April 19, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. –
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• The Game: #7/#9 Notre Dame (10-2/2-0) at Rutgers (6-6/1-3)
• Date/Time/Site: Sun., April 23, 2006 – 12:00 noon – Yurcak Field – Piscataway, N.J.
GETTING BACK ON TRACK: The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will play its fifth consecutive road game on Sunday, April 23 when the Irish travel to Piscataway, N.J., for a BIG EAST contest versus the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Game time is 12:00 noon at Yurcak Field. The Irish will look to get back on the winning track as they have now lost two in a row by one goal to nationally ranked teams – Duke and Georgetown. Both losses came by 11-10 margins with the loss to BIG EAST foe, Georgetown, coming in sudden-death overtime. Notre Dame comes into the game with a 10-3 overall record and a 2-1 mark in the BIG EAST. The Irish are ranked seventh in the IWLCA coaches poll and are ninth in the Inside Lacrosse poll. Rutgers is 6-6 on the season and 1-3 in BIG EAST play after falling to Syracuse on Saturday, April 15 by a 13-8 score. The Scarlet Knights have dropped four of their last five games after starting the season with a 5-2 record. The lone win came in BIG EAST play at Connecticut (14-12) on April 8.
NOTRE DAME VERSUS RUTGERS: The Irish and Scarlet Knights have met six times in the all-time series with Notre Dame holding a 4-2 edge in those games. At Rutgers, the Irish are 1-2. The last Notre Dame win in New Jersey came on April 28, 2002, a 9-2 Irish win with the two goals surrendered tying for the fewest ever given up in a game. The last time the two teams met in Piscataway was April 25, 2004 where Notre Dame lost a 7-6 decision. Last season, the two teams met at Notre Dame with the Irish downing Rutgers, 12-9, on April 3, one of just three Notre Dame wins on the season.
FOOTE FOR TEWAARATON TROPHY: Senior Crysti Foote (Suffern, N.Y.) is one of 21 women’s lacrosse players nominated for the 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy that is emblematic of the top men’s and women’s lacrosse players in the United States. She becomes the second Irish women’s lacrosse player nominated for the top award, joining Meredith Simon `04, who was in the running for the 2004 award. Foote currently leads Notre Dame in scoring with 51 goals and 24 assists for 75 points. Her goal and point totals have set Irish single season records. She is currently second in the nation in total goals and third in points. In the NCAA statistical rankings, she leads the nation with 3.92 goals-per-game and is second with 5.77 points-per-game.
SYRACUSE TIME CHANGE: The starting time for the Notre Dame-Syracuse game on April 29 has been changed to 12:00 noon from 1:00 p.m. at Moose Krause Stadium. The Notre Dame men follow with a game versus Ohio State at 3:00 p.m.
ONE GOAL SHORT VERSUS HOYAS: For the second weekend in a row, Notre Dame came up a goal short against a ranked team as the Irish dropped an 11-10 sudden-death overtime decision at No. 4 Georgetown on April 15. That followed a heartbreaking 11-10 loss at Duke on April 9. Crysti Foote scored twice and added three assists versus the Hoyas. Freshman Jillian Byers (Northport, N.Y.) added three goals and an assist while Caitlin McKinney (So., Lafayette Hill, Pa.) scored twice and chipped in two assists. Kaki Orr (Jr., Darien, Conn.), Jane Stoeckert (Fr., Mendham, N.J.) and Heather Ferguson (So., Newtown Square, Pa.) added single goals in the game. The game was tied 3-3 at halftime before the Hoyas scored four of the first five goals of the second half to go ahead 7-4. Notre Dame roared back with two goals by Byers and one by Stoeckert to tie the game at 7-7. After Georgetown went ahead 8-7, Foote, McKinney and Orr scored in a 3:43 span to give the Irish a 10-8 lead with seven minutes left. Coco Stanwick and Jordan Trautman tied the game for Georgetown to send it into overtime at 10-10. After six minutes of scoreless overtime, Stanwick scored her fourth of the game, 38 seconds into sudden-death, for the 11-10 win. The Hoyas out shot Notre Dame, 39-21, in the game, including 8-1 in overtime. Carol Dixon (Sr., Pennsauken, N.J.) made 12 saves in goal for the Irish.
HEAD COACH Tracy Coyne: Notre Dame head coach Tracy Coyne is in her 10th season as the head coach of the Irish and is the only coach in the program’s Division I history. Coyne owns an 82-63 (.566) record at Notre Dame and is 196-89 (.688) in her 19-year coaching career, putting her just four wins away from 200. After starting the season 7-0, the Irish are currently 10-3 on the year with a 2-1 mark in conference play. In 2005, her Irish team lost seven games by three goals or less, including four by one goal on the way to a 3-12 record and a 1-4 ledger in the BIG EAST. The year before, 2004, Coyne led the Irish to a 12-5 overall record and second place in the BIG EAST with a 4-2 record. She was selected the 2004 BIG EAST coach of the year. Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA tournament for the second time in the program’s history, dropping a 10-8 decision at Northwestern. The Pittsburgh, Pa., native led Denison (1988) and Roanoke (1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996) to the NCAA Division III tournament during stops at those schools. A 1983 graduate of Ohio University, Coyne has coached on the international level as the head coach for the Canadian women’s lacrosse national team since 1999. Last year, she led Team Canada to a fourth-place finish at the 2005 World Cup, her second fourth-place finish (2001) as Canada’s field boss. Coyne is 4-2 all-time versus Rutgers.
TERRIFIC TRIO: Notre Dame’s high-scoring trio of Crysti Foote, Jillian Byers and Caitlin McKinney came into the week ranked second, 18th and 42nd respectively in points-per-game nationally. Through the first 13 games of the season, the trio has combined for 118 goals and 59 assists for 177 points. Foote leads the way with 51 goals and 24 assists. Byers is second with 38 tallies and 16 assists for 54 points while McKinney has 29 goals and 19 assists for 48 points. Byers and McKinney each have two game-winning goals while Foote has one on the year.
TERRIFIC TRIO – Part II: The threesome of Foote, Byers and McKinney is already the most prolific scoring trio in Irish history in one season. The triumvirate has 118 goals and 59 assists for 177 points in 13 games. They pass the 1999 trio of Lael O’Shaughnessy (69), Kerry Callahan (67) and Courtney Calabrese (37) that had 173 points. Foote (1st), Byers (7th) and McKinney (11th) have three of the top 11 single-season scoring marks in Notre Dame history this season.
FRESHMAN PHENOM: Freshman attack standout Jillian Byers has already set Notre Dame freshmen records for assists (16) and points (54). She needs just one goal to break the rookie goal-scoring mark of 38 that she currently holds with Courtney Calabrese who had 38 in her first year with the team. Byers now has 38 goals and 16 assists for 54 points in her rookie season. Besides the rookie point mark and assist marks, Byers already set a Notre Dame freshman record for points in a game with nine points (5g, 4a) versus Lehigh. Her nine-point game also tied an Irish record for points in a home game, matching the nine points recorded by Kerry Callahan `99 (6g, 3a) on March 24, 1997 versus Stanford and Lael O’Shaughnessy `01 (6g, 3a) on March 28, 1999 vs. Connecticut.
Freshman Scoring Leaders: 1. Jillian Byers (2006) 38-16-54 2. Courtney Calabrese (1998) 38- 3-41 Lael O'Shaughnessy (1998) 27-14-41 4. Caitlin McKinney (2005) 28-12-40 5. Crysti Foote (2003) 27-11-38
THE ELUSIVE ONE: Sophomore Caitlin McKinney has passed her season-point output of last season (40 points) with 29 goals and 19 assists for 48 points in 13 games this season. So far this season, the speedy attack standout has recorded five games with five or more points. As a freshman, she finished the year by being named second team all-BIG EAST, the lone freshman on that team, and was a second-team all-Mid-Atlantic region choice. Following the season, McKinney was also named to the U.S. National Developmental Team.
GOAL-SCORING RAMPAGE: Through the first 13 games of the 2006 season, Notre Dame has scored 191 goals (14.69 goals per game). In five of 13 games this season, the Irish have scored 17 or more goals. A year ago, during the 2005 season, the Irish scored 145 goals in 15 games for a 9.67 goals-per-game average. As of April 18, the Irish were tied for seventh in total goals (191). In the NCAA statistics, Notre Dame ranked fourth in the nation in goals-per-game with 14.69 per game, trailing Northwestern, Denver and St. Bonaventure. The Notre Dame record for goals-per-game in a season is 13.56 (nine games) and was set in the program’s first season, 1997. The school record in a 15-game season is 13.33 and was set in 1999. The Notre Dame record for goals in a season was set in 2004 when the Irish scored 206.
FOOTE PRINTS: Senior Crysti Foote, Notre Dame’s all-BIG EAST, all-American and Tewaaraton Trophy nominee continues to shatter Irish records. Through the first 13 games this season, Foote has already recorded career highs in goals (51), assists (24) and points (75). As of April 18, she was third in the nation in points to Denver’s Kristie Leggio ((89) and Lafayette’s Madalyn Booth (79) with both having played more games. Foote’s 5.77 points-per-game rank her second in the nation to Mary Key of Johns Hopkins (6.40). Her 51 goals are second in the nation to Leggio’s 57 while her 3.92 goals-per-game rank her best in the nation. In the Irish record books, Foote ranks:
Career Goals: 1. Crysti Foote `06 138 2. Danielle Shearer `03 130 3. Lael O'Shaughnessy `01 122
Career Points: 1. Crysti Foote `06 198 2. Danielle Shearer `03 196 3. Lael O'Shaughnessy `01 190
Career Assists: 1. Lael O'Shaughnessy `01 68 2. Danielle Shearer `03 66 3. Kerry Callahan `99 63 4. Crysti Foote `06 60
Career Draw Controls: 1. Alissa Moser `02 126 2. Tina Fedarcyk `02 96 3. Crysti Foote `06 93 4. Meredith Simon `04 91 5. Kathryn Lam `02 90
Single Season Goals: 1. Crysti Foote (2006) 51 2. Lael O'Shaughnessy (1999) 50 3. Meredith Simon (2004) 46
Single-Season Assists: 1. Kerry Callahan (1999) 32 2. Lael O'Shaughnessy (2001) 28 Meredith Simon (2004) 28 4. Danielle Shearer (2003) 26 5. Crysti Foote (2006) 24
Single-Season Points: 1. Crysti Foote (2006) 75 2. Meredith Simon (2004) 74 3. Lael O'Shaughnessy (1999) 69
Single-Season Draw Controls: 1. Alissa Moser (2001) 40 2. Mara Grace (1998) 37 3. Crysti Foote (2006) 36
GOOD START FOR THE IRISH: The 10-3 record for the Irish ties for the best start in the program’s history. In 2004, Notre Dame won 10 straight, then lost three in a row to fall to 10-3. That year, the Irish lost their 14th game to fall to 10-4 after 14 games.
HELPING HANDS: With seven assists in the game against Georgetown, Notre Dame has set the single-season record for assists with 109 for an average of 8.38 per game. The previous record was 101 and was set during the 2003 season.
POINT MARK FOR THE IRISH: After 13 games this season, Notre Dame has already broken the school’s single-season point mark of 297 and set during the 2004 campaign. This year, the Irish have 191 goals and 109 assists for 300 points with three regular-season games left to play.
DIXON IN GOAL: Senior goalkeeper Carol Dixon has now started 45 straight games for the Irish since taking over the goalkeeping duties in the 2004 season. In that streak, Dixon has missed just 55:38 minutes of playing time. For her career, Dixon is now 25-20 with a 9.80 goals-against average and a .489 save percentage. On the year, she is 10-3 with an 9.97 goals against and a .512 save percentage.
ONE FOR THE RECORDS: Crysti Foote’s five-point (2g, 3a) game versus Georgetown helped her set several Notre Dame scoring records. Her two goals gave her 51 goals for the season, moving her past Lael O’Shaughnessy’s `01 previous school-record mark of 50 set during the 1999 season. The five points in the game gave her 75 for year, breaking the previous mark of 74 set by Meredith Simon `04 in the 2004 season. Finally, the five points moved the Irish All-American candidate into first on the all-time scoring list with 198 career points. That moved her past Danielle Shearer `03, who had 196 points in her career.
TAKING OVER: Senior goalkeeper Carol Dixon became Notre Dame’s all-time leader in minutes played (2,797:34) and saves (438) in the Georgetown game. She is currently among the top two in every category, accept one. Dixon in the Notre Dame record books:
Career Games Played: 1. Jen White `03 53 2. Carol Dixon `06 50
Career Wins: 1. Jen White `03 31 2. Carol Dixon `06 25
Career Minutes: 1. Carol Dixon `06 2,797:34 2. Jen White `03 2,789:15
Saves: 1. Carol Dixon `06 438 2. Jen White `03 432
Save Percentage: 1. Tara Durkin `01 .531 2. Jen White `03 .514 3. Carrie Marshall `01 .512 4. Beth Murray `98 .494 5. Carol Dixon `06 .489
Goals-Against Average: 1. Jen White `03 8.79 2. Carol Dixon `06 9.80
CLOSE ONES: The Irish have now lost two straight games by one goal this season, droppin 11-10 decisions to Duke (April 9) and Georgetown (April 15). That gives Notre Dame a 2-2 mark in “close” ones this season as they defeated Stanford, 12-11 in overtime, and then downed James Madison in a 12-11 verdict. In 2005, Notre Dame lost seven games by a total of three goals or fewer. Four of those games were one-goal losses and two came in overtime. In seven of the 12 losses, the Irish lost by a combined 13 goals (1.86 goals per game) and in the 12 losses for the season, they were out scored by a total of 42 goals (3.50 per loss).
GETTING BETTER EVERY DAY: Sophomore attack Heather Ferguson has quietly become one of Notre Dame’s top offensive players in her second season with the Irish. Early in the season, Ferguson got the job done coming off the bench to provide an offensive spark. Lately, it’s been as a starter on attack. In 13 games, she has career highs in goals (13), assists (9) and points (22) to rank fourth in team scoring.
VERSUS NO. 1: When Notre Dame faced No. 1 Northwestern on March 19, it marked just the second time in the program’s history that the Irish faced the No. 1 team in the country. On May 12, 2002, the Irish faced No. 1 ranked Princeton in the NCAA Quarterfinals at Princeton where they dropped an 11-5 decision to the eventual national champions. Notre Dame is now 0-2 all-time versus No. 1 ranked teams.
OVERTIME NUMBERS: The Irish have played two overtime games this season with both going to sudden death. On April 15, Notre Dame dropped an 11-10 decision at Georgetown. On Feb. 26, the Irish defeated Stanford, 12-11, in the sudden-death period. In this the 10th season of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program, the Irish have now played 11 overtime games in the program’s history. The loss to Georgetown drops the Irish to 4-7 all-time in extra play.