May 3, 2007
#8 Notre Dame (10-3, 4-0) at Quinnipiac (6-6, 1-3)
Saturday, May 5 • 1:00 p.m. (ET)
Quinnipiac Lacrosse Field • Hamden, Conn.
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The No. 8 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will wrap up its regular season this Saturday with a Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) showdown at Quinnipiac. Game time against the Bobcats is slated for 1:00 p.m. (ET). The Fighting Irish captured the GWLL title, and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, with a 12-6 victory over Ohio State last Saturday. Notre Dame (10-3, 4-0) has won its past seven games, while Quinnipiac (6-6, 1-3) is coming off an 11-5 setback to Holy Cross.
ND-QUINNIPIAC SERIES NOTES: Saturday will mark the second meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Quinnipiac … the Irish defeated the Bobcats 19-7 last season at Moose Krause Stadium.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame (10-3, 4-0) is riding a seven-game win streak, including a 12-6 victory over Ohio State on Saturday (April 28) … the Fighting Irish captured the program’s 10th GWLL title and 12th NCAA Tournament bid with the win over the Buckeyes … the Irish are ranked 8th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll and 9th in the current USILA coaches poll along with being second in the latest LaxPower computer rating … Notre Dame concluded the regular-season home slate with a perfect 6-0 mark … the Irish have won a school-record 13 straight games at home … freshman attackman Will Yeatman leads the Irish in points with 41 and assists with 21 … Notre Dame has the nation’s top man-up offense (.571) and the second-best scoring defense (6.15) … the Irish also have the country’s fifth-best scoring offense (11.62) and are second in scoring margin (+5.46) … sophomore attackman Ryan Hoff leads the team with 32 goals, while senior Brian Hubschmann and sophomore Michael Podgajny are second with 21 … junior goaltender Joey Kemp has all 13 decisions for the Irish and carries a .640 save percentage and a 6.26 goals-against average … he ranks second and fourth, respectively, in those categories nationally … the Fighting Irish have six starters and 16 letterwinners back from last year’s team that posted a 10-5 record and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament … Kemp earned honorable mention All-America honors from the USILA last season … he ranked in the top-12 nationally in both save percentage and goals-against average … Kemp and Hubschmann were preseason honorable mention All-America selections according to Inside Lacrosse … Hubschmann led the team with 31 goals last season and tied for team-high honors in points with 50 … Kevin Corrigan is in his 19th season as the head coach of the Fighting Irish … Corrigan has an overall record of 166-91 (.646) at Notre Dame.
ABOUT QUINNIPIAC: The Bobcats carry a 6-6 record, including a 1-3 mark in the GWLL, into Saturday’s contest … Quinnipiac fell to Holy Cross 11-5 in its last outing on April 25 … the Bobcats are 3-4 at home this season … senior midfielder Mike Stottler leads the team in points with 41 and goals with 28 … senior defenseman Anthony Poerio has a team-high 15 assists … senior attackman Tucker Prudden has 23 goals and 12 assists … the Bobcats returned three starters and 18 letterwinners from last year’s squad that posted a 7-6 mark overall and a 1-4 record in the GWLL.
THE LAST TIME VS. QUINNIPIAC: Notre Dame captured a 19-7 home victory against Quinnipiac last season … the Fighting Irish were ranked 15th at the time of the meeting, which was the regular-season finale … the Irish exploded with a 10-goal first quarter … Brian Hubschmann recorded a six-point day on four goals and two assists, while Pat Walsh also had six points on two goals and four assists … Michael Podgajny, Ryan Hoff and Matt Karweck all had three goals and one assist … Bill Liva, Matt Ryan, Duncan Swezey and Ryan Cunn all had one goal … Tucker Prudden led Quinnipiac with three goals.
RECAPPING OHIO STATE: Senior midfielder Lucius Polk scored four goals and sophomore Duncan Swezey added two goals and three assists to help lead No. 10 Notre Dame to a 12-6 Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) victory over No. 20 Ohio State on Saturday, April 28 at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium. The win gave the Irish the GWLL title and the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame (10-3, 4-0) held an 8-6 lead heading into the fourth quarter before running off four straight goals to capture its seventh straight victory. Polk opened the fourth-quarter scoring with his fourth goal of the game, which was a man-up tally, off a pass from freshman Will Yeatman, who had two goals and two assists on the day. A goal from Swezey upped the Irish lead to four (10-6) with 4:35 left in the game. Yeatman then notched his second score off a pass from Michael Podgajny before Podgajny netted a goal of his own to make it a 12-6 final. The Ohio State (8-5, 4-1) offense entered Saturday’s contest averaging over 11 goals per game, yet the Fighting Irish defense limited the Buckeyes to just six goals. The Notre Dame defense has held its opponents to six goals or fewer during the past seven games, all Irish wins. Junior goaltender Joey Kemp made 13 saves on Saturday to up his record to 10-3 this season. The Irish opened the game with a 3-0 run on a goal from Yeatman and back-to-back Polk tallies. Ohio State’s Ben Drake scored to make it a 3-1 contest at the end of the first quarter. Goals from Swezey and fellow sophomore Ryan Hoff opened the second quarter to up the Irish lead to four (5-1). Swezey’s goal was assisted by Podgajny, who had three assists on the day. Back-to-back goals from the Buckeyes’ Joe Benson cut the deficit to two (5-3). Hoff then found the back of the net off a pass from Swezey to make it 6-3 with 6:40 left in the first half. Polk’s third tally was sandwiched between Ohio State goals from Kevin Buchanan and Benson to make it a 7-5 game at the intermission. Joel Dalgarno trimmed the Notre Dame lead to one with a goal at the 11:46 mark of the third quarter. The only other score of the period came from Notre Dame’s Ryan Cunn, who netted a goal with 1:52 left on the clock to give the Irish an 8-6 advantage heading into the final quarter. The Irish out shot the Buckeyes 41-30, while Notre Dame also converted on 2-of-3 man-up opportunities. Ohio State goaltender Stefan Schroder made 15 saves on the day.
GWLL CHAMPS: With the 12-6 win over Ohio State, Notre Dame captured its 10th GWLL title since the league was formed in 1994 … this marks the Irish’s first conference title since the 2003 season when they tied for the championship.
BACK TO THE DANCE: By capturing the automatic bid from the GWLL, the Fighting Irish have arleady locked up a spot in the 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship … Notre Dame will be making its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance and the 12th trip in the history of the program … selections will be announced on Sunday, May 6 … first round games will be played on Saturday, May 12 and Sunday, May, 13 at campus sites.
SELECTION SHOW: The 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse selection bracket will be announced live on ESPNU Sunday, May 6 … the 16-team bracket will be revealed from 9 to 10 p.m. (ET) … in addition, ESPNEWS will air a short selection announcement segment after 9:15 p.m. (ET) on Sunday … the bracket will be posted on www.ncaasports.com.
WEEKLY HONORS: Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan was tabbed as the US Lacrosse National Men’s Coach of the Week for last week’s performance against Ohio State … senior midfielder Lucius Polk was named the GWLL Player of the Week for tallying four goals in the victory over the Buckeyes … the four scores tied a career-high mark for Polk … he became the third Irish player to earn the league’s Player of the Week honor this season … junior goaltender Joey Kemp has received the distinction twice (Feb. 18 & March 26), while senior midfielder Brian Hubschmann has been named the GWLL Player of the Week once (March 19) this season.
SEVEN IN A ROW: Notre Dame is currently riding a season-best seven-game winning streak with wins over Bellarmine (11-3), Brown (11-3), Villanova (15-5), Air Force (16-4), Denver (14-6), Lehigh (14-2) and Ohio State (12-6) … Notre Dame’s last seven-game win steak occurred in 2001 as the Irish ran off nine straight victories.
HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame has won a program-record 13 straight games at home … 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 … the Irish wrapped up this year’s regular-season slate with a perfect 6-0 mark … two 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 115-35 (.767) during the 26-plus years of varsity lacrosse at the University.
IRISH D: Notre Dame boasts the second-best scoring defense among all NCAA Division I men’s teams … the Irish are allowing just 6.15 goals per game … Princeton has the top scoring defense in the country with a 5.92 goals per game mark … the Irish have only surrendered 29 goals during the team’s current seven-game winning streak (4.14 gpg) … Notre Dame had the nation’s 11th-best scoring defense last season by surrendering 7.67 goals per game.
SCORELESS STRETCH: The Notre Dame defense produced a 65:31 scoreless stretch, which spanned parts of the Denver and Lehigh contests … Denver’s last goal against the Irish came with 2:58 left in the third quarter … Notre Dame then held Lehigh without a goal until the 12:27 mark of the fourth quarter … junior Joey Kemp was in goal for 55:08 of the stretch … that marks a career-long scoreless streak for the All-American … his previous high was 43:22, which occurred this season against Drexel.
SCORING MARGIN: Notre Dame has out scored its opponents 151-80 this season … that is an average of 5.46 goals per game, which ranks second among all NCAA Division I teams.
SECOND-HALF SCORING: The Fighting Irish have out scored their opponents 80-33 in the second half this season, including a 46-19 advantage in the third quarter.
DOUBLE FIGURES: Notre Dame has scored in double figures in nine of 13 contests this season, including in each game of the current seven-game winning streak … the Irish scored 10 or more goals in six of 15 games last season.
CONSISTENT PERFORMERS: Michael Podgajny (Jr., M) has scored a goal in every contest this season … Ryan Hoff (So., A) has scored a goal in all but one game (Dartmouth) … the duo has helped Notre Dame boast the fifth-best scoring offense in Division I with a 11.62 goals per game average.
BALANCED ATTACK: The Irish have five players that have scored at least 17 goals this season … Ryan Hoff leads the way with 32, while Brian Hubschmann and Michael Podgajny both have 21, Will Yeatman has 20 and Lucius Polk 17 … all five of those players have had at least one game this season with three or more goals … Alex Wharton also has a three-goal game this season.
DOUBLE DUTY: Will Yeatman spent this past fall playing tight end for the Fighting Irish football team … the freshman played in 12 of Notre Dame’s 13 games on the gridiron … the San Diego native was a prep All-American in lacrosse at Rancho Bernardo High School … on Saturday, April 21, he competed in the Irish’s lacrosse match against Lehigh and then took part in Notre Dame’s annual Blue-Gold spring football game.
INSTANT IMPACT: Freshman Will Yeatman leads the Irish in points with 41 and assists with 21 … his 20 goals rank him fourth on the team … the attackman has notched at least two points in every game but one (Lehigh) this season … his biggest point output to date came in a 16-5 win over Drexel as he tallied six points on two goals and a season-high four assists.
HOT START: Notre Dame is off to a 4-0 start in Great Western Lacrosse League play for the first time since 2001 … that also was the last season that the Irish posted a perfect record in the conference.
IRISH IN THE GWLL: Notre Dame is 50-9 (.847) all-time in GWLL play with 10 league titles in 14 seasons, including this year’s campaign … with a win over Quinnipiac on Saturday, Notre Dame will complete its seventh perfect season in GWLL play … the Irish went 3-2 in conference action last season to finish second.
SAVING THE DAY: Notre Dame junior goaltender Joey Kemp has had a huge impact on the Irish during his first two campaigns … as a freshman, he started nine games, posting a 5-2 record and led the nation with a .652 save percentage en route to being tabbed the Great Western Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year … he followed that up with another stellar season in 2006 … he went 10-5 and ranked eighth nationally with a .596 save percentage and 12th with a 7.54 goals-against average … he earned USILA Honorable Mention All-America honors along with being a first-team all-GWLL selection … this season he carries a .640 save percentage and a 6.26 goals-against average … those marks rank second and fourth, respectively, among all NCAA Division I goaltenders.
MAN-UP: The Irish have converted on 28 of 49 man-up opportunities this season (.571) … that percentage ranks first nationally … Michael Podgajny leads the Irish with nine man-up goals, while Lucius Polk has seven … Notre Dame has limited its opponents to just a .286 (12-42) man-up conversion percentage this season.
FACING OFF: Junior midfielder and faceoff specialist Taylor Clagett has won 146 of 248 (.589) faceoffs this season … that mark ranks him 16th nationally … he won 126 of 205 faceoff attempts last season … his .615 winning percentage in 2006 would have ranked him sixth nationally, however he missed four games due to injury and could not qualify among NCAA statistical leaders in that category … his career winning percentage is .604 (403-667).
SEVENTH HEAVEN FOR HOFF: Ryan Hoff’s seven goals in a 16-5 win over Drexel on March 13 tied a Notre Dame record … he equaled the school record originally set by Randy Colley in 1993 against New Hampshire … Hoff’s seven tallies also established a program record for the most goals scored in a road game … the previous high was six by eight different Irish players and most recently by Pat Walsh against Hofstra in 2005 … the seven goals scored by Hoff ties him for second among all NCAA Division I men’s players this season for goals scored in a single game … Virginia’s Ben Rubeor also tallied seven in a contest against Towson and Paul LeBlanc from Holy Cross did the same against Quinnipiac, while Matt Girsh from Siena netted eight goals against VMI.
NOTRE DAME IN THE POLLS: Notre Dame is ranked in a tie for 8th along with Navy in this week’s Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll … that marks Notre Dame’s highest Inside Lacrosse ranking this season … the Irish are ranked 9th in the latest USILA coaches poll … Notre Dame’s highest ranking this season in the USILA poll was eighth during the week of Feb. 26th … the Fighting Irish peaked at No. 8 in last season’s USILA poll the week of April 3rd.
QUALITY COMPETITION: The Fighting Irish have four teams on their 2007 regular-season schedule that appear in the latest Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll … Notre Dame defeated then-No. 13 Loyola 9-7 in the season opener … the Greyhounds are currently ranked 11th … the Irish fell to current No. 1 Cornell 13-8 and then dropped an 11-8 decision to current No. 10 North Carolina on March 10 … Notre Dame downed Drexel, 16-5, on March 13 when the Dragons were ranked 19th in the USILA coaches poll … Drexel is currently ranked 15th in the Inside Lacrosse poll … Ohio State was ranked 20th according to Inside Lacrosse when the Irish downed the Buckeyes 12-6 on April 28.
HUBSCHMANN AND KEMP NAMED TO TEWAARATON TROPHY WATCH LIST: Brian Hubschmann (Sr., M) and Joey Kemp (Jr., G) have been named to the 2007 Tewaaraton Trophy Preseason Watch List … the award is presented annually to the nation’s top player … the athletes on the list are considered early season indicators of who to watch as the 2007 lacrosse season begins … the list of 51 players will be voted upon by coaches and narrowed as the season progresses, ultimately reaching a final list of five who constitute the award’s finalists.
IRISH EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Senior midfielder Brian Hubschmann and junior goaltender Joey Kemp were selected as preseason honorable mention All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook … Hubschmann was the team’s co-leading scorer last season with 50 points on a team-high 31 goals and 19 assists … Kemp was a USILA honorable mention All-America selection in 2006 … he started all 15 games, posting a 7.54 goals-against average and a .596 save percentage … he ranked eighth nationally in save percentage and 12th in goals-against average … Kemp was joined on the Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-GWLL Team by his classmates Taylor Clagett (M/FO) and Ross Zimmerman (D).
HUBSCHMANN, LIVA AND KEMP NAMED `07 IRISH CAPTAINS: Seniors Brian Hubschmann and Bill Liva along with junior Joey Kemp have been named captains for the 2007 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team … Hubschmann, a midfielder, is in his fifth season with the Irish after missing all of his junior campaign with a knee injury … he led the team in goals last season with 31 and tied for the team lead in points with 50 … Liva has been a fixture in the Irish lineup during his first three seasons … he has played in 32 games, totaling 20 points on 12 goals and eight assists … Kemp has emerged as one of the top goaltenders in the nation throughout his first two seasons, ranking in the top-10 nationally in save percentage both years … he also was an honorable mention All-American in 2006.
COACHING CHANGES: The freshmen are not the only new faces on the Irish this season … head coach Kevin Corrigan has brought in two new assistant coaches, Gerry Byrne and Brian Fisher, to replace Kevin Anderson and Dave Cornell … Anderson stepped away from coaching, while Cornell took the head coaching job at Connecticut College … Byrne will not be a new face to everyone at Notre Dame since he served as an assistant under Corrigan from 1989-91 … most recently he held the head coaching position at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. … Fisher comes to Notre Dame from Rutgers, where he had a stellar four-year career from 1998-2001 followed by a five-year coaching stint with the Scarlet Knights.
SIGN UP FOR IRISH ALERT TEXT MESSAGE SERVICE: Go to und.com to 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 ND 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.