April 13, 2006
Notre Dame, Ind. –
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• The Game: #8/#10 Notre Dame (10-2/2-0) at #4/#6 Georgetown (8-2/2-0)
• Date/Time/Site: Sat., April 15, 2006 – 12:00 noon – Multi-Sport Field – Washington, D.C.
BIG EAST SHOWDOWN: Notre Dame returns to BIG EAST action this week, playing just one conference game at Georgetown on Saturday, April 15 at 12:00 noon at the Hoyas’ Multi-Turf Field. The two teams come into the game ranked in the top 10 and tied for first in conference play with 2-0 records. For the Irish, the Georgetown game is the fourth of five consecutive games away from home. Notre Dame has won two of their first three road games and will look to bounce back from last Sunday’s tough, 11-10 loss at then No. 4 Duke. The Irish are 10-2 overall and 2-0 in conference action. The Irish are ranked No. 8 in the IWLCA coaches poll and No. 10 by Inside Lacrosse. Georgetown will also be looking to bounce back from a tough loss last weekend as the Hoyas fell, 9-8, at Boston University on Sunday, surrendering the winning goal with two seconds left on the clock. Georgetown comes into its game with Notre Dame with an 8-2 overall record and a 2-0 BIG EAST mark. Both Hoya losses have come on the road at Duke and at Boston University. Georgetown is ranked No. 4 in the IWLCA coaches poll and No. 6 in the Inside Lacrosse poll.
NOTRE DAME VERSUS GEORGETOWN: Georgetown has had Notre Dame’s number in the all-time series, winning all six meetings since the two teams started playing in 2000. At Georgetown, the Irish are 0-3 with the last game there on April 17, 2004, a 9-7 loss to the Hoyas. Last season, the Irish dropped a 14-6 decision to Georgetown at Moose Krause Stadium on April 16. The closest Notre Dame has come to defeating the Hoyas came in 2003 when the Irish lost, 16-15 in overtime, in South Bend. In that game, Notre Dame led, 13-10 with 2:41 left only to see Georgetown score three times in a 50-second span to tie the game at 13-13. The Hoyas then scored the first three goals in overtime and survived a late Notre Dame comeback for the win.
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 82-62 (.569) record at Notre Dame and is 196-88 (.690) in her 19-year coaching career. Her 2006 Irish squad started the season with a 7-0 record and is currently, 10-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play, quite a turnaround from last year’s 3-12 overall mark and 1-4 record in the BIG EAST. The Irish lost seven games by three goals or less, including four, one-goal decisions. 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 0-6 all-time versus Georgetown.
DUKE RECAP: Notre Dame came up one goal short on Sunday, April 9, dropping a heartbreaking 11-10 decision to No. 4 Duke at Durham, N.C. Senior Crysti Foote (Suffern, N.Y.) continued her record-setting season, leading both teams with four goals and an assist in the game. The Irish led 6-4 at halftime and 8-6 early in the second half before the Blue Devils ran off five straight goals over a 12-minute span to take and 11-8 lead. Late goals by Foote and Jillian Byers (Fr., Northport, N.Y.) cut the lead to 11-10 with 4:58 left but neither team would score again. Byers had two goals for the Irish as did Caitlin McKinney (So., Lafayette Hill, Pa.) and Heather Ferguson (So., Newtown Square, Pa.). Duke out shot Notre Dame by a 44-25 margin in the game and Irish goalkeeper Carol Dixon (Sr., Pennsauken, N.J.) made a career-best and Notre Dame single-season record 22 saves to give the Irish a chance for the win. Leigh Jester led the Blue Devils with three goals while Kristen Waagbo and Rachel Sanford had two goals each in the win. the win was the second of the week for Duke over a ranked opponent as the Blue Devils handed No. 1 Northwestern its first loss in 32 games on Friday.
BIG EAST HONORS: Senior goalkeeper Carol Dixon was named the BIG EAST’s defensive player of the week for the week ending April 9. Dixon made 31 saves in two games while giving up just 17 goals in a 13-6 win at Ohio State (April 5) and an 11-10 loss at Duke (April 9). Dixon recorded nine saves in the win at Ohio State. Against Duke, Dixon recorded 22 saves, setting a Notre Dame record for saves in a game and a personal best. The previous Irish record was 20 and held by Tara Durkin `01 (2000 and Carrie Marshall `01 (1999). Dixon’s previous best was this season – a 16-save game on Feb. 26 in a 12-11 overtime win versus Stanford. Senior Crysti Foote was also named to the BIG EAST honor roll for her play in the two games last week. Foote had eight goals and one assist versus Ohio State and Duke and became Notre Dame’s all-time goal-scoring leader versus Ohio State. She now has 136 goals in her career.
OHIO STATE RECAP: Senior Crysti Foote (Suffern, N.Y.) scored four goals and sophomores Mary Carpenter (Rochester, N.Y.) and Heather Ferguson (Newtown Square, Pa.) scored two each to lead Notre Dame to a 13-6 road win over Ohio State on Wednesday, April 5 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The Irish, who jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and led 9-2 at halftime, also got goals from Caitlin McKinney (So., Lafayette Hill, Pa.), Alicia Billings (Fr., Potomac, Md.), Jane Stockert (Fr., Mendham, N.J.), Brittany Fox (Sr., Annapolis, Md.) and Meghan Murphy (Jr., Centennial, Colo.). Freshman Jillian Byers (Northport, N.Y.) was held off the scoreboard for the first time all season but did assist on three Notre Dame goals. Kelwyn Laws paced the Buckeyes with two goals and an assist. Four others – KC Carter, Natale Miller Kelly Kremer and Jessica Patane each had single goals for Ohio State. Carol Dixon (Sr., Pennsauken, N.J.) made nine saves in the game as the Irish out shot the Buckeyes, 29-21 in the contest to improve to 10-1 on the season.
GOAL-SCORING RECORDS: Crysti Foote four-goal effort versus Ohio State moved her into first on Notre Dame’s all-time goal-scoring list, passing Danielle Shearer `03 who had 130 goals in her career. Foote goes into the game with Georgetown with 136 goals in her career. Tthis season, the Irish All-American candidate has 49 goals and 21 assists for 70 points. She needs just two goals to become the single-season record holder as she trails Lael O’Shaughnessy `01 who scored 50 in the 1999 season.
GOOD START FOR THE IRISH: The 10-2 record for the Irish ties for the best start in the program’s history. In 2004, Notre Dame won the next two to fall to 10-2 on the year. The Irish lost their 13th game that season to fall to 10-3 after 13 games.
GOAL-SCORING RAMPAGE: Through the first 12 games of the 2006 season, Notre Dame has scored 181 goals (15.08 goals per game). In five of 12 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 11, the Irish were third in the nation in total goals scored (181), trailing Denver (196 in 13 games) and Maryland (189 in 14 games). In the NCAA statistics, Notre Dame ranked second in the nation in goals-per-game with 15.08 per game, trailing only Northwestern (16.18 per game). 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.
HELPING HANDS: While the Irish are on a record goal-scoring pace this season, it hasn’t been without a little help. Through 12 games this season, Notre Dame has recorded 102 assists or an average of 8.5 per game. That breaks the school record for assists (101) that was set in the 2003 season.
VERSUS THE BEST: Eight teams currently ranked in the top 20 in this week’s IWLCA poll are on the Notre Dame schedule this season. The list includes No. 1 Duke, No. 2 Northwestern and No. 4 Georgetown. Those three are followed by Cornell (No. 12), Syracuse (No. 14), James Madison (No. 17), Vanderbilt (No. 19), and Stanford (No. 20). This season, the Irish are 3-2 against those teams with the losses coming against Northwestern and Duke. Only Cornell, Loyola (MD), Northwestern and Duke were ranked in the IWLCA poll when the Irish faced them this season. All-time, Notre Dame is 17-40 versus teams ranked in the IWCLA polls.
DIXON IN GOAL: Senior goalkeeper Carol Dixon has now started 44 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 25-19 with a 9.79 goals-against average and a .489 save percentage. On the year, she is 10-2 with an 9.98 goals against and a .511 save percentage.
TEWAARATON WATCH LIST: Senior midfield/attack standout Crysti Foote has been named to the Tewaaraton Trophy watch list for the 2006 season. In 11 games this year, Foote has career highs in goals (45), assists (20) and points (65). She becomes the third Irish player named to the watch list, joining Danielle Shearer `03 and Meredith Simon `04. Simon went on to be Notre Dame’s first-ever nominee for the honor. The Tewaaraton Trophy is awarded each season to the top male and female collegiate lacrosse players.
FOOTE PRINTS: Senior Crysti Foote, Notre Dame’s all-BIG EAST, all-American and Tewaaraton Trophy candidate is on her way to a record-shattering season for the Irish. Through the first 12 games this season, Foote has already recorded career highs in goals (49), assists (21) and points (70). As of April 11, she was second in the nation in goals and points to Kristie Leggio of Denver (50g, 29a, 78 pts). Her 5.83 points-per-game was third in the nation to Leggio (6.77) and Mary Key of Johns Hopkins (6.44) and her 4.08 goals-per-game leads the nation in that category. In the Irish record books, Foote ranks:
Career Goals: 1. Crysti Foote `06 136 2. Danielle Shearer `03 130 3. Lael O'Shaughnessy `01 122
Career Points: 1. Danielle Shearer `03 196 2. Crysti Foote `06 193 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 57
Career Draw Controls: 1. Alissa Moser `02 126 2. Tina Fedarcyk `02 96 3. Crysti Foote `06 92 4. Meredith Simon `04 91 5. Kathryn Lam `02 90
Single Season Goals: 1. Lael O'Shaughnessy (1999) 50 2. Crysti Foote (2006) 49 3. Meredith Simon (2004) 46
Season Points: 1. Meredith Simon (2004) 74 2. Crysti Foote (2006) 70 3. Lael O'Shaughnessy (1999) 69
TERRIFIC TRIO: Notre Dame’s high-scoring trio of Crysti Foote, Jillian Byers and Caitlin McKinney came into the week ranked third, 18th and 45th respectively in points-per-game nationally. Through the first 12 games of the season, the trio has combined for 111 goals and 53 assists for 164 points. Foote leads the way with 49 goals and 21 assists. Byers is second with 35 tallies and 15 assists for 50 points while McKinney has 27 goals and 17 assists for 44 points. Byers and McKinney each have two game-winning goals while Foote has one on the year.
FRESHMAN PHENOM: Freshman attack standout Jillian Byers became Notre Dame’s top freshman scorer with three goals and an assist for four points in the win over Connecticut on March 31. Byers now has 35 goals and 15 assists for 50 points in her rookie season. That gives her the freshman record for points (50) and assists (15) by a rookie at Notre Dame. She needs just four more goals to set the rookie goal mark that is owned by Courtney Calabrese `98 when she had 38 goals and three assists in her first year with the Irish. 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) 35-15-50 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
SUPPORTING CAST: While Notre Dame’s “Big Three” has carried the bulk of the offensive load for the Irish this season, several others have started to step up and add to the Irish offensive attack. Sophomore Heather Ferguson has career highs in goals (12), assists (9) and points (21) and has 14 points over the last six games. Junior Meghan Murphy ranks fifth in scoring with 13 goals and seven assists for 20 points and has at least one point in 10 of 12 games this season. Junior Kaki Orr (Darien, Conn.) is sixth in scoring with 13 goals and five assists and has eight points in her last four games. Sophomore Mary Carpenter (Rochester, N.Y.) checks in with 10 goals and seven assists for 17 points and freshman Jane Stoeckert (Mendham, N.J.) has eight goals with nine assists for 17 points.
NUMBER TWO, TRYING HARDER: Senior goalkeeper Carol Dixon is making her move on the top spot in all of Notre Dame’s goalkeeping career records. 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 49
Career Wins: 1. Jen White `03 31 2. Carol Dixon `06 25
Career Minutes: 1. Jen White `03 2,789:15 2. Carol Dixon `06 2,730:46
Saves: 1. Jen White `03 432 2. Carol Dixon `06 426
Save Percentage: 1. Tara Durkin `01 .531 2. Jen White `03 .514 3. Carrie Marshall `01 .511 4. Beth Murray `98 .494 5. Carol Dixon `06 .489
Goals-Against Average: 1. Jen White `03 8.79 2. Carol Dixon `06 9.79
IRISH STREAKS: Several Notre Dame players have scoring streaks going into the game with Connecticut. Some carry over from last season, the others just started in 2006:
Crysti Foote – 22-game streak (75-33-108)
Caitlin McKinney – 15-game streak (35-18-53)
Jill Byers – 12 games (35-15-50)
Heather Ferguson – 6 games (7-7-14)
Mary Carpenter – 4 games (4-3-7)
Former Irish attack standout, Danielle Shearer `03 holds the Notre Dame record by scoring in 36 consecutive games between 4/25/01 and 5/1/03, getting 85 goals and 51 assists for 136 points in her streak. The streak was still active when her collegiate career ended. Foote’s 22- game streak is the fifth longest in Notre Dame history.
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 12 games, she has career highs in goals (12), assists (9) and points (21) to rank fourth in team scoring.