Feb. 28, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will hit the road for a `home’ game as they take on Cornell at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. this Saturday, March 4. The contest, which is technically a home game for Notre Dame, will mark the first-ever NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse game in the Chicagoland area. Game time between the Fighting Irish and Big Red is set for 12:00 p.m. (CT).
The 12th-ranked Fighting Irish topped No. 14 Penn State, 8-4, in the season-opener this past Sunday. Notre Dame used two-goal performances from freshmen Peter Christman and Ryan Hoff and an all-around solid defensive effort to capture the victory.
Cornell, the No. 8 team in the nation according to the latest Inside Lacrosse rankings, also won its lid-lifter by downing Binghamton 16-3 on Saturday. Last season, the Big Red advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2005 NCAA Championship before losing to eventual national runner-up Duke.
There will be a total of six Inside Lacrosse preseason All-America honorees playing in the match. Making the first team was Cornell midfielder Joe Boulukos, while Notre Dame senior attackman Pat Walsh garnered second-team honors. Walsh’s classmate D.J. Driscoll, a defenseman, was a third-team selection. Receiving honorable mention honors were sophomores Taylor Clagett (M) and Joey Kemp (G) from Notre Dame and Matt McMonagle (G) from Cornell. Kemp led the nation with a .652 save percentage last season en route to being named the Great Western Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year.
Notre Dame’s Walsh and Cornell’s Boulukos and McMonagle are also watch list selections for the Tewaaraton Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation’s top collegiate lacrosse player. Walsh, the first three-time All-America honoree in program history, has gone on to become one of 15 nominees for the award each of the past two seasons.
Notre Dame returns a solid group of players from a team that went 7-4 and finished 19th in the final USILA rankings last season. Walsh is back along with Driscoll, who also earned honorable mention All-America honors in 2005. Walsh has been the team’s leading scorer each of his first three seasons at Notre Dame, including last year as he posted 43 points on 21 goals and 22 assists. Driscoll was also named the Great Western Lacrosse League 2005 Defensive Player of the Year.
“We feel this game will be a neat experience for our guys,” says Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan, who is in his 18th season at the helm of the Fighting Irish program. “It’ll be a great atmosphere to play in. Anytime you can do something that enhances and showcases the sport to these new areas along with giving your guys a special experience is something that we’re always looking to do.”
This will mark the fourth meeting all-time between the schools, with Cornell holding a 3-0 advantage, including an 11-10 victory last season in Ithaca, N.Y.
Advanced tickets to the game, which is being sponsored by Lacrosse America, are $6 and walk-up tickets on Saturday are $8. Admission is free for children five years of age or younger. For more information on the game please log onto www.lacrosseamerica.com or call (847) 926-0067 or (630) 437-5550
To stay updated on the Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse team and all of the varsity sports at Notre Dame, please log on to und.com or call the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
–ND–