March 1, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will open the 2002 season on Sunday, March 3, when the Irish play host to the Ohio University Bobcats in a 1:00 p.m. game at indoors at Meyo Field in the Loftus Center.
Head coach Tracy Coyne’s Irish squad comes into the game ranked 17th in the AGATE Lacrosse Magazine’s Top 20 preseason poll. This marks the first time in the programs six-year history that the Irish will start the season ranked in the preseason.
The Irish were 10-5 in the 2001 season to finish the year ranked 18th in the nation. Notre Dame finished its’ first season of round robin play in the BIG EAST with a 4-2 record, good for third place. Earlier this week, Notre Dame was picked for third in the BIG EAST preseason poll.
Coyne returns 15 letterwinners and 11 starters for the new season. She will have to replace the program’s all-time scoring leader, Lael O’Shaughnessy, who led the team with 24 goals and 28 assists as a senior.
Junior Danielle Shearer (Hampstead, Md.) is the top returning goal-and point-scorer as she scored 35 goals in 2001 with 10 assists for 45 points. Natalie Loftus (Sr., Baltimore, Md.), who had 28 goals and six for 34 points and Alissa Moser (Sr., North Wales, Pa.) who had 17 goals and four assists for 21 points will also be keys to the Irish attack.
Defensively, the Irish are solid from the goal out. Junior Jen White (Annapolis, Md.) returns for her second season as the top goalkeeper. In 2001, she led Notre Dame to it’s best goals against in the program’s six-year history as she gave up just 9.25 goals per game with a 50.0% save percentage and a 10-5 record.
The defense is anchored by four-year starters, Kathryn Lam (Plainsboro, N.J.), Tina Fedarcyk (Millersville, Md.) and Natalie Henwood (Marlton, N.J.). Lam is a member of the U.S. Developmental program and Fedarcyk was an All-BIG EAST selection last season. The trio gives Coyne a solid, veteran defense that can shut an opponent down.
Ohio University begins its third season as a Division I program and is coming off an 8-8 season in 2001. The Bobcats return 11 of 12 starters from a year ago including their top three scorers in junior attack standout Alyssa Trocher (52-23-75) and midfielders Lindsey Hart (45-20-65) and Becky Oxman (24-12-36).
Following Sunday’s game, the Irish take to the road for games at Stanford (Mar. 9) and versus George Mason (Mar. 14 in Winter Park, Fla.) before opening a five-game homestand on March 17 versus Boston College.