one of the Service Academies for the second time in as many games. In the 21-history of the program, Irish teams have played two of the three academies. Notre Dame has a combined 13-1 record against Air Force and Army teams, but has never played the Naval Academy.
THE POLLS ARE IN – Notre Dame has played as a top 10 team in all but one game this season. The Irish are ranked sixth in the USILA/STX Poll this week and earned their highest ranking in school history the week of March 19 when they climbed to second for one week before losing to Hofstra on March 24. Previous to that poll, the highest ranking for a Notre Dame team had been sixth – in both March of 2001 and April of 1996.
CAPTAIN KIRK – Fifth-year player Kirk Howell is in his second year as an Irish captain. Last season, he served as a team captain along with Patrick Darcy, Steve Fiamingo and Kevin Higgins. He has the distinction of being one of just four Irish players to serve as team captain twice during their careers. Randy Colley, Notre Dame’s career goals, assists and points leader, was the first two-time captain in 1994 and 1995. Alex Cade and Jimmy Keenan served as captains in both 1997 and 1998.
GWLL WELCOMES FAIRFIELD – The newest member to the Great Western Lacrosse League in 2001 is Fairfield. The Stags were an independent a year ago. The Irish played Fairfield for the first time last season and won the game 20-12 on April 22, 2000. They are scheduled to meet the Stags in Fairfield, Conn. on Sun. April 22.
ULRICH A FINALIST FOR TEWAARATON TROPHY – Senior attack David Ulrich is among 15 finalists for the inaugural Tewaaraton Trophy to be presented by the University Club of Washington, D.C., in conjuction with the Tewaaraton Award Foundation. The award will be presented annually to the top male and female lacrosse players in the United State. The first-ever honorees will be awarded the trophy on June 7, 2001.
STINGY DEFENSE – Notre Dame’s defense has been nothing short of spectacular this season as the Irish are fourth nationally in scoring defense allowing just 6.44 goals per game. Only one opponent (Hofstra) has scored more than 10 goals against the Irish (in an 11-10 overtime decision to the Pride). The Irish have held three opponents – Rutgers, Ohio State and Air Force – to under five goals in their wins. Notre Dame’s nine opponents have scored just 58 goals this season. In the 22-year history of the program, the 58 goals are the fewest allowed by an Irish team in the first nine games of the season. Notre Dame is on pace to shatter the record for fewest goals in a season – 88 (7.33) set by the 1984 squad in its 12-game season.
ROAD TESTED – Notre Dame has a 5-1 road mark this season after playing six of its first seven games on the road. The Irish are in the midst of a four-game homestand and will conclude the season that will see Notre Dame play three of its remaining four regular-season contests at home on the friendly confines of Moose Krause Stadium. Notre Dame won its first four road games before losing to Hofstra in overtime. The last Notre Dame team to win four straight road games was the 1996 squad which finished with a perfect 5-0 mark playing on the home field of its opponent. That squad finished 6-1 overall that season in road contests, which including games played on neutral sites. The team did not lose until the first round of the NCAA tournament against Johns Hopkins when it dropped a 12-7 decision at the Naval Academy.
HOME SWEET HOME – Notre Dame has an impressive .763 winning percentage at home since 1981 in the program’s inaugural season as a varsity sport as the Irish teams have compiled an 87-27 record. Head coach Kevin Corrigan’s squad lost two games at home in 2000 in posting a 4-2 mark. During the past seven-plus seasons, the Irish have compiled a 34-7 (.829) mark and have had three undefeated season – 1994 (5-0), 1995 (5-0) and 1997 (6-0).
CLOSING IN ON THE ASSIST RECORD – For the fourth straight year, senior attack David Ulrich is leading the team in assists. The Baltimore, Md. native has 15 this season and needs just five more to become the school’s all-time career assist leader. Ulrich has 96 career assists for an average of 27.4 assists per season and currently stands second all-time in the assist column. Randy Colley (1991-95), Notre Dame’s career scoring leader, tops the Irish career assist chart with 100. Ulrich had 30-plus assists during both the 1999 and 2000 campaigns. Last year, he tied the Irish single-season mark when he dished off 32 assists during the season. Ulrich’s 156 career points places him third on the all-time career scoring list.
MOVING UP THE RANKS – The numbers registered by Tom Glatzel have been staggering as the Irish senior has scored 26 goals and dished off 11 assists through the first nine games of the season. He is averaging 2.88 goals per game and 4.11 points per game. Most impressive, are his numbers over the past two seasons. As a freshman, he scored just one goal and dished off an assist, but since that season, he has scored 90 goals and dished off 44 assists in 37 games. He has scored 92 goals and dished off 45 assists during his career. His 137 career points places him seventh on the career scoring list.
IN THE SCORING ACT – Three freshmen put their names in the scoring column in Notre Dame’s last two outings against Denver and Air Force. Matt Howell (Huntington, N.Y.) tallied his first collegiate goal in the fourth quarter in the win over Denver, while John Mulflur (Eastern, Md.) and Steve Clagget (Chesapeake Beach, Md.) each tallied goal against the Falcons. Mulflur also added an assist (the first of his career) in the game.
IRISH IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS – Two Irish players -Tom Glatzel (6th in goals per game and 11th in points per game) and Kirk Howell (5th in goals against average and 13th in save percentage) – are ranked among the national leaders. As a team, Notre Dame is 5th in winning percentage, 6th in scoring margin, 7th in scoring defense, 10th in man-down defense and 12th in man-up offense and 16th in scoring margin.