May 30, 2006
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Senior defender D.J. Driscoll (Downington, Pa./Malvern Prep) has been named to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America second team and sophomore goaltender Joey Kemp (Potomac, Md./Georgetown Prep) has received honorable mention All-America honors from the USILA. Driscoll was an honorable mention selection last season, while this is Kemp’s first such distinction.
Driscoll started all 15 games and helped the Fighting Irish post impressive defensive numbers as they allowed just 7.67 goals per game, which ranked them 11th nationally in scoring defense. The Pennsylvania native led the Irish with 67 groundballs and he also tallied two assists on the season. Driscoll becomes the eighth player in program history to receive All-America honors on multiple occasions. He also took home All-Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) first-team accolades earlier this month.
Kemp becomes just the third Notre Dame goaltender to receive All-America honors, joining Alex Cade in 1996 (honorable mention) and Kirk Howell in 2001 (second team). The sophomore started all 15 games in goal and posted stellar numbers during the season as he registered a .596 save percentage, which ranked him eighth among NCAA Division I goaltenders, and a 7.54 goals-against average to rank 12th nationally. He was also an All-GWLL first-team selection this season.
The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse program has now had at least one student-athlete claim All-America honors in every season dating back to 1993, a string of 14 years. This year marked the ninth time that two or more Irish players have garnered All-America accolades from the USILA in the same season.
The duo of Driscoll and Kemp was instrumental in returning Notre Dame back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. The Irish, who posted a 10-5 record on the season, fell to eventual national champion Virginia, 14-10, in the first round of the NCAAs on May 13. That marked the Cavaliers narrowest margin of victory during their championship run in the tournament and it was also their lowest scoring output over the four-game span.
Stay up-to-date on the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team by logging onto und.com or by calling the Notre Dame athletics hotline at (574) 631-3000.
–ND–