March 24, 2008
#11 Drexel at #7 Notre Dame
Tuesday, March 25 • 4:00 p.m. (ET)
Notre Dame, Ind.
Live Stats: und.com (Gametracker)
Complete Release in PDF Format 
The seventh-ranked Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team returns home after a three-game road trip to host No. 11 Drexel on Tuesday, March 25. Game time is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. (ET). The Irish are 5-1, while the Dragons are 7-1 and riding a seven-game win streak. Notre Dame will be putting its program-record 15-game home win streak on the line against Drexel.
ND-DREXEL SERIES NOTES: This will be just the second meeting ever between Notre Dame and Drexel … the Fighting Irish captured a 16-5 victory over the Dragons last season in Philadelphia, Pa. … Notre Dame was ranked 16th at the time of the contest, while Drexel was 19th … current junior Ryan Hoff tied a Notre Dame record with seven goals in the victory.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame carries a 5-1 record into Tuesday’s contest … the Fighting Irish are currently ranked seventh in both the USILA coaches poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media rankings … Notre Dame was set to open its Great Western Lacrosse League schedule at Air Force on Saturday (March 22), but the game was postponed due to weather-related travel issues for the Irish … a makeup date will be announced at a later time … in their last contest, the Irish defeated Dartmouth, 19-7, on March 15 at The Lovett School in Atlanta, Ga. … junior attackman Ryan Hoff leads Notre Dame with 16 goals … senior attackman Alex Wharton has team-high totals in points (19) and assists (12), both career-best marks … junior Duncan Swezey has a career-high 11 goals … Notre Dame has defeated two ranked teams this season (#17 Loyola, 7-6 & #13 Albany, 7-6) … the Irish have used 17 different goalscorers … Notre Dame is averaging 11.67 goals per game, while holding opponents to just 7.00 goals a game … senior goaltender Joey Kemp has played 342:32 of a possible 360 minutes between the pipes … Kemp, a two-time All-America honoree, carries a .642 save percentage … Notre Dame returned seven starters and 17 letterwinners from last year’s team that posted an 11-4 record and captured the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) title with a perfect 5-0 conference mark … that was the 10th GWLL crown for the Irish since the league was founded in 1994 … in 2007, Notre Dame made its second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and the 12th trip in program history … the Irish fell to eventual national champion Johns Hopkins, 11-10, in overtime during the tournament’s first round … Kevin Corrigan is in his 20th season as the head coach of Notre Dame … he has a record of 172-93 (.649) during his Fighting Irish tenure … Corrigan was named the 2007 GWLL coach of the year … that marked the fourth time he has received that honor.
ABOUT DREXEL: The Dragons are 7-1 this season and ranked 11th in both the Inside Lacrosse and USILA polls … after suffering an 11-7 loss to No. 3 Virginia in the season opener, Drexel has won its last seven games … the Dragons are coming off a 13-6 victory at Lafayette on Saturday (March 22) … the other victories in the win streak have come against Penn (9-8), Lehigh (13-7), Binghamton (3-2), St. John’s (6-3), St. Joseph’s (12-5) and Albany (7-6) … Drexel is 4-0 on the road this season … the Dragons are averaging 8.75 goals per game, while surrendering 6.00 per game … senior attackman Andrew Chapman has a team-high 18 goals … sophomore attackman Colin Ambler leads Drexel with 25 points on 12 goals and a team-best 13 assists … senior Bruce Bickford has started every game in goal and carries a 5.71 goals-against average and a .662 save percentage … Drexel returned eight starters and 31 letterwinners from last season’s squad that went 11-5 to finish with a final Inside Lacrosse ranking of 17th … Drexel is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association … head coach Chris Bates is in his ninth season with the Dragons.
COMMON OPPONENTS: Notre Dame and Drexel have played one common opponent this season … the Fighting Irish defeated Albany, 7-6, on March 1, while Drexel topped the Great Danes by an identical 7-6 score on March 15.
IRISH VS. THE CAA:Notre Dame is 16-11 all-time against the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), including a 13-11 mark in the Kevin Corrigan era … the Fighting Irish topped CAA member Villanova, 16-6, earlier this season … Notre Dame was 2-0 against the CAA last season with wins over Drexel (16-5) and Villanova (15-5) … Villanova and Drexel are the only CAA opponents on Notre Dame’s 2008 schedule.
THE LAST TIME: Notre Dame topped Drexel, 16-5, last season in Philadelphia, Pa. … Ryan Hoff tied a program record with seven goals for the Fighting Irish … Brian Hubschmann chipped in four goals for Notre Dame, while Will Yeatman and Michael Podgajny both netted two goals … Colin Ambler led Drexel with two scores … Joey Kemp made 12 saves for the Irish, while Bruce Bickford had 11 stops for the Dragons.
BACK HOME: The Drexel tilt will mark the first home game for Notre Dame since a 7-6 victory over Albany on March 1 … the Irish are coming off a three-game road trip … Notre Dame began the trek with a 16-6 victory at Villanova on March 4 … Notre Dame fell at No. 4 North Carolina, 8-6, on March 8 … the Irish then topped Dartmouth, 19-7, in Atlanta, Ga. on March 15 … a scheduled fourth contest away from home was supposed to take place, yet the Irish were not able to make the trip to Air Force for a showdown on Saturday (March 22) due to weather-related travel issues.
HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame has won a program-record 15 straight games at home … the Irish are 2-0 at home this season … the current streak stems back to a 14-13 overtime win against Air Force on April 10, 2005 … Notre Dame’s last loss at home was a 9-6 setback to Denver on April 7, 2005 … the Irish went a perfect 6-0 at home during the 2006 campaign and followed it up with a 6-0 mark at home during the 2007 season … four of the games during the streak have been played in the Loftus Sports Center, while the other 11 have taken place outside at Moose Krause Stadium … Notre Dame owns an overall home record of 117-35 (.770) during the 28 years of varsity lacrosse at the University.
STREAKING: Junior attackman Duncan Swezey has a team-best six-game goal streak … senior midfielder Michael Podgajny has scored at least one goal in the past 20 games in which he has played … the only game he missed during that stretch was this season’s opener against Loyola … Podgajny missed the contest due to an injury … Ryan Hoff has notched a goal in 14 of the last 15 games dating back to last season … the junior attackman was held without a goal in a 7-6 win over Albany on March 1 … that snapped his team-best 11-game goal streak.
OFFENSIVE OUTPUT: Notre Dame’s 19-goal performance against Dartmouth marked the most goals for the Irish since a 19-7 victory over Quinnipiac on May 6, 2006.
CAREER DAYS: Senior midfielder Michael Podgajny tied a career-high output with four goals to pace the Irish in that category during a 19-7 win over Dartmouth on March 15 … fellow senior Alex Wharton notched a career-best six-points, which included a career-high tying four assists … Duncan Swezey, a junior attackman, also chipped in a career-high four assists on the day.
WHARTON EARNS GWLL HONORS: Notre Dame senior attackman Alex Wharton was named the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) player of the week for the week of March 10-16 … Wharton registered a career-best six-point game on two goals and four assists in a 19-7 victory over Dartmouth on Saturday (March 15) … the four assists from Wharton matched a career-best mark, which he established earlier this season against Penn State … Wharton leads the Irish in points (19) and assists (12) with career-high totals in both categories … this marked the first conference player of the week accolade for Wharton … he became the third Fighting Irish player to be named the GWLL player of the week so far this season … senior goaltender Joey Kemp earned those honors on Feb. 18, while junior attackman Ryan Hoff copped them on Feb. 27.
FAST STARTS: Notre Dame has out scored its opponents 23-3 during the first quarter of play this season … the Fighting Irish have held opponents scoreless in the first quarter on four occasions this season (Loyola, Penn State, Albany, Dartmouth).
RETURNING HOME: Notre Dame sophomore Neal Hicks had a successful return to his alma mater, The Lovett School, in the 19-7 Irish victory over Dartmouth on March 15 in Atlanta, Ga. … the attackman collected three points on one goal and two assists on the afternoon.
HOFF STAYING HOT: Ryan Hoff’s six goals against Penn State (Feb. 24) were just one shy of the school record that he shares with Randy Colley (class of 1995) … Hoff, a junior attackman, netted seven goals in a 16-5 win over Drexel last season … Hoff also notched a five-goal game this season in a 16-6 triumph of Villanova (March 4) … he leads the Irish with 16 goals after pacing the team with 40 goals one season ago … Hoff currently ranks ninth nationally by averaging 2.67 goals per game.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: The Fighting Irish have had 17 different players notch at least one goal this season … in the season-opener, Notre Dame produced seven goals from seven different players in a 7-6 win over Loyola … the Irish used nine different goalscorers in a 15-9 triumph of Penn State on Feb. 24 … Notre Dame had 10 players score a goal in a 16-6 victory over Villanova on March 4 … the season-high total was 12 goalscorers in a 19-7 win against Dartmouth on March 15 … last season, the Irish had 18 players score a goal.
IRISH DEFENSE: The Irish are surrendering just 7.00 goals per game this season … the Irish have held opponents to six goals on three occasions … Notre Dame boasted the nation’s fourth-best scoring defense in 2007 by allowing a school-record 6.66 goals per game … several key components to the Irish defense are back this season, including goaltender Joey Kemp in goal and starting defensemen Sean Dougherty, Ross Zimmerman and Regis McDermott.
SAVING THE DAY: Senior goaltender Joey Kemp ranks third in Notre Dame history with 31 career victories … he is one win shy of tying the program record of 32 established by Kirk Howell (1998-2001) and Alex Cade (1995-98) … Kemp, a two-time All-America honoree, carries an overall record of 31-12 … he is currently first in school history with a 7.33 goals-against average … Kemp ranks in the top 10 nationally in both save percentage (.642, 7th) and goals-against average (6.66, 10th) this season … last season, he ranked fourth nationally in both goals-against average (6.78) and save percentage (.614) en route to being named the 2007 Great Western Lacrosse League player of the year.
GETTING OFFENSIVE: In 2007, Notre Dame averaged 11.65 goals per game, which ranked the Irish fourth in the nation … so far this season, the Fighting Irish are averaging 11.67 goals a game, which ranks ninth nationally … Notre Dame’s scoring margin of +4.67 is the fifth-best mark among all NCAA Division I squads.
MAN-UP: Notre Dame ranks ninth nationally in man-up offense … the Irish have converted on 13-of-29 (.448) man-up opportunities this season … last season, the Fighting Irish converted on 50-percent (29-of-58) of their man-up opportunities … that conversion percentage ranked Notre Dame second among all NCAA Division I teams.
FACING OFF: As a team, Notre Dame boasts the nation’s second-best faceoff percentage (.656) … senior midfielder Taylor Clagett ranks in a tie for fourth nationally in that category with a .630 win percentage … Clagett has been a valuable asset for the Irish during his Notre Dame career as he has won nearly 60-percent of his faceoff opportunities … injuries have hampered Clagett over the past two seasons, yet he has kept Notre Dame among the nation’s best in faceoffs … last season, Clagett ranked 16th nationally as he won 164 of 189 faceoff attempts … in 2006, he won 126 of 205 attempts for a .615 percentage, which would have ranked him sixth in the country had he appeared in enough games.
SUCCESSFUL START: The Fighting Irish started a season 4-0 for just the third time in program history before they fell at No. 4 North Carolina, 8-6, on March 8 … Notre Dame has five victories through its first six games of the season for the first time since the 2005 campaign.
NOTRE DAME IN THE POLLS: Notre Dame is currently seventh in both the USILA coaches poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media rankings … the Irish have been as high as fifth in the USILA poll this season … that happened on two occasions, in the March 3rd and March 17th polls … Notre Dame’s highest Inside Lacrosse ranking was sixth on March 17.
QUALITY COMPETITION: Notre Dame opened the campaign with a 7-6 victory against No. 17 Loyola … the Irish topped then No. 13 Albany, 7-6, on March 1 … Notre Dame fell at No. 4 North Carolina, 8-6, on March 8 … Notre Dame will host No. 11 Drexel on March 25 … a Great Western Lacrosse League showdown against No. 19 Ohio State will take place at home on April 27.
KEMP ON TEWAARATON WATCH LIST: Senior goaltender Joey Kemp was named to the 51-man watch list for the Tewaaraton Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top player … this marks the second straight season that Kemp has been named to the award’s watch list.
IRISH EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Seven Notre Dame players earned preseason All-America recognition from Inside Lacrosse Magazine and its Face-Off Yearbook … headlining the group for the Fighting Irish were second-team honorees Taylor Clagett (M/FO), Sean Dougherty (D), Joey Kemp (G) and Will Yeatman (A) … joining the quartet of second-team picks for the Irish were third-team member Michael Podgajny (M) and honorable mention selections Ryan Hoff (A) and Ross Zimmerman (D).
IRISH TABBED TO WIN GWLL: Notre Dame was selected to win its second straight Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) title according to the league’s head coaches … Ohio State, Denver, Air Force, Quinnipiac and Bellarmine followed Notre Dame in the voting, which appeared in Inside Lacrosse’s Face-Off Yearbook.
FOUR IRISH PLAYERS AMONG IL TOP 50: Four Irish athletes were named to the Inside Lacrosse top-50 players list for the 2008 season … senior goaltender Joey Kemp was the highest-ranked Fighting Irish player as he was 13th overall and the second-ranked goaltender on the list … sophomore attackman Will Yeatman was 15th, while senior defenseman Sean Dougherty and senior midfielder Michael Podgajny were 35th and 37th, respectively.
KEMP AND WHARTON NAMED `08 IRISH CAPTAINS: Seniors Joey Kemp (G) and Alex Wharton (A) are the Fighting Irish team captains for the 2008 season … Kemp was one of three captains for the Fighting Irish last season, while this will mark Wharton’s first year as a co-captain.
FOLLOW ALL ND HOME GAMES ONLINE: All five of Notre Dame’s true 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.
SIGN UP FOR IRISH ALERT TEXT MESSAGE SERVICE: Go to und.com and sign up for Irish ALERT, a text messaging service designed to give fans up-to-the-minute game updates for all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame.
KEEPING UP WITH FIGHTING IRISH MEN’S LACROSSE: For results of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse games, call the Notre Dame Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #5 and #1 … the hotline provides schedules and result information for all 26 varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the match recaps and weekly releases provided on the official athletic website, www.und.com … in addition, media members and fans may be added to the sports information e-mail release list by contacting assistant sports information director Sean Carroll at Carroll.64@nd.edu … all requests for story ideas, interview access, match credentials, and further information on Irish men’s lacrosse should similarly be directed to Carroll … credential and interview requests should be made at least 24 hours in advance.