Nov. 15, 2001
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse program has signed seven prep standouts to national letters of intent it was announced today by Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan. It marks the first time in the program’s 21-year history that Notre Dame has assembled a class that will receive grant-in-aids. Joining the Irish program in the fall of 2002 will be: Brian Hubschmann (Short Hills, N.J./Delbarton), Matt Karweck (Penn Yan, N.Y./Penn Yan), Steve Panos (Arnold, Md./Broadneck), Drew Peters (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon), Matt Ryan (Ridley Park, Pa./Ridley), Brandon Schultheis (Babylon, N.Y./Babylon) and Pat Walsh (Wantagh, N.Y./Wantagh).
In December of 2000, Irish athletic director Kevin White announced that all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame would receive the maximum number of grant-in-aid allowed by the NCAA by the 2004-05 academic year.
“This is obviously a very exciting day for our program,” Corrigan says. “It’s the first time that the signing day has had any great significance for us in terms of the players we are going to have with us for the next four years.
“As an incoming group, this is by far the best class that we have ever assembled. When we evaluated our needs we felt that we needed to go after some very strong offensive players. Certainly these seven individuals are going to have a great impact on our program in the first two years.
“It is a class with a tremendous amount of offensive potential. This group boasts some of the best attack and midfield players in the country. We’re thrilled about the players we have signed because it is a class with great depth, versatility and athletcism on both ends of the field, but especially on offense.”
BRIAN HUBSCHMANN…ATTACK/MIDFIELD…6-3, 175…SHORT HILLS, N.J./DELBARTON Finished second on his high school team in scoring last year as a junior with 40 goals and 26 assists…helped Delbarton advance to the New Jersey state semifinals in 2001…in addition, his high school team won the Morris County championship and tied for first in the final conference regular-season standings…a second-team all-conference selection as a junior and an honorable mention all-state honoree…his older brother was an All-American at Georgetown.
Corrigan on Hubschmann: “Brian has had a great career at Delbarton and is a player with a tremendous amount of potential I believe that he is going to be a player that is going to develop physically in college. Brian has great versatility on the field because he can play attack or midfield.”
MATT KARWECK…MIDFIELD…5-11, 170…PENN YAN, NY/PENN YAN A three-year starter who has helped his high school team compile a 60-4 mark during the past three seasons while earning three consecutive league crowns…led team to state championship title in 2001 after earning a berth in semifinals in previous two seasons…scored 69 goals and dished off 24 assists as a junior and heads into final high school season with career totals of 128 goals and 55 assists…earned first-team all-Finger Lakes and all-league honors in 2000 and 1999…has been a member of Empire State Games team which has captured gold and bronze medals each of the past two seasons…three-sport athlete who serves as captain of the lacrosse, football and basketball team…a three-time member of the Section V all-tournament team.
Corrigan on Karweck: “Matt is another player who is a tremendous athlete. He’s an individual who has played both attack and midfield and is a player who we rated very high at both positions. Matt has the versatility to play for us where he is going to be most effective and where it will help us out the most. He’s a good athlete and a very tough player mentally.”
STEVE PANOS…MIDFIELD…5-11, 175..ARNOLD, MD/BROADNECK Owns career totals of 48 goals and 26 assists…enjoyed most productive season offensively as a junior with 30 goals and 14 assists as he led Boadneck to the county championship…a first-team all-country selection…member of Maryland’s Freestate Lacrosse Team in 2001, in addition to earning all-star honos at the Top 205 All-Star Camp, Champ Camp, Top Star Fabulous 40 and Run/Shoot Elite 150.
Corrigan on Panos: “What is so impressive about Steve is his lacrosse savvy. He has good skills and uses them well, he’s an extremely knowledgeable player who gets things done on the field. Steve has a consisent all-around game and is an individual who gets the little things done on the field. He’s an extremely accomplished offensive player.”
DREW PETERS…MIDFIELD…6-2, 185…BABYLON, NY/BABYLON Has played at the varsity level since the eighth…enters final scholastic season with 106 career goals and 76 assists…enjoyed best season in 2001 as a junior with 55 goals and 30 assists…helped high school team capture league championship in the spring with a final record of 15-1 after losing in the county championship…a member of the Long Island Empire State games team which captured the gold medal in ’01…three-sport atlete who serves as captain on lacrosse, football and basketball teams…garnered all-Long Island honors in football and was the Defensive MVP as a junior of the Suffolk County championship game.
Corrigan on Peters: “Drew is one of the best all-around athletes in this year’s senior class. He’s an excellent lacrosse player who has excelled on the football field as well. Since his freshman year, he has been playing three sports in high school, but I believe that once he gets to college and just starts concentrating on lacrosse, he has the ability and potential to be one of the top midfield players in the country.”
MATT RYAN…MIDFIELD…6-0, 160…RIDLEY, PA/RIDLEY Led high school team to state championship in 2001 while compiling a 20-3 record …scored 36 goals and dished off 38 assists as a junior…a two-time all-Delaware County honoree…earned all-Central League honors last season…has career totals of 45 goals and 60 assists…two-sport standout who is also a standout ice hockey player…has earned all-Delaware County honors in that sport as well…captains of both the lacrosse and ice hockey teams.
Corrigan on Ryan: “Matt is a very crafty player with solid all-around skills. He’s good between the lines and is a very smart player with and without the ball. As he matures physically, Matt is going to be a strong player at the collegiate level.”
BRANDON SCHULTHEIS…MIDFIELD…6-1, 175…BABYLON, NY/BABYLON Has played on varsity team since the eighth grade…registered career totals of 53 goals and 56 assists after having most productive season offensively in 2001…earned all-county and all-division honors in 2001…named to the Under-17 all-Long Island team….three-sport athlete serves as cpatin of lacrosse, football and basketball teams.
Corrigan on Schultheis: “Brandon is a very athletic player who is very tough mentally and he is an individual who is going to help us in a number of different ways because of his versatility and ability to play different positions on the field. We expect him to see time in the midfield or as a defenseman.”
PAT WALSH…ATTACK…5-10, 170…WANTAGH, NY/WANTAGH Earned prep All-America honors after leading his team to the New York state championship in 2001 and a final record of 21-1…named Nassau County Attackman of the Year as a junior…registered personal bests of 65 goals and 55 assists last season and heads into final scholastic campaign with 156 career goals and 122 career assists…also earned All-America honors honors as a sophomore after leading team to 11-5 mark and scoring 43 goals and dishing off 33 assists…a two-sport standout in lacrosse and football…serves as captain of both teams…has helped Long Island captured the gold medal at the Empire State Games twice and has served as a team captain.
Corrigan on Walsh: “Pat is one of the best high school attack players in Nassau County and is also an outstanding football player. He will be an impact player for us offensively as a freshman and may be as polished as any incoming attackman we have had here at Notre Dame.”