May 9, 2010
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will face Princeton on Sunday, May 16 in the first round of the 2010 NCAA Championship in Princeton, N.J. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU at 2:30 p.m. (ET). Princeton is the tournament’s No. 6 seed, while the Irish are unseeded.
Notre Dame will be making its 15th trip overall, and fifth straight, to the NCAA Championship. The Fighting Irish are 5-14 all-time in NCAA play. Notre Dame was upended by Maryland, 7-3, during the first round of last season’s NCAA Championship.
The Fighting Irish and Tigers will be meeting for just the second time ever. Princeton captured a 6-4 victory over Notre Dame during the 1995 season in Baltimore, Md.
Notre Dame will bring a 7-6 record into Sunday’s contest. The Fighting Irish offense averages 9.46 goals per game, while the Notre Dame defense allows 8.08 goals per contest. Junior midfielder Zach Brenneman (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) leads the Irish in goals with 23, while his 12 assists tie him for the team lead with senior attackman Neal Hicks (Atlanta, Ga./Lovett School). Senior goalie Scott Rodgers (Wantagh, N.Y./MacArthur) boasts a 6-4 record between the pipes. He has an 8.29 goals-against average and a .568 save percentage.
Princeton is 11-4 this season and the Tigers are fresh off beating Cornell, 10-9 in overtime, earlier today in the title game of the Ivy League Tournament. The Tigers average 10.20 goals per game, while surrendering 8.73 per contest. Junior attackman Jack McBride boasts team-high totals in goals (33) and points (46), while senior attackman Rob Engelke has a team-best 21 assists. Sophomore Tyler Fiorito has every decision in goal. He has an 8.62 goals-against average with a .568 save percentage. Princeton fell to Cornell, 6-4, during the quarterfinal round of last season’s NCAA tournament.
Notre Dame and Princeton have two common opponents this season (Syracuse and Rutgers). The Irish fell to Syracuse, 12-6, while the Orange bested the Tigers, 13-4. Rutgers defeated Notre Dame 10-8 and Princeton downed the Scarlet Knights 10-8.
The 16-team NCAA Championship field is comprised of six automatic-qualifying teams and 10 at-large teams. Only the top eight squads in the field are seeded. Virginia garnered this year’s No. 1 seed, while Syracuse is the second seed and Maryland is the third seed.
Notre Dame and Syracuse were the only two teams from the BIG EAST Conference selected to tournament.
The winner of the Notre Dame-Princeton contest will take on the winner of the Maryland-Hofstra tilt in the quarterfinal round on Saturday, May 22 in Princeton, N.J. The tournament’s semifinals and finals will be held May 29 and 31, respectively, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. For more information on the 2010 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship, including a complete bracket, log onto www.ncaa.com
— ND —