April 13, 2012
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 7 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team heads to Storrs, Conn., this weekend looking for its 10th, 10-win season in program history, as it meets up with Connecticut at 11 a.m. Saturday at the George J. Sherman Family-Sports Complex.
Notre Dame (9-2, 3-2 BIG EAST) is coming off an 18-5 victory over Villanova last Saturday. In that game nine different Irish players found the back of the net, including five from sophomore Lindsay Powell and four from sophomore Lauren Sullivan.
Connecticut (7-4, 0-3 BIG EAST) is looking for its first conference win of the season after losing at home to Syracuse (20-8) and on the road to Georgetown (21-11) and Rutgers (14-5). Pacing the Huskies is M.E. Lapham, and her 37 goals on the year, good for a tie for second in the league. She also has scooped up 20 ground balls and 24 draw controls and caused 10 turnovers. Also scoring in great numbers is Kiersten Tupper and Lauren Kahn, who each have 23 goals. Minding the cage is Brittney Testa, who has started 10 contests and made 82 saves while recording an 11.48 GAA.
The game will mark the first for new Irish player Brittany Mallory, who joined the team this past week after a standout career with the Irish women’s basketball squad.
Fans can follow the contest for free with live stats or pay a fee to watch Connecticut’s live video feed.
CHAMPIONSHIP ADDITION TO THE TEAM
– Notre Dame received a welcome addition to the team in the week leading up to the Connecticut game as Irish women’s basketball standout Brittany Mallory joined the women’s lacrosse team. Mallory, who started all 39 games for the Irish women’s basketball squad this past season and ranked eighth in the BIG EAST in steals per game (2.1), was a two-time U.S. Lacrosse honorable mention All-American in high school and will wear No. 32 for the Irish women’s lacrosse team.
– On the basketball court, Mallory was known as a talented leader who displayed a strong will to win along with an impressive three-point shot.
– Mallory grew up in the lacrosse hotbed of Baltimore, Md., and played the sport for her first three years of high school, where she racked up all sorts of accolades. The midfielder led McDonogh School to the IAAM A Conference championship game in 2006 and was a two-time IAAM A Conference All-Star and all-metro/all-county selection in addition to the pair of All-America scrolls. In 2006 she was named to the high school All-Tewaaraton Team, which recognizes some of the nation’s top talent.
THAT’S JUST OFFENSIVE:
– The Irish have found the back of the net in great numbers this season. Averaging 14.64 goals a game, Notre Dame is racing past offensive numbers from previous seasons. The only teams since 2004 that averaged more goals through 11 games were the `06 (15.55), `08 (15.09) and `09 (15.73) squads.
– The Irish have become especially adept at scoring a high number of goals on a limited number of shots as evidenced by a shooting percentage of .492, which, through 11 games this season, is 0.13 higher than any of the previous eight seasons.
FAST START:
-With Notre Dame’s 8-0 start to the season, head coach Christine Halfpenny became the first coach in BIG EAST history to lead their team to an 8-0 start in their first year with a program. The record not only includes head coaches from BIG EAST teams since the league was formed in 2001, but the entire program history for every team that currently resides in the conference.
-Notre Dame’s impressive 8-0 start also put the Irish in elite company among the all-time great BIG EAST teams. Only 2011 Loyola (13-0) and 2004 Notre Dame (10-0) have started out with better records to open the year since the league was formed. Loyola went on to win the BIG EAST Tournament title last year, while the 2004 Notre Dame squad lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Northwestern. The BIG EAST did not have a conference tournament in 2004.
HOW CAN I SERVE YOU?:
– Having already secured her place in school history after leading the team in assists as a sophomore and junior, senior co-captain Maggie Tamasitis has gone above and beyond so far this season in helping her teammates score goals. The Boyertown, Pa., has notched 38 helpers through 11 games this season. To put that in prospective, Tamasitis had 11 assists in `09, 19 in `10 and 22 in `11 through the same point in the season. With five regular season games to play, Tamasitis is just eight assists shy of tying her own single-season school record of 46 that she set last season. She is also in the top three in the nation in both assists (3rd, 38) and assists per game (3rd, 3.45).
PERFECT COMPANY
-After improving to 8-0 this season with a 13-12 overtime win over Rutgers, the Irish were one of only two undefeated teams remaining on the Division I level. Only the Northwestern Wildcats joined Notre Dame as an unbeaten heading into the month of April.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
-Through April 12, the Notre Dame offense is among some of the tops in the land, wreaking havoc on opposing goalies and defenders. Entering the week, the Irish rank ninth in the nation with a 14.64 goals-per-game average, while their +3.55 scoring margin is 16th best. The attack is spearheaded by senior Maggie Tamasitis, whose 3.45 assists per game rank as the third-best mark in the land. She also ranks seventh in the land in points per game, averaging 4.91.
IRISH PLAYERS RECOGNIZED BY CONFERENCE
-Now fully entrenched in BIG EAST season, the University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse players have been recognized several times by the BIG EAST Conference for their stellar play on the field. Two players – Maggie Tamasitis and Ellie Hilling – have been named BIG EAST Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, while Tamasitis (twice), Jaimie Morrison (once), Margaret Smith (three times) and Barbara Sullivan (once) have found themselves on the weekly honor roll.
-In addition to conference recognition, Tamasitis also was billed as the WomensLax.com National Player of the Week after her one-goal, six-assist performance in the season opener against Stanford.
GETTING DEFENSIVE
-Junior goalkeeper Ellie Hilling took home the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week award (March 5) after her career-high 16 save and career-high tying six ground ball performance in an upset of then-No. 10 Ohio State. The award was Hilling’s third such honor being handed down from the BIG EAST.
-This season the backstop has already seen her climb up the Irish record books get underway, now placing fourth all-time in saves (344), fourth in wins (29) and third in total minutes played (2,808:46).
-Hilling found herself between the pipes last year in over 96% of the possible game minutes she could have played. While in net, Hilling led the Irish to a 10-9 record, allowing 9.67 goals per game.
-Hilling burst on to the scene in her freshman campaign (2010) where she led the team to an 11-7 record while stopping 131 shots in over 1,110 minutes of action including registering the only shutout of her career and the first in BIG EAST conference history in a win over Villanova (4/9/2010).
SMITH ALL OVER THE FIELD
-Sophomore midfield Margaret Smith has wasted little time showing her versatility in the Irish lineup. The Westminster, Md., product has registered 10 goals on the current season, while leading the team in draw controls (36), tying for the lead in caused turnovers (19) and is second in ground balls (22).
-Smith has three times been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor roll this season for standout performances against Duquesne in the second game of the season (3 G, 3 GB, 5 DC, 2 CT) and most recently against Boston University (1 G, 1 A, 4 GB, 5 DC, 6 CT). Her third such honor came on the heels of a 1-1 BIG EAST weekend in which she scored three goals along with bringing down 10 draw controls and causing four turnovers.
WE’VE GOT THE POWER
-In the most recent edition of their 2012 `Power Rankings,’ InsideLacrosse.com gave the Irish a No. 11 ranking. InsideLacrosse.com justifies the ranking because of the stellar start the Irish have had on the season, the health of offensive threat Lindsay Powell and the performance of Maggie Tamasitis.
ASSAULT ON THE RECORD BOOK
-Leading the Irish attack is senior tri-captain, Maggie Tamasitis. With her stellar performance so far this season (16 goals, 38 assists, 54 points) combined with her play in her first three seasons on campus, Tamasitis is climbing the Irish record books in many statistical categories including goals (70), points (200, 5th) and games played (69, t-10th). Additionally, Tamasitis moved into first all-time in assists with her 107th career helper during the Boston University victory (14-11). She currently has 130 career assists.
-Tamasitis’ opening-game performance in 2012 against the Cardinal also placed her in the single-game annals, setting a new single-game record for assists in a half with five helpers in the first half against Stanford, while tying the single-game record for assists in a game with six.
IRISH AND YALE TAKE PART IN SPRING FLING
-Notre Dame and Yale met for the seventh career time this season when they took part in the “Spring Fling,” in Delray Beach, Fla. The event brings women’s lacrosse teams from throughout the country to Florida from March 3-18. Since its start in ’97, the tournament has hosted more than 160 NCAA teams, 25 prep school teams and a dozen high school squads. Originally set in Panama City Beach, Spring Fling moved to Palm Beach County in ’04 and the Notre Dame-Yale matchup will mark the first at Delray Beach’s Hilltopper Stadium.
TAMASITIS ON TEWAARATON RADAR
-Senior attacker Maggie Tamasitis continues to garner recognition heading into her final campaign with the Irish. The Boyertown, Pa., native was named to the 2012 Tewaaraton Award Watch List, as announced Feb. 15. Tamasitis joins a group of 53 fellow women’s lacrosse players, including 48 from Division I schools and eight from other BIG EAST institutions. This list, along with additional names added throughout the season, will be trimmed down to 25 who have been chosen as Tewaaraton Trophy Nominees before a final five is selected as finalists come seasons end. Six Irish players have been named nominees over the programs history, with Jillian Byers representing the only two-time recipient. Here is a listing of all the past Irish nominees:
Year Name
2009 Shaylyn Blaney
2009 Jillian Byers**
2008 Jillian Byers
2008 Caitlin McKinney
2006 Crysti Foote**
2004 Meredith Simon
** – named Tewaaraton Trophy Finalist
A (HALF)PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS
-The 2012 season marks a new era in Notre Dame women’s lacrosse, as Christine Halfpenny takes the reigns as just the second head coach in program history since the team earned varsity status back in 1997. The former standout for the Virginia Tech Hokies lacrosse team comes to the Irish after a five-year stint as head coach at William & Mary where she compiled 43 victories, including reaching double-digit wins in each of her final four seasons. Additionally, her teams garnered the Colonial Athletic Association regular-season league title in both ’08 and ’09, while she copped CAA Coach-of-the-Year honors in ’08.
-While team success has been noticed under Halfpenny’s watch, her players’ individual successes have also been abundant. During her stay with the Tribe, she saw two players tabbed IWLCA All-Americans, while helping 26 to all-conference citations and 10 to all-region honors. Her 2011 campaign also saw history made, as William & Mary captured player of the year, defensive player of the year and rookie of the year, marking the first time in CAA history that one school claimed all three top honors in the same season.
TRI-CAPTAINS TO LEAD IRISH
-The triumvirate of midfielders Jordy Shoemaker and Megan Sullivan and attacker Maggie Tamasitis have been selected as the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse captains for the 2012 campaign. Updated through the Villanova contest, the three captains have played in a combined 199 games, helped their team to 47 wins, scored 120 goals and added 147 assists in their careers.
NOTRE DAME’S GOLDEN GIRLS
-Joining the fold for the Irish this season are a pair of touted freshmen: goalkeeper Allie Murray (Exton, Pa.) and defender Barbara Sullivan (Garden City, N.Y.), who gained invaluable experience during the summer of 2011 as members of the U.S. U-19 squad at the Women’s Lacrosse World Championship. In addition to helping the U.S. win the crown for the fourth consecutive year, Sullivan anchored a stingy American defense that allowed a championship-best 5.38 goals per game and Murray appeared in six of eight contests, recording one win along with 20 saves.
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
-Since Arlotta Stadium opened its doors on March 7, 2010, the Irish women’s lacrosse team has found a growing comfort in their new confines. After starting with a pair of losses to open the new building, Notre Dame has proceeded to capture wins in 11 of its next 13 home jaunts. Here is a year-by-year breakdown of the Irish at Arlotta Stadium:
Year Record Percentage
2010 4-2 .667
2011 4-1 .800
2012 3-1 .750
Career 11-4 .733
SISTER ACT
-The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program has a long history of sisters playing for the blue and gold. This season is no different as Notre Dame senior midfielder Megan Sullivan (Winchester, Mass.) and her younger sister, Lauren Sullivan, a sophomore on this year’s roster, are the ninth set of siblings to play for the Irish `Laxers’. The Sullivan’s join eight other sister duos to play at Notre Dame – Maggie `10 and Lena Zentgraf `07, twin sisters Heather and Lindsey Ferguson `08; Julie `08 and Crysti Foote `06; Lauren `09 and Meghan deMello `06; Kelly and Kristen Gaudreau `04; Carol `06 and Angela Dixon `03 and Annemarie `09 and Mary McGrath `06. The sisters who started the tradition are Amy `98 and Mara Grace `98. They played in 1997 and 1998, the first two years of the program.
PERFECT 10’s
-Notre Dame’s 10-win season in 2011 gave the Irish six consecutive seasons with double-digit wins for the first time in the program’s 16-year history. Over the last seven seasons, the Irish are 84-40 (.677). If the Irish can defeat the Huskies on Saturday, they will pick up win number ten, which will also be the 10th year with 10-plus wins in school history.
BIG EAST ANNOUNCES PRESEASON RANKINGS, AWARDS
-Despite losing over 415 goals and 140 assists to graduation, the Irish were picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches’ Poll due in large part to their two preseason All-BIG EAST team selections, midfielder Kaitlyn Brosco and attacker Maggie Tamasitis.
RELAX AT HOME AND WATCH THE LAXERS
-The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team has two games broadcast nationally on the CBS College Sports Network this season. The first was the Syracuse game at Arlotta Stadium on April 5, while the second game takes place on April 21 as the Irish travel to the nation’s capital to take on Georgetown.
-Check your local listings to find out if your local provider offers the CBS College Sports Network.
-For all other video of the Irish women’s lacrosse team visit UND.com for all live home game streaming and game recaps.
–ND–