March 12, 2007
#16/#18 Notre Dame at -/#19 Drexel
Tuesday, March 13 • 3:30 p.m. (ET)
Vidas Field • Philadelphia, Pa.
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The 16th-ranked Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will travel to Philadelphia, Pa. to take on Drexel on Tuesday, March 13 at Vidas Field. Game time is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. (ET). The Fighting Irish carry a 2-2 record into the contest, while the Dragons are 4-1. This marks Notre Dame’s fourth straight game away from home. Notre Dame is coming off an 11-8 loss at No. 15 North Carolina on Saturday. The Irish will conclude their five-game road trip this Saturday against Dartmouth.
ND-DREXEL SERIES NOTES: This will be the first meeting between Notre Dame and Drexel.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame (2-2) is coming off an 11-8 loss to No. 15 North Carolina on Saturday, March 10 in Chapel Hill, N.C. … the Irish are currently ranked 16th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll and 15th in the USILA coaches poll … fifth-year senior attackman Brian Hubschmann leads the Irish in goals with eight … freshman Will Yeatman has a team-best 12 points on six goals and six assists … junior midfielder Michael Podgajny is second with 10 points on seven goals and three assists … junior goaltender Joey Kemp has all four decisions for the Irish and carries a 9.60 goals-against average and a .553 save percentage … Notre Dame downed No. 13 Loyola 9-7 in the season opener (Feb. 17) before topping Penn State 11-8 (Feb. 25) and then falling to No. 4 Cornell 13-8 (March 3) … the Fighting Irish return six starters and 16 letterwinners 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 are 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 158-90 (.637) at Notre Dame.
ABOUT DREXEL: The Dragons are 4-1 overall and coming off a 9-2 win over St. John’s on Saturday … Drexel is 2-0 at home this season and ranked 19th in the latest USILA poll … the Dragons are averaging 8.20 goals per game, while allowing just 5.00 goals a game … Drexel opened the 2007 campaign with a 11-10 victory over No. 1 Virginia … the Dragons also have defeated Saint Joseph’s (11-3) and Binghamton (4-2) … the only setback came against Lehigh (8-6) … junior Andrew Chapman leads the team with 10 goals to go along with two assists for a team-high 12 points … sophomore Jon Van Houten has 11 points on seven goals and four assists … goaltender Bruce Bickford, a junior, has all four decisions … he possesses a 5.11 goals-against average and a .691 save percentage … Drexel returns four starters and 23 letterwinners from a team that went 5-9 in 2006 … Chris Bates is in his eighth season at Drexel … he has an overall mark of 43-55.
RECAPPING NORTH CAROLINA: Notre Dame suffered an 11-8 setback to No. 15 North Carolina on Saturday, March 10 at Fetzer Field. Four Tar Heel players scored two goals in the winning effort. Sophomore Ryan Hoff led the Irish with two tallies, while freshman Will Yeatman notched his fourth three-point game of the season on one goal and two assists. The loss dropped Notre Dame to 2-2 on the season. North Carolina is 5-1. The Tar Heels jumped out to an early 2-0 lead before the Irish rattled off three straight goals in a span of 19 seconds. Junior midfielder Michael Podgajny began the surge with a goal off a Bill Liva pass with 9:48 remaining in the opening period. Senior Brian Hubschmann netted an unassisted goal with 9:32 left on the clock and Yeatman collected the assist on Hoff’s first goal of the day three seconds later. North Carolina evened the contest 3-3 on a Gavin Petracca tally with just under nine minutes left in the first quarter. Yeatman put the Irish back in front before assisting on another Hoff goal that gave Notre Dame a 5-3 lead after the first period. The Irish were held scoreless for the next 26:27 of the game as the Tar Heels went on a 7-0 run to take a 10-5 lead at the 6:40 mark of the third quarter. Nick Tintle ignited the run, which featured two goals from both he and Michael Burns. Bobby McAuley, Rob Driscoll and Bart Wagner also scored during that stretch. Wagner had two scores on the day. A goal from Liva put a halt to the surge and made it 10-6 with 4:34 remaining in the third quarter. Petracca, who had three assists during the game, notched his second score early in the final period to give the Tar Heels a five-goal cushion. Peter Christman cut into the deficit with a goal at the 11:11 mark of the quarter before his teammate Ryan Cunn made it 11-8 off a feed from Alex Wharton. Neither team would score the rest of the way. Notre Dame’s Joey Kemp played all 60 minutes in goal and made 14 saves. Goaltender Grant Zimmerman played 56:41 for North Carolina and made 10 saves and allowed five goals. He also scored a goal of his own. Chris Madalon was in the net for 3:19 and surrendered three goals and made one save. The Tar Heels held a 42-32 advantage in shots and a 40-30 edge in ground balls.
ON THE ROAD: Notre Dame is 1-2 after the first two games of its five-game road trip … the journey began with an 11-8 win over Penn State on Feb. 25 … the Irish then fell, 13-8, to Cornell in Hewlett, N.Y. on March 3 and North Carolina, 11-8, on March 10 … this marks Notre Dame’s longest road trip since the 2001 campaign … that season, the Irish went 4-1 during a five-game stretch away from home.
RETURNING HOME: The Fighting Irish have six student-athletes on its roster from the state of Pennsylvania … Mike Creighton (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep), Sean Dougherty (Malvern, Pa./Malvern Prep), Adam Felicetti (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East), Bill Liva (Bryn Mawr, Pa./Malvern Prep), Michael Podgajny (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley H.S.) and Duncan Swezey (Ambler, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham H.S.) all will be playing in their home state when the Fighting Irish face Drexel on Tuesday.
HUBSCHMANN STAYING HOT: Brian Hubschmann has scored a goal in nine straight games dating back to last season … he had his streak of eight consecutive games with at least two goals snapped against North Carolina on Saturday … Hubschmann was last held without a goal in an 8-5 loss at Denver last season (4-14-06) … he began his senior season with his eighth-career hat trick in the 9-7 season-opening victory over No. 13 Loyola (Feb. 17) … he also scored twice against Penn State (W, 11-8) and Cornell (L, 13-8) … the fifth-year senior has 19 multiple-goal games during his Fighting Irish career.
INSTANT IMPACT: Freshman Will Yeatman has made his presence felt in the Irish lineup by tallying three points in each of the first four games this season … the attackman had a fine collegiate debut in a 9-7 win over Loyola as he put the Irish on the board with a goal just 28 seconds into the contest … he also added two assists in the winning effort … Yeatman collected three more points in an 11-8 triumph at Penn State on Feb. 25 … the rookie scored two goals and dished out an assist against the Nittany Lions … he tallied two goals and one assist in a 13-8 setback versus Cornell … against North Carolina, he collected two assists and one goal in the 11-8 loss … Yeatman leads the team with 12 points … he has a team-high six assists and is tied for third in goals with six.
MAN-UP: Notre Dame is 6-for-11 (.545) in man-up opportunities this season … the Irish have only surrendered five man-down goals in 17 chances (.294).
NOTRE DAME IN THE POLLS: Notre Dame is ranked 16th in the latest Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll … the Irish are currently 19th in the most recent USILA coaches poll … Notre Dame’s highest ranking this season was eighth in the USILA poll 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 three 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 12th … the Irish are coming off back-to-back road tilts against ranked foes … the Irish fell to current No. 1 Cornell 13-8 and then dropped an 11-8 decision to current No. 11 North Carolina on Saturday.
HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame has won its past eight home contests … the streak stems back to a 14-13 overtime win over 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 are 1-0 at home so far this season … two of the games during the streak have been played in the Loftus Sports Center, while the other six have taken place outside at Moose Krause Stadium … Notre Dame owns an overall home record of 110-35 (.759) during the 26-plus years of varsity lacrosse at the University.
HUBSCHMANN AND KEMP NAMED TO TEWAARATON TROPHY WATCH LIST: Brian Hubschmann (Sr., A) 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 attackman 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, an attackman, 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.
DOUBLE DUTY: Freshman attackman Will Yeatman spent this past fall playing tight end for the Fighting Irish football team … Yeatman 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.
BACK TO THE DANCE: Notre Dame returned to the NCAA tournament in 2006 for the first time since the 2001 season … the Fighting Irish posted a 10-5 record last season, including a 3-2 mark in the GWLL, which placed them second behind conference champion Denver.
IRISH DEFENSE: Notre Dame boasted the nation’s 11th-best scoring defense in 2006 by allowing just 7.67 goals per game … several key components to the Irish defense are back this season, including goaltender Joey Kemp and defensemen Joey Rallo, Ross Zimmerman and Regis McDermott along with defensive midfielders Brannon Halvorsen and Sean Dougherty … the Irish also ranked third in man-down defense by allowing just seven goals in 33 chances (.788).
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 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.
FACING OFF: Junior midfielder and faceoff specialist Taylor Clagett has been a valuable asset for the Irish during his first two -plus seasons in an Irish uniform … he won 126 of 205 faceoff attempts last season … his .615 winning percentage 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 … he has a .593 (299-504) career winning percentage.
FOLLOW ALL ND HOME GAMES ONLINE: All six of Notre Dame’s 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, 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 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: b> 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.