David Earl

Six Fighting Irish Players Garner All-BIG EAST Honors

May 12, 2011

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Six Notre Dame student-athletes have garnered all-league honors as the BIG EAST Conference on Wednesday announced its men’s lacrosse major award winners and all-conference teams. Fighting Irish senior David Earl was tabbed as the league’s midfielder of the year.

Joining Earl on the all-BIG EAST first team were fellow Notre Dame seniors Sam Barnes (D), Zach Brenneman (M) and Kevin Ridgway (D). Earl and Ridgway were unanimous selections. Senior Andrew Irving (LSM) and sophomore John Kemp (G) were second-team picks for the Irish.

Voting was conducted among the league’s seven head coaches, who were not permitted to vote for their own players.

Villanova’s Brian Karalunas was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Syracuse’s Stephen Keogh was tabbed as the league’s attack player of the year and his teammate John Galloway took home BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year honors. Syracuse head coach John Desko was named the BIG EAST Coach of the Year. The Orange won the 2011 BIG EAST title with a 6-0 conference record. The Fighting Irish finished second with a 5-1 mark.

Earl (Simsbury, Conn./Westminster School) leads Notre Dame in points with 24 on 15 goals and nine assists. He also ranks third on the team with 24 ground balls. Earl is one of 25 nominees for the 2011 Tewaaraton Trophy. The midfielder was named the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on April 18 in addition to being a conference weekly honor roll selection twice. Earl earned second-team all-BIG EAST honors last season. The Hamilton Nationals picked Earl in the third round of January’s Major League Lacrosse (MLL) Draft.

Barnes (Branford, Conn./Branford) returned to the Irish for a fifth season after missing all of the 2010 campaign with an injury. He has started every game this season and has been a key reason why the Notre Dame defense ranks second nationally by allowing just 6.58 goals per game. Barnes was a fifth-round selection by the Long Island Lizards in the MLL Draft.

Brenneman (East Hampton, N.Y./East Hampton) has tallied 14 goals and four assists this season. He missed two games due to injury, yet still has a team-best two hat tricks. The three-goal efforts came against Duke and Syracuse. Brenneman, a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee, was selected as the BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 21. He was named to the league’s weekly honor roll on April 4. This marks the second straight season that Brenneman has been a first-team all-conference pick. Brenneman was selected fifth overall by the Long Island Lizards in the MLL Draft.

Ridgway (Kensington, Md./Georgetown Prep) has been part of an Irish defense that has limited opponents to seven goals or fewer eight times this season. He was named the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week on Feb. 28. The senior joined his classmates Brenneman and Earl as a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee. Ridgway copped all-BIG EAST second-team accolades last season. The Hamilton Nationals selected Ridgway in the third round of the MLL Draft.

Irving (McLean, Va./The Hotchkiss School) has been an integral part of the Fighting Irish squad this season despite missing four games with an injury. He has registered a career-high six points on three goals and a career-best three assists. The goal total ties a career-high mark. Irving has scooped up 19 ground balls and has been a major asset to the Fighting Irish defense.

Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) has a 10-2 record between the pipes. The sophomore ranks second nationally in goals-against average (6.63) and fourth in save percentage (.607). He is 24th nationally in saves per game (10.17). Kemp was named the conference’s defensive player of the week twice this season in addition to being a two-time BIG EAST weekly honor roll selection.

No. 4 seed Notre Dame (10-2) will play host to Penn (8-6) at 2:30 p.m. (ET) on Saturday in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Championship. The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

2011 BIG EAST Men's Lacrosse Awards
BIG EAST Attack Player of the Year
Stephen Keogh, Syracuse, Sr., A
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the YearBrian Karalunas, Villanova, Sr., LSM
BIG EAST Midfielder of the Year* David Earl, Notre Dame, Sr., M
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Year* John Galloway, Syracuse, Sr., GK
BIG EAST Coach of the YearJohn Desko, Syracuse, 13th season
First Team^Barney Ehrmann, Georgetown, GS, DSam Barnes, Notre Dame, Sr., DZach Brenneman, Notre Dame, Sr., M* David Earl, Notre Dame, Sr., M* Kevin Ridgway, Notre Dame, Sr., DChris Mattes, Rutgers, Sr., SP* John Galloway, Syracuse, Sr., G* Stephen Keogh, Syracuse, Sr., A* John Lade, Syracuse, Sr., DJovan Miller, Syracuse, Sr., MJeremy Thompson, Syracuse, Sr., M* Joel White, Syracuse, Sr., LSM* Kevin Cunningham, Villanova, Jr., ABrian Karalunas, Villanova, Sr., LSMJack Rice, Villanova, So., A
Second Team^Travis Comeau, Georgetown, So., ADavid Emala, Georgetown, So., ADan Hostetler, Georgetown, Jr., DRickey Mirabito, Georgetown, GS, AMax Seligmann, Georgetown, Sr., MAndrew Irving, Notre Dame, Sr., LSMJohn Kemp, Notre Dame, So., GScott Klimchak, Rutgers, R-Fr., AJosh Amidon, Syracuse, Sr., MTim Desko, Syracuse, R-Jr., AKevin Drew, Syracuse, Jr., SPJoJo Marasco, Syracuse, So., ABrian Megill, Syracuse, So., DMatt Bell, Villanova, Jr., AChris Creighton, Villanova, Jr., D
* - unanimously selected^ - additional members due to voting ties
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