BIRMINGHAM, Mich. – Led by first-team selections and senior co-captains attackman Joel Dalgarno and defenseman Scott Matthews, seven Ohio State men’s lacrosse players earned All-Great Western Lacrosse League accolades, the league announced Thursday. Senior attackman Jeff Ryan, junior midfielder James Green, junior defenseman Scott Foreman, sophomore defenseman Matt Kawamoto and junior goalie Brandon Freeman each received second-team accolades. The all-conference teams were voted on by the league’s six head coaches. Ohio State was second with seven total selections, behind regular-season champion Notre Dame’s eight honorees.
Dalgarno, from Port Coquitlam, British Columbia (Western Reserve Academy), was named to the first team for the third-consecutive season. He leads the league and ranks sixth nationally averaging 3.79 points per game. He has a team-best 30 goals, 23 assists and 53 points this season and is on a 20-game scoring streak to rank 10th nationally. Dalgarno is 12th in the NCAA and first in the league in assists per game (1.64) and shares the GWLL lead in goals per outing (2.14). The GWLL Player of the Week April 14, Dalgarno has three or more points in 10 of 14 games this season, with two seven-point outings. He became just the second Buckeye in program history to cross the 200-point mark and ranks second with 219 points as a Buckeye, while his 123 goals are tied for the school record. Dalgarno is a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
Nottingham, Md., native Matthews (Boys’ Latin) is a first-team choice for the second year in a row. A four-year starter on defense for the Buckeyes, he covers the opposing team’s top player each game. He is second on the team with a career-high 33 groundballs, including five vs. Air Force, and leads the squad with 15 recorded caused turnovers. He scored his second career goal earlier this season against Robert Morris. Matthews and the Buckeye defense have limited opponents to 8.57 goals a game this year to rank second in the GWLL, holding opponents to nine goals or fewer in nine games.
Ryan, from Syracuse, N.Y. (West Genesee), is a second-team selection for the second-consecutive year. He ranks second on the team with a career-high 29 goals, 16 assists and 45 points, ranking second in the league and 22nd nationally averaging 3.21 points a game. He has two points or more in all but two games this season, including a personal-best eight-point night vs. Robert Morris March 13 with four goals and four assists, and three five-point outings. Ryan is third among league players in goals per game (2.07) and ranks sixth in assists per outing (1.14). In his third year as a Buckeye, Ryan ranks 21st in program history with 120 career points (81g, 39a). He leads the Buckeyes in shooting percentage, converting 45.3 percent of his shots.
Doylestown, Pa., native Green (Central Bucks East), who was a 2008 second team all-league honoree, has started all 14 games this year and has 14 goals, nine assists and 23 points. A starter in all 14 games, he has at least one point in nine games, with three or more in four outings. Green had a career-best four goals and five points at Denver and has a team-best six man-up goals on the year.
Foreman, who hails from Timonium, Md. (Calvert Hall), has started all 14 games at close defense and is fourth on the team with 23 groundballs. He had four groundballs at Penn State March 7 and three in three other contests. Foreman and the Buckeye defense rank second in the GWLL and in the Top 20 nationally, holding opponents to 8.57 goals a game, including nine or fewer goals in nine games.
Springfield, Va., native (West Springfield) Kawamoto is in his first year as a starter for the Buckeyes, starting 13-of-14 games, including the last 11. He has 18 groundballs on the year, including a career-best five vs. North Carolina. Kawamoto has 10 recorded caused turnovers to rank second on the team, with three in two games. He and the Buckeyes are second in the league in team defense (8.57 goals allowed per game) and have held opponents to two or fewer goals twice, with nine goals or fewer in nine outings.
Freeman, from Salem, N.H. (Bridgton Academy) is in his first year as the starter after backing up All-American Stefan Schroder the last two years, starting all 14 games and playing every minute but the second half vs. Detroit in the 21-1 win in the season opener. He is second in the league and 19th in the nation with a .562 save percentage and ranks second among conference goalies with an 8.78 goals-against average. He has 10 or more saves in 10 games this year, with a career-high 18 vs. Notre Dame April 25 and 15 at Air Force April 18. Freeman shut out the UDM Titans for a half and held Robert Morris to just two goals. He leads the squad with 39 groundballs.
The Buckeyes are in Birmingham, Mich., for the GWLL tournament this weekend at Seaholm High School. The Buckeyes will take on Air Force at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the semifinals, with Notre Dame and Quinnipiac facing off in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. The championship game is set for noon Sunday, with the winner receiving the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
2009 GWLL Awards
Individual Awards
Newcomer of the Year: Dayton Gilbreath, Air Force
Player of the Year: Scott Rodgers, Notre Dame
Coach of the Year: Kevin Corrigan, Notre Dame
ALL-GWLL TEAMS
First Team
Attack
Joel Dalgarno, Sr., Ohio State
Ryan Hoff, Sr., Notre Dame
Duncan Swezey, Sr., Notre Dame
Midfield
Peter Christman, Sr., Notre Dame
Grant Krebs, Jr., Notre Dame
Griffin Nevitt, Sr., Air Force
Long-Stick Midfielder
Dan Gnazzo, Sr., Air Force
Defense
Sam Barnes, Jr., Notre Dame
Dayton Gilbreath, Fr., Air Force
Scott Matthews, Sr., Ohio State
Regis McDermott, Sr., Notre Dame
Dillon Roy, Jr., Denver
Goalie
Scott Rodgers, Sr., Notre Dame
Second Team
Attack
Ridge Flick, Jr., Air Force
Neal Hicks, Jr., Notre Dame
Jeff Ryan, Sr., Ohio State
Midfield
James Green, Jr., Ohio State
Derek Hopcroft, Jr., Bellarmine
Joey Murray, Sr., Denver
Long-Stick Midfielder
Bryan Gilbreath, So., Air Force
Defense
Pat Elliott, Sr., Quinnipiac
Scott Foreman, Jr., Ohio State
Matt Kawamoto, So., Ohio State
David Mackintosh, Sr., Air Force
Blue Jays, Greyhounds Meet in Regular-Season Finale For Both Teams
The Game: Johns Hopkins (8-4) closes the regular season at home with the annual season finale against Charles Street rival Loyola (9-4).
A Look Back: Johns Hopkins rans its winning streak to five games with a 12-5 win at Mount St. Mary’s on Monday night. The Greyhounds won their fourth straight with a 16-7 home victory against Hobart last Saturday.
These are the Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against Loyola with an all-time record of 890-282-15 (.756). The Blue Jays own nine NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles and six ILA titles for a total of 44 national championships.
That’s 608 Games Over .500: With the win over Mount St. Mary’s, the Blue Jays’ all-time record is now 890-282-15 (.756) … that’s 608 games over .500. To put this in perspective: JHU has played an average of just over 15 games per season under head coach Dave Pietramala. Using a 15-game season as a reference, if the Blue Jays posted a 5-10 record for 120 straight seasons, they would still be eight games over .500.
Honoring the Seniors: Johns Hopkins will honors its seniors prior to the game against Loyola. Since arriving in the fall of 2005, the current senior class has helped guide the Blue Jays to a 41-19 (.683) record with one national championship (2007) and one national runner-up finish (2008). Johns Hopkins has qualified for the NCAA Tournament in each of the first three years of their career.
Honoring the Past: Johns Hopkins will add nine members to its Athletic Hall of Fame on Saturday night and the nine will be recognized at halftime of the game against Loyola. Among the nine are former men’s lacrosse standouts Franz Wittelsberger `76 and Quint Kessenich `90. Wittelseberger graduated as JHU’s career leader in goals (151) and held that mark until 1995, when it was surpassed by Terry Riordan. He led JHU in goals scored (45) during the Blue Jays’ 1974 NCAA Championship season (1st NCAA title for JHU). Kessenich started in goal at Johns Hopkins from 1987-90 and helped the Blue Jays to the 1987 NCAA Championship. He twice earned First Team All-America honors and remains the only Johns Hopkins goalie to earn All-America honors four times in his career.
Senior Brian Christopher and the eighth-ranked Blue Jays host 13th-ranked Loyola on Saturday at 1 pm.
May Day: JHU is 27-6 (.818) in the month of May under Pietramala, including a perfect 13-0 at Homewood Field. Overall the Blue Jays have won 21 consecutive games at Homewood Field in the month of May. JHU’s last loss at home in May came on May 2, 1992, when Towson dropped the Blue Jays, 14-13, in overtime.
April Reign: Flipping the calendar to April has usually been a good sign for the Blue Jays, who won four-of-five games in April last season to jump-start their run to the national championship game. Including the five wins this season (5-0), the Blue Jays are 41-4 (.911) under head coach Dave Pietramala in games played in April. JHU is 22-2 at home, 18-2 on the road and 1-0 on a neutral field in April under Pietramala’s guidance.
A Brutal Stretch: Starting with the game against Princeton on February 28 and running through the game against Navy (4/18), Johns Hopkins played nine straight games against teams ranked in the top 20.
How difficult is the Blue Jays’ schedule? Consider …
The cumulative record of JHU’s 13 regular season opponents is currently 125-61 (.672).
This week’s game against 13th-ranked Loyola will be JHU’s 10th (of 13 regular season games) against a team ranked in the top 20.
Ony two of JHU’s 13 opponents this season (Towson, Mount St. Mary’s) currently have a record below .500.
Hitting the Century Mark: JHU head coach Dave Pietramala reached a milestone with the 14-9 win over Albany as the victory was his 100th as the head coach at Johns Hopkins. The Blue Jays are now 104-29 (.782) on his watch and he is just the third coach in school history to win 100 games (Bob Scott-158, Henry Ciccarone-105).
Petro Earns Career Win Number 125: In addition to recently earning his 100th win as the head coach at Johns Hopkins, Dave Pietramala grabbed the 125th overall coaching victory of his career with the 15-7 win over Navy. He enters this week’s game against Loyola with an overall record of 127-46 (.734). This includes a 23-17 record in three seasons as the head coach at Cornell (1998-2000).
Poll Position: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against Loyola ranked eighth in the USILA Coaches Poll. The Blue Jays are also ranked sixth in the Inside Lacrosse/Nike Media Poll. Loyola is ranked sixth in both polls.
More Poll Position: Records indicate that the USILA began sponsoring a weekly coaches poll during the 1973 season. Since then there have been 356 weekly polls. Amazingly, Johns Hopkins has been ranked in the top 20 in all 356 of those polls and has been in the top 10 in 344 of the 356.
Below is a breakdown of the Blue Jays in the USILA Coaches Poll since its inception on March 19, 1973:
Total Weeks: 356 Total Weeks at #1: 102 Weeks in top 5: 276 Weeks in top 10: 344 Weeks in top 20: 356 Most Consecutive at #1: 14: 4/12/04-5/9/05 Most Consecutive in top 5: 130: 3/19/73-3/23/87 Most Consecutive in top 10: 158: 3/19/73-3/25/90 Most Consecutive in top 20: 356: 3/19/73-present
Poll Notes: In some years a preseason poll was not conducted • In some years a preseason poll was conducted, but the second poll of that season may have been held until after several weeks of the season passed • In some years a poll was conducted after the NCAA Tournament.
Lucky Number Nine: Years ending with the number nine have been kind to the Blue Jays since the program’s inception in 1883. Johns Hopkins has played 13 seasons in years ending in nine (including 2009) and has compiled a 97-23-2 (.8030 record with seven national championships in those 13 years. The Blue Jays also played in the 1989 national championship game and advanced to the final four in 1999.
Streaking: Johns Hopkins is 81-20 in its last 100 regular season games dating back to the end of the 2001 season and 96-25 overall since the start of the 2002 season.
Attack Emerges: With the loss of standouts Paul Rabil and Stephen Peyser at midfield, it was no secret that the Blue Jay offense was likely to become more attack oriented. While the group was held in check in the losses to Princeton and UNC, it has more than held its own thus far. Starters Steven Boyle, Kyle Wharton and Chris Boland have combined for 10 or more points five times in nine starts together and nine or more points six times in those nine games.
Wharton currently leads the team in goals (28) and points (37), while Boland is second in goals (23) and points (36) and third in assists (13). Boyle, who sat out the game at Mount St. Mary’s, ranks fourth in points (33) with 18 goals and 15 assists. Since Boland entered the starting lineup against UMBC, the starting trio has combined for 51 goals and 29 assists (8.9 ppg.) in the nine games they’ve started together.
The 105 points the starting attack unit has generated this season in 12 games is already eight points more than JHU’s three starters on attack – Boyle, Kevin Huntley and Michael Doneger – combined for last season in 17 games.
Wharton, Boland and Boyle are currently among the top four scorers on the team. The last time JHU’s top three scorers were all attackmen was in 2001, when Bobby Benson, Adam Doneger and Conor Ford led the way.
Young Guns: A year ago the Blue Jay offense was a senior-laden group that was led by Paul Rabil, Kevin Huntley, Stephen Peyser and Michael Doneger, who combined for 108 goals and 34 assists. Fast forward to this season and the experience has been replaced by youth. Through 12 games, 102 of the Blue Jays’ 142 goals (71.8%) have been scored by players who will return next season, while 70 of the team’s 86 assists (81.4%) have been accumulated by players with at least one year of eligibility remaining. Taking a look at the top of the scoring charts magnifies the Blue Jays’ youth even more:
JHU’s top four scorers (Kyle Wharton-37, Chris Boland-36, Michael Kimmel-36, Steven Boyle-33) have combined for 142 points this season. All four are due to return in 2010.
JHU currently has five players with 17 or more goals (Kyle Wharton-28, Chris Boland-23, Brian Christopher-21, Steven Boyle-18, Michael Kimmel-17). Four of the five are due to return in 2010.
Five players on the team currently have 10 or more assists (Michael Kimmel-19, Steven Boyle-15, Chris Boland-13, Brian Christopher-10, Kyle Wharton-9). Four of the five are due to returning 2010.
Defensive Notes of Interest:
After allowing a total of 30 goals in back-to-back losses to Syracuse and Virginia, the Blue Jays have allowed a total of just 50 goals in their last six games (UNC/Albany/Maryland/Navy/Towson/MSM).
JHU held Mount St. Mary’s scoreless for stretches of 14:27 and 20:34. The five goals allowed against the Mount are the second fewest JHU has allowed this season (Siena-3).
Since the start of the 2007 season the Blue Jays have held the opposition scoreless for a streak of 14 minutes or longer 46 times. JHU has turned this trick nine times this season.
The Blue Jays have held 22 of their last 34 opponents – including 13 of 17 last season – scoreless for a stretch of at least 18 minutes.
Hopkins has held the opposition scoreless for 25 minutes or longer 14 times since the start of the 2007 season, including seven times last season.
Despite allowing 10 goals againt Towson, the Blue Jays held the Tigers scoreless for stretches of 12:30, 11:37 and 11:20. The Tigers were also a combined 1-of-15 shooting in the fourth quarter and overtime.
Johns Hopkins held Navy scoreless for stretches of 17:16 and 12:48.
Johns Hopkins held Maryland scoreless for a stretch of 20:02 from late in the third quarter until the final minute of the fourth.
Johns Hopkins held Albany scoreless for streaks of 20:32 and 11:32. The streak of 20:32 is the second longest scoring drought for an opponent this season.
Despite the loss, Johns Hopkins held North Carolina scoreless for stretches of 13:18 and 11:08.
Johns Hopkins held Hofstra scoreless for stretches of 16:49, 11:56 and 11:21 in the 12-7 victory against the Pride. The Pride scored consecutive goals just once (late in the first quarter) against the Blue Jays.
Johns Hopkins held Siena to just three goals in the season-opener. That’s the fewest JHU has allowed in a season-opener since 1982.
The Blue Jays held Siena scoreless for the final 45:50 and limited the Saints to just six shots in the second half, including none in the third quarter.
Offensive Notes of Interest:
While the focus of any Dave Pietramala-coached team will always be defense, the Blue Jay offense has also been effective. Consider:
Johns Hopkins enters the game against Loyola ranked seventh in the nation in scoring offense (11.3), seventh in the nation in points per game (19.0) and ninth in assists per game (7.16). The Blue Jays’ offensive numbers are even more impressive when you look at the national scoring defense leaders. JHU has played six of the top 10 and nine of the top 19 schools in the nation in scoring defense.
Despite the heavy losses mentioned earlier on offense (Paul Rabil, Kevin Huntley, Stephen Peyser, Michael Doneger), the Blue Jays are actually averaging nearly 1.5 goals per game more than they did when they advanced to the national championship game last year (10.53) and won the national championship in 2007 (10.47). In fact, the 11.8 goals per game the Blue Jays are averaging this season are the most for JHU since 2004 (12.13).
JHU has scored in double figures 28 times in its last 35 games and is averaging 11.23 goals per game during that time (393 goals in 35 games).
The 15 goals the Blue Jays scored against top-ranked Virginia are the most by Johns Hopkins against a team ranked in the top five since March 20, 2004, when JHU knocked off then third-ranked Syracuse, 17-5.
The Blue Jays have scored 142 goals on 427 shots this season for a shooting percentage of .333. As a team the Blue Jays scored on 31.2% of their shots last season (179-of-573). JHU connected on 28.8% of its shots en route to winning the national championship in 2007. The Blue Jays’ highest shooting percentage in the Pietramala era came in 2003, when they connected on 31.7% (224-of-706) of their shots. The last time JHU connected on better than 33% of its shots was in 1993 (211-of-607 /.348).
Kimmel Joins Elite Club: Junior Michael Kimmel is enjoying the finest season of his career and one of the finest seasons by a midfielder in the nation this season and has established himself as a legitimate contender for the the McLaughlin Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top midfielder.
Kimmel currently ranks second on the team in points (36), leads the team with a career-high 19 assists and ranks fifth on the team in goals (17). He also ranks fourth on the team in ground balls (26), has totaled two or more points in 10 of 12 games this season and has 14 points in his last four games (6g, 8a).
With his recent surge, Kimmel has joined an exclusive club at Johns Hopkins, one which counts just three members. With his 35 points this season, Kimmel is just the third midfielder in school history to total 30 or more points as a freshman, sophomore and junior. He joins four-time First Team All-American Del Dressel and three-time First Team All-American Paul Rabil as the middies in JHU history to turn this trick.
Kimmel enters this week’s game against Loyola with 97 career points (53g, 44a).
One-Goal Turnarounds: With the 11-10 double overtime win at Towson, Johns Hopkins is 33-11 in one-goal games since Dave Pietramala took over in 2001. The Blue Jays have won 20 of their last 27 and 24 of their last 32 one-goal games. In the five seasons prior to Pietramala arriving (1996-2000) the Blue Jays were 5-8 in one-goal games.
More One-Goal Notes: The Blue Jays have come from behind to win 17 times during their last 20 one-goal wins. In 11 of those 17 come-from-behind one-goal wins the Blue Jays came back from a deficit of two goals or more. The latest of these come-from-behind one-goal wins came at Towson (4-22-09), when the Blue Jays trailed by as many as four (twice) in the third quarter. The four-goal deficit is the largest JHU has overcome to win a game since March 18, 2005, when the Blue Jays erased a 7-1 deficit and defeated Syracuse 12-11 in overtime.
Extra, Extra: Last week’s 11-10 double overtime victory at Towson snapped a four-game losing streak in overtime for the Blue Jays. JHU is 14-6 all-time in overtime under head coach Dave Pietramala’s guidance and won seven straight overtime games from 2004 through 2007 before dropping three straight games in OT last season and one earlier this year at North Carolina.
Murray and Roy Selected to All-GWLL Teams
Junior defender Dillon Roy and senior midfielder Joey Murray honored with All-Conference recognition.
USAFA, Colo. University of Denver mens lacrosse landed two student-athletes on the Great Western Lacrosse Leagues 2009 All-Conference team, it was announced today by the league, as defender Dillon Roy (Denver, Colo.) and senior midfielder Joey Murray (Denver, Colo.) were tabbed with first and second team honor, respectively.
Roy was named to the first team for the second-consecutive season. He started in all 15 games this season, collected 47 groundballs and caused 23 turnovers. He also recorded five points with two goals and three assists, while also targeting 70 percent of his shots on goal.
Murray was selected to an all-conference team for the third-consecutive year during his four years as a Pioneer. His sophomore season, he was named to the first team, and both this year and last year he was named to the second team. Murray recorded 30 points on 25 goals and 5 assists this season. He tallied 74 shots with 38 on goal, picked up 27 groundballs and caused 10 turnovers.
Denver completed its season on Sunday with a 10-7 loss against Air Force to bring the Pioneers to an overall season record of 7-8 and 1-4 in GWLL action.
The Florida State lacrosse team won three straight games in Atlanta, Ga. over the weekend to win the Southeastern Lacrosse Conference Tournament title. The Tribe (16-2, 12-2 SELC) defeated Georgia 15-11 Friday, and then took down No. 23 Auburn 13-8 Saturday.
FSU was then able to win a 16-3 game against No. 14 Virginia Tech to take the SELC Tournament title.
The ’Noles finished the regular season ranked No. 9 in the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association poll, but had lost their last two games entering the SELC Tournament.
Those two losses may have been what the team needed to get their minds back on track for the postseason.
“We just started to play like Florida State lacrosse again,” FSU assistant coach Matt Waesche said. “It had been a while since we had played our brand of ball, and it was good to see us get back to that — lots of crisp passes and cutting to the net all weekend and lots of fight for all four quarters.”
FSU had already beaten Georgia (6-9, 4-5 SELC) 13-7 earlier this season as part of the Southern Shootout Tournament. Georgia did defeat the Seminoles twice last season — once in Tallahassee and once in the SELC Tournament — so Florida State players felt like they owed the Bulldogs a little bit of a payback.
“Beating Georgia is big for us,” FSU midfielder Jake Hornstein said earlier this season. “They’ve beaten us the last couple times we’ve played them, and they were actually better than we were last year.”
Game two for the ’Noles was against the top-seeded Auburn Tigers (10-1, 6-1 SELC). Auburn scored the first three goals of the game, but FSU players did not panic.
“We didn’t have to fire the guys up, but really just settle everyone down,” Waesche said. “We had to get their focus back on what we wanted to do and not get too crazy out there. It was just a good team win.”
Attacker Tyler Richey poured in two goals and dished out two assists in the contest, while midfielder Jon Yates had a team-high three goals.
Senior midfielder Alex Pettit had both a goal and an assist, but contributed more than his stats showed.
“(Pettit) really was the player of the game because he had a ton of gritty groundballs,” Waesche said. “He hurt his shoulder on Friday night, and we all thought he wasn’t going to be able to play Saturday.
“But he fought through it and was all over the field, going for every groundball, and scored a tremendous goal by going through three guys. He wouldn’t be denied, and nothing was going to keep him off the field.”
Pettit missed several games over the last six weeks with a shoulder injury and had not scored a goal since the team’s game against Miami March 7.
“I’ve really worked to try and get back to help the team,” Pettit said before the tournament. “I’ve been playing here for four years now, and I want it to be the best ever for FSU lacrosse.”
The championship game matched up the Tribe with arguably their biggest rival in the SELC the last few years. Virginia Tech (14-3, 10-1 SELC) handed the ’Noles their first loss of the season, so the win not only avenged that loss, but also ensured the Seminoles a trip to the MCLA National Tournament. FSU never trailed in the game en route to the tournament crown.
Goalie John Goodrich and attacker Corey Noonan were named Defensive and Offensive Players of the Tournament, respectively.
The 16-team MCLA National Tournament begins May 12 in Denver, Colo., and concludes with the championship game on May 16.
Kyle Lojacono is a Staff Writer for the FSView and Florida Flambeau. The FSView and Florida Flambeau is the independent student newspaper for Florida State University. The paper is distributed twice per week, and is also available online at http://www.fsunews.com
The Florida State Men’s Lacrosse team will resume their 2009 season on May 12 in Denver, Colorado at the MCLA National Championship. The Seminoles earned an automatic bid to this year’s National Championship by winning the Southeastern Lacrosse Conference. More information on Florida State Lacrosse is available at www.fsulacrosse.com
BALTIMORE, Md. – The Syracuse Orange is the top-ranked team in the nation in both polls this week after defeating UMass, 10-3, on Saturday. Syracuse earned 152 points and four first-place votes in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) CoachesPoll and collected 295 points and 15 first-place votes in the NIKE/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll. Both polls were released on Monday, April 27.
Its the first time since this season the Orange has secured the top spot in the media rankings. Syracuse was No. 1 for three weeks earlier this season in the coaches rankings before losing to Virginia on Feb. 27.
Notre Dame and Duke are second and third, respectively, in both polls. Princeton and Virginia are tied for fourth in the USILA rankings. In the media rankings, Princeton is No. 4 with the Cavaliers checking in at No. 5.
The Orange will wrap up the 2009 regular season at home on Saturday, May 2 against Colgate.
The attendance was the 24th largest NCAA Regular Season crowd.
April 25, 2009
AMHERST, Mass. – Despite holding a 2-1 lead only 5:23 into the first quarter, the Syracuse men’s lacrosse team took over from there, scoring nine of the final 10 goals to hand #16/15 UMass a 10-3 nonconference defeat in front of a program record 13,722 at McGuirk Alumni Stadium on Saturday. Jim Connolly scored two goals while Ryan Marcus added the other. The Orange (11-2) defense stole the show, holding the Minutemen scoreless for a span of 38:20 after Marcus’ goal. Goaltender Doc Schneider was sensational once again with 17 saves, 12 coming in the first half to keep the Minutemen (8-5, 5-1 ECAC) within 4-2. UMass now looks ahead to a huge showdown next Saturday at Rutgers. A win would earn the team its first ECAC Title since 2005 and conference’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
The crowd was also the 24th biggest for an NCAA regular season college lacrosse game and 18th largest in an on-campus facility. UMass’ former record of 12,143 was set on May, 1989, also against Syracuse.
The Minutemen used a fast start for the early advantage as Connolly and Marcus scored within the game’s first six minutes. After Connolly gave UMass a 1-0 lead at 11:39, Syracuse’s Stephen Keogh answered only eight seconds later on a fast break off the faceoff win.
Marcus added his tally with a short side shot on a delayed penalty. Patrick Perritt tied the score at two at 7:39, beginning a run of seven unanswered tallies.
Schneider impressed with seven second quarter saves to keep the Minutemen within shouting distance. The lone tally by either side came from Kenny Nims.
Syracuse used three goals within 5:18 of the second half to open up a 7-2 lead. Josh Amidon made it 8-2, but Connolly answered at the 1:18 mark with his second of the game off a rebound attempt to end the 38:20 scoreless drought.
Two Stephen Keogh goals, one a highlight-reel between the legs tally, marked all the fourth quarter scoring for the 10-3 final.
Final shots were 37-30 in favor of Syracuse. Orange goalie John Galloway matched Schneider save for save with 14 stops of his own. Syracuse was 19-for-25 on clears while UMass was 18-for-20 and faceoff wins were 9-8 in favor of the Minutemen.
The Minutemen travels to Rutgers next Saturday for a huge ECAC game. Faceoff is set for 1 p.m. A win would give UMass the ECAC Championship while a loss would give Loyola the conference title. The championship would be UMass’ first since 2005 and the team’s first NCAA Tournament berth since its magical run in 2006.
Syracuse vs #16 Massachusetts (Apr 25, 2009 at Amherst, Mass.)
Kocis Scores Three and Eleven Different Players Score
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Georgetown tied a season-high with six goals in a quarter and junior Scott Kocis (Huntington, N.Y./Huntington) recorded his second-straight hat trick as the 17th-ranked Hoyas posted a 15-7 win over Rutgers in a key ECAC matchup in front of 931 fans at a sun-soaked Multi-Sport Field Saturday afternoon.
It was the fourth win in the last five games and the fifth in the last seven games for Georgetown, who improves to 7-6 overall and 3-3 in the ECAC. Rutgers falls to 4-10 overall and 2-4 in the league.
Eleven different players scored goals for Georgetown and 17 different players finished with at least one point as the Hoyas posted their highest score since beating Delaware, 18-10, in the fourth game of the 2007 season. The Hoyas jumped out to a 6-2 lead after the first quarter, led 8-2 at the break and 10-3 after three quarters before taking a 15-4 lead in the fourth quarter, the team’s biggest lead this season.
It did not appear to be Georgetown’s day in the early minutes. Junior Craig Dowd (East Northport, N.Y./Northport) gave the Hoyas a 1-0 lead at 13:41, but Rutgers responded immediately, two goals from Tad Stanwick giving the Scarlet Knights a 2-1 at 10:25. Georgetown, however, would score nine-straight goals to open a 10-2 lead and held Rutgers without a score until there was 2:52 left in the third quarter – a scoreless stretch of 37:33.
Senior Jake Samperton (Bethesda, Md./Landon) scored off a Dowd assist to tie the game at 2-all in the first quarter, and the Hoyas scored four more times – two from Kocis and one apiece from junior Rickey Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y./Chenango Forks) and senior Chris Taylor (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) – to take a 6-2 lead.
Kocis scored his third goal of the day with 10:08 to play before the half, giving the Hoyas a 7-2 lead. Dowd picked up his third point of the day, and his second assist, when he fed junior Eric Reinhardt (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) for a score with 7:48 to play in the second quarter.
Samperton scored his second goal of the game – off an assist from junior Chris Nixon (Duxbury, Mass./Duxbury) – four minutes into the third quarter and the lead grew to 10-2 when Mirabito assisted junior Chris Schuville (Lloyd Harbor, N.Y./Cold Spring Harbor) with 3:16 to play. Justin Pennington from Rutgers scored with 2:52 to play in the third quarter to end the scoreless streak.
Rutgers pulled to within 11-4 on a Pennington man-up goal early in the fourth quarter, but the Hoyas responded with five-straight goals to open a 15-4 lead. Freshman Gerry Reilly (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Xavier) scored his first career goal at 7:30, senior Stoddie Nibley (Bethesda, Md./Landon) scored his second career goal at 4:46, freshman Francis McDonough (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) notched his first career score at 3:33 and sophomore David Shriver (Timonium, Md./Boys’ Latin) closed out the scoring at 2:13, with an assist from sophomore Jon Schoen (Darien, Conn./Darien).
The Hoyas won 14-of-25 face-off attempts, with senior Michael Shotwell (Fairfax, Va./St. Stephens-St. Agnes) capturing 10-of-15 and senior Dan Vinson (Pleasant Hill, Calif./DeLaSalle) winning 4-of-6 attempts. Shotwell added a team-high seven ground balls. Junior goalie Jack Davis (Glen Ridge, N.J./Glen Ridge) had another solid day in net, making 11 saves.
Georgetown held a 44-33 advantage in shots and won the ground ball battle, 32-29.
The Hoyas close out the regular season next Saturday, May 2, hosting ECAC rival Penn State. The game is slated to face-off at noon and it will air on a tape-delayed basis on Verizon FiOS.
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In front of an NCAA men’s lacrosse regular-season record crowd of 30,192 watched as the Ohio State men’s lacrosse team lost to No. 3 Notre Dame, 14-8, in sunny, warm Ohio Stadium Saturday.
Buckeye junior goalie Brandon Freeman made a career-best 18 saves in the defeat, while senior Jeff Ryan had four goals and an assist for his second-consecutive five-point game. Senior Joel Dalgarno’s goal in the first quarter was the 123rd of his career, as he tied the program record set by Terry Gilmore in 1979.
The loss drops the Buckeyes to 7-7 on the year and they end Great Western Lacrosse League play 3-2. Notre Dame, the only undefeated team in the nation, moves to 13-0 and wraps up the GWLL regular-season title with a 5-0 ledger. Notre Dame enters the GWLL tournament next weekend as the No. 1 seed and will take on Quinnipiac. Ohio State and Air Force will play in the other semifinal, with final seeding set after the Falcons’ game vs. Denver Saturday night.
Ohio State led 3-0 in the first quarter but Notre Dame outscored the Buckeyes, 4-1, including a goal with one second remaining, in the second quarter to send the teams into halftime tied at 4. The Irish scored the next seven goals to take the lead and push the score to 11-4. Ohio State ended the run with a goal with 3:16 left in the third quarter. Each team scored three times in the fourth.
The Buckeyes opened the scoring at 10:46 of the first quarter when Dalgarno found Mario Ventiquattro at the far post with a cross-crease pass. Dalgarno scored a goal of his own at 8:02. Junior Keith Lovett forced a turnover in the Buckeye zone and rushed the ball upfield, sending Dalgarno in on the Irish net for his record-tying goal. Ventiquattro added his second of the game at 6:45, set up by Ryan. Notre Dame got on the board when Zach Brenneman tallied at 4:24. Shots were 12-9 in favor of the Irish in the first quarter.
The Irish tied the game with the first two goals of the second quarter. Ryan Hoff scored at 10:11 and Peter Christman scored man-up with 3:00 on the clock. With Ohio State on a man-up chance, Ryan put Ohio State ahead when Justin Hayes found him with a quick-stick pass. The Irish tied the game with just one second remaining when Christmas found the back of the net on a rising shot from a sharp angle. Ohio State was outshot in the quarter, 11-6, with Freeman making five saves.
Notre Dame poured it on coming out of halftime, opening with a 7-0 run. Christman and Hoff (man-up) scored in 28 seconds to put the Irish up by two, followed by a goal from Brennaman at 10:58. The Irish scored four goals in 3:23, with goals from Duncan Swezey (7:23), Brennaman (5:50), Neal Hicks (5:43) and Hoff (4:00). Ohio State stopped the run when Ryan scored unassisted with 3:16 left in the quarter. Freeman made seven saves in the quarter, as the Irish outshot the Buckeyes, 20-7.
Notre Dame scored twice in 20 seconds in the fourth quarter, with goals from Grant Krebs at 11:45 and Hicks at 11:25. Freshman Eddie Bambino found the back of the net for the Buckeyes and 10:01. There was no scoring until Mike Pires set up Ryan at 3:17. Nicholas Beattie scored a goal for the Irish at 1:57 and Doug Ruhnke set up Ryan for the final goal with 39 seconds left. Shots were 10-8 for Notre Dame in the quarter.
Each team won 12 faceoffs, with senior Nick Carr going 8-5 for the Buckeyes. Lovett was 3-4 and had a team-best five groundballs in the game.
Notre Dame was 2-for-5 on EMO chances in the game. Ohio State was 1-for-2, with its last chance starting with three seconds left in regulation.
Postgame Notes
Dalgarno has a team-best 30 goals, 23 assists and 53 points this season. Dalgarno, who became the second Buckeye all-time (and in 30 years) to cross the 200-point mark for his career, now has 123 goals and 219 career points, ranking second in both categories in the Ohio State record book. He is tied with Terry Gilmore for first all-time in goals. Dalgarno has 97 assists to stand one back of second place Cliff Murray. He is on a 20-game point streak (49-34-83).
Ryan now is second on the team with a career-best 45 points, including a personal-high 29 goals and 16 assists. It was his third five-point game this season and the fifth of his career. It was the third four-goal game of his career and the second this season.
Ruhnke is on a six-game scoring streak (6-4-10).
Freeman topped the 15 saves he had at Air Force last Saturday. He has double-digit saves in each of his last three games.
The previous attendance record was 29,601 set in Ohio Stadium last year when the Buckeyes downed Denver in Ohio Stadium. The Buckeye game vs. Notre Dame preceded the Ohio State spring football game, which set the national attendance record for a spring football game with 95,722 fans in attendance.
Thrust into the role as the starting goalie on the Johns Hopkins men’s lacrosse team midway through his freshman year, Quint Kessenich never budged from that spot during the remainder of his career and enjoyed a four-year run rivaled by few goalies in the storied history of the program.
Kessenich fueled a late-season run for Johns Hopkins in 1987 that landed the Blue Jays their seventh NCAA Championship. He helped lead Johns Hopkins to a four-year record of 36-12 (.750), the 1987 NCAA title, an appearance in the 1989 NCAA Championship game and four trips to the NCAA Tournament. Included in the run to the 1987 national championship was a 13-8 win over top-ranked and previously undefeated Maryland in the NCAA Semifinals. Kessenich was named to the 1987 NCAA All-Tournament Team.
Kessenich, who ended his career ranked first in school history in career saves (573) and held 24 of the 31 opponents he started against to less than 10 goals, earned All-America honors four times in his career, including first team status as a sophomore and junior. He earned the Kelly Award as the nation’s top goalie in 1988 and 1989 and remains one of just 20 players in school history to earn All-America honors four times. He is the only goalie among the 20 players who have earned All-America honors four times at JHU.
One of just four Johns Hopkins goalies to win the Kelly Award more than once, Kessenich was named to the All-Time Johns Hopkins Team at the end of his career and his .6289 career save percentage ranks second in school history.
LH NOTE: Quint was a tremendous high school wrestler
#2 Notre Dame (14-0) vs. Ohio State (8-7)
GWLL Tournament Final
Sunday, May 3 • 12:00 p.m. (ET)
Seaholm High School • Birmingham, Mich.
Gametracker: und.com
SETTING THE STAGE …
The second-ranked Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will face Ohio State in the championship game of the second annual Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) tournament on Sunday at 12 noon (ET). The contest is a rematch of last season’s GWLL title game that the Irish won 9-2. Notre Dame topped Ohio State, 14-8, last Saturday in Columbus, Ohio. The winner of Sunday’s showdown will receive an automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Championship.
SEMFINAL RECAP …
The top-seeded Fighting Irish bested No. 4 seed Quinnipiac, 7-4, in the GWLL semifinals on Friday, while third Ohio State grabbed a 10-5 decision over second seed Air Force.
ABOUT THE IRISH …
Notre Dame will carry a 14-0 record into Sunday’s game against Ohio State … the Irish are the top seed in the GWLL tournament after locking up Notre Dame’s 12th GWLL regular-season title … the Irish have produced the first undefeated regular season in program history … Notre Dame ranks first nationally in team defense with a 6.07 goals-against average … the Irish are ninth in scoring offense (11.21) … Notre Dame is ranked second nationally in both major polls … that matches the highest ranking in program history … Scott Rodgers ranks first among all Division I goalies in goals-against average (6.09) and he is second in save percentage (.663) … junior midfielder Grant Krebs has a team-high 27 goals … senior attackman Duncan Swezey has team-high numbers in points (41) and assists (19) … Kevin Corrigan is in his 21st season as the head coach of Notre Dame … he has a 195-95 (.672) record during his Fighting Irish tenure.
ND-OHIO STATE SERIES NOTES …
Sunday will be the 34th meeting all-time between the Fighting Irish and Buckeyes … Notre Dame owns a 24-9 advantage against Ohio State , including a 14-8 victory last Saturday (April 25) in Columbus, Ohio … this is the second straight season that both teams have meet twice … last season, Notre Dame topped Ohio State, 17-12, in the regular-season finale at Alumni Field and the Irish bested the Buckeyes, 9-2, one week later in the championship game of the inaugural GWLL tournament … the series between the two schools dates back to 1981 … Ohio State is the most commonly faced opponent in the history of the Notre Dame program … the Buckeyes’ last win in the series was a 9-8 decision at Notre Dame in 2004.
THE LAST TIME …
Notre Dame defeated Ohio State, 14-8, last Saturday (April 25) at Ohio Stadium … the contest drew an NCAA regular-season record crowd of 30,192 … Notre Dame used an 11-1 run to break open the game … after the Buckeyes jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the 6:45 mark of the first quarter, the Irish defense clamped down and held Ohio State without a goal for the next 21:40 … Notre Dame tied the game 3-3 in that stretch … the Buckeyes finally scored again with 1:35 remaining in the second quarter, yet Notre Dame responded with an 8-0 run en route to the 14-8 victory … sophomore midfielder Zach Brenneman led the Irish with a career-high four goals … goalie Scott Rodgers made nine saves in the win.
DÉJÀ VU …
En route to winning last season’s inaugural GWLL tournament title, Notre Dame defeated Quinnipiac in the semifinals (10-6) before topping Ohio State (9-2) in the championship game … on Friday, the Fighting Irish downed Quinnipiac, 7-4, in the semifinals and that set up a date with Ohio State in Sunday’s championship game.
SELECTION SHOW …
The 2009 NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Championship selection bracket will be announced live on ESPNU and ESPNEWS on Sunday, May 3 … the 16-team bracket will be revealed from 9-10 p.m. (ET) on ESPNU and from 10-10:30 p.m. (ET) on ESPNEWS … the bracket will be posted on www.ncaa.com after the selection show.
WINNING WAYS …
With its current 14-0 mark, Notre Dame has equaled a program record for wins in a season… the Irish went 14-2 in 2001 and 14-3 last season … this is the fourth straight season that the Irish have reached double-figures in wins.
GWLL DOMINANCE …
Notre Dame is 64-10 (.865) all-time in Great Western Lacrosse League play (regular season and tournament) … the Irish have won 19 of their last 20 games against GWLL opponents … this is the 16th season for the GWLL … Notre Dame has gone undefeated in GWLL play on eight occasions, including this season … Notre Dame captured its 12th GWLL regular-season title with the win over Ohio State last Saturday … the Irish have won the title outright eight times, while earning a share of the crown four times … last season, Notre Dame captured the inaugural GWLL tournament.
ANOTHER HAT TRICK FOR HICKS …
Junior attackman Neal Hicks paced the Irish with three goals in the 7-4 win over Quinnipiac on Friday … that marked the third time this season Hicks has tallied at least three goals in a game … Hicks scored three times against Loyola and notched a four-goal game against Penn State
UNBLEMISHED …
This season’s 13-0 regular-season record marked the first undefeated regular season in Irish history … with its current 14-0 mark, Notre Dame is the only undefeated team in NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse … including the Irish, there are three undefeated teams among all NCAA Division I, II and III schools … Le Moyne is the only unblemished squad in D-II with a 13-0 record, while Roanoke is 16-0 in D-III … prior to this season, Notre Dame’s best start occurred during the 1993 campaign when the Irish posted eight straight victories to start the year … the current 14-game winning streak also is a program best … the Fighting Irish had nine-game win streaks in both 1992 and 2001.
IN THE POLLS …
The Fighting Irish currently are ranked second in both the Inside Lacrosse media poll and the USILA coaches poll … that matches the highest ranking in program history … the Fighting Irish were ranked second nationally in 2001 after starting the campaign 5-0 … the Irish advanced to the final four that season.
RODGERS NAMED GWLL PLAYER OF YEAR …
Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers was named the 2009 Great Western Lacrosse League Player of the Year … Rodgers is 14-0 on the season and leads the nation with a 6.09 goals-against average and he ranks second in save percentage (.663) … Rodgers is the sixth Notre Dame player to be selected as the GWLL Player of the Year and the first since fellow goalie Joey Kemp received the honor in 2007.
CORRIGAN COPS GWLL COACH OF THE YEAR HONORS …
Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan was tabbed as the 2009 Great Western Lacrosse League Coach of the Year … it marked the fifth time (1994, 1996, 2001, 2007, 2009) that Corrigan has been named the league’s top coach … Corrigan, who is in his 21st season as head coach of the Irish, has guided Notre Dame to the first undefeated regular season in program history … the Fighting Irish went 5-0 in conference play to capture their 12th regular-season GWLL title, which all have come under the direction of Corrigan … in addition, Notre Dame has gone undefeated in GWLL play on eight occasions.
ALL-LEAGUE ACCOLADES IN ABUNDANCE …
Eight Notre Dame players received All-Great Western Lacrosse League honors this season … the Fighting Irish boasted seven first-team picks … Scott Rodgers (Sr./G), Ryan Hoff (Sr./A), Duncan Swezey (Sr./A), Peter Christman (Sr./M), Grant Krebs (Jr./M), Sam Barnes (Jr./D) and Regis McDermott (Sr./D) all were named to the league’s top team, while Neal Hicks (Jr./A) was a second-team selection … the eight all-league members were the most from any of the conference’s six schools … the league’s head coaches voted on the awards and all-conference teams … the eight all-GWLL performers is tied for the second-most all-time in Notre Dame history … the Fighting Irish also had eight selections in 2007 … nine picks from the 2001 campaign are the most ever for the Irish … the seven first-team nods tie the program mark, which also was achieved in ’01.
A RECORD CROWD …
Last Saturday’s Notre Dame-Ohio State game was played in front of 30,192 fans at Ohio Stadium (The Horseshoe) … that attendance figure is an NCAA record for a regular season men’s lacrosse game … it also marked the largest crowd to attend a contest involving Notre Dame … the previous high was 21,103 from the 2001 NCAA semifinals against Syracuse in Piscataway, N.J. .
IRISH DEFENSE BEST IN THE NATION …
The Notre Dame defense ranks first in the nation with a 6.07 goals-against average … that mark is on pace to eclipse the program-record mark of 6.66 from the 2007 season … this season, the Fighting Irish have held opponents to seven goals or fewer in 10 games and have yet to allow more than nine goals in a single contest … Notre Dame has surrendered four goals or fewer four times … the Irish had the nation’s fifth-best scoring defense in 2008 by allowing 7.04 goals per game … in 2007, Notre Dame ranked fourth nationally with the 6.66 mark.
RODGERS ATOP THE RANKINGS …
Notre Dame’s Scott Rodgers ranks first among all NCAA Division I goalies with a 6.09 goals-against average … he is second nationally with a .663 save percentage.
SHUTTING DOWN THE COMPETITION …
Notre Dame held Quinnipiac scoreless in the first half of its 10-2 win on April 18 … the Irish came back the next day and held St. John’s without a goal in the second half … Notre Dame held the Red Storm without a goal over the last three quarters of the game … that was the first time the Irish held an opponent scoreless in three consecutive quarters in a game since they did not surrender a goal to Lehigh in the first three quarters back on April 21, 2007.
SCORELESS STREAKS …
The Notre Dame defense has produced a scoreless streak of at least 20 minutes in each of the past six games … here is a breakdown of the games (in chronological order) and the length of the streaks … Air Force (29:06), Denver (20:39), Quinnipiac (33:02), St. John’s (51:08), Ohio State (21:40) and Quinnipiac (25:29).
CLASS ACT …
Notre Dame’s senior class has a current four-year record of 49-12 (.803) … that is the most victories over a four-year span in the history of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse … during their time on campus, the Fighting Irish have gone to three straight NCAA Tournaments, including a quarterfinal berth last season … the current senior class has not lost a home game, going 24-0 to this point of their careers.
HAT TRICKS …
Notre Dame has had seven players notch a hat trick this season … Grant Krebs and Ryan Hoff have a team-high four games with at least three goals, while Duncan Swezey and Neal Hicks have done it three times … Peter Christman, David Earl and Zach Brenneman all have accomplished the feat two times … included in those figures are two four-goal games from Swezey and one four-goal game from Hicks and Brenneman along with a five-goal effort from Hoff.
HOME SWEET HOME …
Notre Dame’s current 25-game home win streak is the longest active streak in the country … it also is a program best … the Irish are 6-0 at home this season … the Fighting Irish went 6-0 at home last season … the Irish have gone three-plus seasons without losing a home contest … the current streak stems back to a 14-13 overtime win against 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 and followed it up with a 6-0 mark in 2007 … six of the games during the streak have been played in the Loftus Sports Center, while 12 have taken place outside at Moose Krause Stadium, the former home of Irish lacrosse … six have been played at Alumni Field, while one victory last season took place at School Field in South Bend … the Fighting Irish have taken down seven ranked opponents during the streak … Notre Dame owns an overall home record of 126-35 (.783) during the 28-plus years of varsity lacrosse at the University.
STREAKING …
Junior midfielder Grant Krebs carries a team-best 30-game point streak into Sunday’s tilt with Ohio State … the streak ranks in a tie for sixth nationally … he has notched 70 points on 53 goals and 17 assists during the streak … Krebs has tallied 35 points on 27 goals and eight assists this season … Krebs also owns the team’s longest goal-scoring streak … he has deposited a goal in 26 straight games.
FAST STARTS …
The Fighting Irish have out scored their opponents 38-20 in the first quarter of play this season.
THIRD QUARTER SHUTDOWN …
Notre Dame has surrendered just 15 third-quarter goals this season … that is an average of 1.07 per game … the Fighting Irish own a 35-15 scoring advantage in the third quarter .
GETTING OFFENSIVE …
Notre Dame ranks ninth among all NCAA Division I teams by averaging 11.21 goals per game this season … the Irish have scored at least nine goals in 13 of 14 games this season and scored a season-high 19 times against Dartmouth (Feb. 28) … the Irish averaged 12.09 goals per game last season and that placed them fifth nationally … in 2007, Notre Dame averaged 11.65 goals per game, which ranked fourth in the nation.
PLAYING ON BOTH ENDS …
Notre Dame is one of four teams to rank in the top 10 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense … the Irish rank first in defense (6.07) and ninth in offense (11.21) … Syracuse (2nd offense/T-7th defense), UMBC (5th offense/T-9th defense) and Princeton (8th offense/T-9th defense) are the other squads that ranks in the top 10 in both categories.
SPREADING THE WEALTH …
The Irish have had 19 different players score a goal this season … in the 19-7 win over Dartmouth, Notre Dame had a season-high 10 players notch a goal … Notre Dame boasts seven double-figure scorers … junior midfielder Grant Krebs leads the team with 27 goals, while senior attackman Ryan Hoff has 26… attackmen Neal Hicks (24) and Duncan Swezey (22) along with midfielders Zach Brenneman (16), Peter Christman (11) and David Earl (10) are the other double-figure goal scorers for the Irish.
HOFF MOVING UP THE CHARTS …
Senior attackman Ryan Hoff ranks second all-time in program history with 128 career goals … as a rookie, he tallied 21 goals before becoming the second Fighting Irish player ever to register back-to-back 40-goal campaigns with 40 in 2007 and 41 in 2008 … Hoff has 26 goals this season … Randy Colley (1992-95) is the program record holder with 173 career goals.
CHRISTMAN IN THE CLUTCH …
Peter Christman’s goal that snapped a 7-7 tie with 2:54 left in regulation in the win over Villanova on March 31 was not the first clutch tally of his career … last season, Christman netted the game winner in an 8-7 overtime triumph of Colgate in the first round of the NCAA Tournament … earlier that season, the midfielder scored the game winner with 23 seconds left in a 7-6 victory over Albany.
POINTING THE WAY …
Senior attackman Duncan Swezey leads the Fighting Irish in points with 41 … Swezey has a team-high 19 assists to go along with 22 goals, which place him in a tie for fourth among all Irish players … the point and assist totals are career-high marks, while he has equaled his top goal output for a season … Swezey has notched a point in every game this season and has scored a goal in all but two contests.
HICKS HAVING CAREER SEASON …
Junior attackman Neal Hicks is producing a career-best season … Hicks is second on the team in points with 37 … he is third on the squad in goals (24) and assists (13) … all of those offensive numbers are single-season career-high figures for the junior … entering this season, Hicks had totaled 13 goals and seven assists for his career … in the 2009 season opener, the Atlanta native returned to his home state and registered the first hat trick of his career in a 10-9 win over Loyola … Hicks followed that up with an eight-point performance on four goals and four assists in a 13-8 win at Penn State … all of those numbers were single-game career-high marks for the junior … the eight points were one off the program record of nine … Hicks netted a hat trick in Notre Dame’s 7-4 win over Quinnipiac in the GWLL semifinals.
PICKING UP THE BALL …
Senior defenseman Regis McDermott has a team-high 50 ground balls … he ranks 31st nationally in ground balls per game (4.18) … McDermott scooped up a career-high eight ground balls in the 14-8 win over Ohio State on Saturday … sophomore LSM Andrew Irving is second on the squad with 46 ground balls.
WORTH THE WAIT …
Entering the 2009 season, senior goalie Scott Rodgers had only appeared in seven career games while backing up three-time All-American Joey Kemp … after not playing at all last season, Rodgers made his first collegiate start in the 10-9 win over Loyola on Feb. 14 … Rodgers came up with two huge saves in the final minute to preserve the win for the Fighting Irish and collect the first victory of his career … the senior followed that performance up with a career-high 20 saves in a 13-8 win over Penn State on Feb. 22 … that effort earned him a spot on the Inside Lacrosse team of the week … the Long Island native came up big in the 9-7 triumph of No. 3 North Carolina as he made 16 saves and was named the Great Western Lacrosse League player of the week for his effort … another clutch effort was needed in a 9-7 win over Villanova as he made two saves down the stretch, including one in the final 30 seconds … he currently ranks first among all NCAA Division I goalies with a 6.09 goals-against average and is second with a .663 save percentage.
RODGERS A TEWAARATON TROPHY NOMINEE …
Fighting Irish senior goalie Scott Rodgers has been selected as one of 21 nominees for the 2009 Tewaaraton Trophy … the award is presented annually to the nation’s top collegiate lacrosse player … Rodgers, the 2009 GWLL Player of the Year, ranks first nationally in goals-against average (6.09) and is second in save percentage (.663) … the team captain has made 10 or more saves in nine games this season … Rodgers is the fifth player in Notre Dame history to be tabbed as a nominee for the Tewaaraton Trophy … he joins attackmen Tom Glatzel (2001), David Ulrich (2001), Pat Walsh (2004 & 2005) and goalie Joey Kemp (2008) with that honor … a list of five finalists for the award will be announced later this spring … the ninth annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony will be held on Thursday, May 28, 2009, at the University Club of Washington, D.C.
SENIOR CLASS FINALIST …
Notre Dame attackman Ryan Hoff is among a list of 10 NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse players who have been selected as finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award … to be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: Classroom, Character, Community, and Competition … Hoff has 26 goals this season, which ranks second among all Notre Dame players … the senior carries a 3.230 cumulative grade-point average as a marketing major in the Mendoza College of Business … Hoff was a dean’s list member in the fall of 2008 as he posted a 3.883 semester GPA.
NATIONAL RECOGNITION …
Notre Dame’s Sam Barnes, Grant Krebs and Scott Rodgers all have been named to the Inside Lacrosse team of the week this season … Barnes earned the honor after helping the Fighting Irish shut down Dartmouth in Notre Dame’s 19-7 victory in its home opener on Feb. 28 … Krebs was named to the first Inside Lacrosse team of the week (Feb. 17) after notching four points on three goals and an assist in the 10-9 season-opening win over Loyola … the junior midfielder was selected to the squad as the ‘EMO Sniper’ after he scored two man-up tallies in the second half against the Greyhounds … Rodgers, a senior goalie, was named to the IL team of the week on Feb. 24 after notching a career-high 20 saves in a 13-8 victory at Penn State.
COVERING THE NATION …
The trip to the Patriot Cup on March 21 marked Notre Dame’s first-ever game in the state of Texas … over the past few seasons, the Irish have helped bring the sport to new locations … last season, the Fighting Irish took on Dartmouth in Atlanta, Ga. … that marked the first-ever NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse game in the state of Georgia … the Irish returned to Georgia for this season’s opener against Loyola … in 2006, Notre Dame faced Cornell in the first Division I men’s lacrosse game in the state of Illinois as the two schools met in Lisle … the Irish battled Denver in Bridgeview, Ill. last season … Notre Dame also has competed in the GWLL Tournament in Birmingham, Mich. in each of the past two seasons.
WOUNDED WARRIOR …
The Fighting Irish faced Vermont as part of the 2009 Patriot Cup on March 21 in Dallas, Texas … the Patriot Cup, which also featured Bucknell taking on Air Force, benefitted the Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) … the WWP is a nonprofit organization that seeks to assist the men and women of our armed forces who have been severly injured during the conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan and other locations around the world … the WWP provides unique programs and services, raises awareness and enlists public support and provides a means for veterans to help each other … for more information on the WWP, visit www.woundedwarriorproject.org.
HALTING THE HEELS …
Notre Dame held North Carolina scoreless for a stretch of 29:57 from the second quarter to the fourth quarter in the Irish win on March 8 … the third-ranked Tar Heels entered the contest averaging nearly 15 goals per game, which ranked fifth nationally … North Carolina scored with 4:19 remaining in the first half to take a 4-3 lead … the Tar Heels did not notch another goal until the 4:22 mark of the fourth quarter … Notre Dame out scored North Carolina 4-0 during that stretch en route to the 9-7 victory … the win over the third-ranked Tar Heels marked the second time in program history that the Irish had defeated a team ranked in the top three of the national polls … the Fighting Irish took down third-ranked Johns Hopkins, 13-9, during the quarterfinals of the 2001 NCAA Championship.
IRISH TABBED TO WIN GWLL …
Notre Dame was picked to win the 2009 Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) title according to a preseason poll done by the conference’s head coaches … the Irish won the GWLL last season by capturing the league’s inaugural postseason tournament … the poll, which was published in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook, had Denver in the No. 2 slot followed by Ohio State … Air Force, Bellarmine and Quinnipiac round out the poll, respectively … the GWLL enjoyed unprecedented success last season as three teams qualified for the NCAA Championship for the first time ever … Notre Dame, Ohio State and Denver all were among the 16-team NCAA field … the Irish and Buckeyes both advanced to the quarterfinals, making it the first time the league ever had two teams among the final eight.
PRESEASON HONORS …
Two Fighting Irish players were named to the 2009 All-Great Western Lacrosse League preseason team, which was selected by the league’s head coaches … seniors Ryan Hoff (A) and Regis McDermott (D) were selected to the 13-man squad.
IRISH CAPTAINS …
Seniors Peter Christman (M), Regis McDermott (D), Davey Melera (M) and Scott Rodgers (G) all are first-time captains for the Fighting Irish during the 2009 campaign.
GIVING BACK …
While the support of the South Bend/Michiana community has been a key ingredient to the success of the Fighting Irish at home over the years, the Notre Dame players have routinely given back to the local community … last spring, the Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse team was recognized with The Trophy Award at Notre Dame’s seventh annual O.S.C.A.R.S (Outstanding Student-Athletes Celebrating Achievements and Recognition Showcase) … established by the Office of Student Welfare and Development at Notre Dame, The Trophy Award annually recognizes an athletic team that has demonstrated its commitment and dedication to the community through unparalleled community service to Notre Dame and South Bend.
RECAPPING ’08 …
Notre Dame produced a 14-3 record during the 2008 season … the Fighting Irish won the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) title by capturing the inaugural GWLL tournament … that marked the 11th GWLL crown for the program … Notre Dame garnered the No. 6 seed for the NCAA Championship and topped Colgate, 8-7, in overtime before falling to eventual national champion Syracuse, 11-9, during the quarterfinals … that was the fourth time the Irish had advanced to the NCAA Championship quarterfinals … it was Notre Dame’s 13th trip to the NCAA Tournament and the second time the Irish had earned a seed … Notre Dame has been eliminated from the tournament by the eventual national champion in each of the past three seasons (Virginia, 14-10, in ’06 and Johns Hopkins, 11-10 in overtime, in ’07) … the Irish offense and defense both concluded the ’08 season ranked fifth nationally … the offense averaged 12.09 goals per game, while the defense surrendered just 7.04 per contest … the Irish finished the season ranked fifth in the final USILA poll and sixth according to Inside Lacrosse.
BIG EAST AWAITS …
The 2009 season will be the last for Notre Dame in the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) … the Fighting Irish will begin play in the BIG EAST Conference in 2010 … the six other conference schools that will participate in the newly-formed league are Georgetown, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Syracuse and Villanova … the teams will play a six-game single round-robin regular season schedule … the BIG EAST will apply for an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Championship field … men’s lacrosse will be the BIG EAST’s 11th men’s sport while the Conference conducts 13 women’s sports … Notre Dame already is a member of the BIG EAST in 23 other sports … Notre Dame has been a member of the GWLL since 1994 … the Fighting Irish have captured 11 regular-season GWLL titles in addition to winning the inaugural GWLL Tournament in 2008.
ARLOTTA STADIUM …
Arlotta Stadium will become the new home for the Notre Dame men’s and women’s lacrosse programs upon completion, which is scheduled for June of 2009 … construction of the facility began in August of 2008 … conceptual plans suggest a 2,000-seat, lighted stadium that would include an artificial-turf field, locker rooms, restrooms and concession areas … the state-of-the-art facility is named after Notre Dame graduate John Arlotta, president and chief executive officer of Denver-based Coram Inc. … he and his wife Bobbie pledged the lead gift toward the stadium to be built to the east of the Joyce Center as part of the University’s new athletics quadrangle … the Arlotta children – Mindy, Andy and Jon – also have pledged an additional gift from The Arlotta Family Foundation toward the project … in addition to their generous donation, alumni and friends of the lacrosse programs have donated over two million dollars.
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 game updates for all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame … Irish men’s lacrosse fans can sign up to receive scores following each quarter.
KEEPING UP WITH ND MEN’S LACROSSE …
Log onto und.com for the latest information on the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse program … und.com, the official athletics web site for the University of Notre Dame, features press releases, game stories, feature stories, video interviews, stats, rosters and more … fans also can call the Notre Dame Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 … the hotline provides schedules and result information for all 26 varsity sports … 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 or (574) 631-2664 … 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.
