May 17, 2001
#5 NOTRE DAME (13-1) vs. #4 JOHNS HOPKINS (8-3)
2001 NCAA MEN’S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP
(Quarterfinal Round)
Sunday, May 20, 2001
Byrd Stadium (University of Maryland)
College Park, Md.
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
IRISH AND BLUE JAYS MEET AGAIN IN QUARTERFINAL ROUND:
Today’s matchup between No. 5 seed Notre Dame and No. 4 seed Johns Hopkins marks the second straight year the Irish and Blue Jays will face each other in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournament. Johns Hopkins has won all three previous meetings which have occurred in NCAA tournament competition. Last year, the Blue Jays defeated Notre Dame 15-11 at Homewood Field to advance to the national semifinals. The Irish played Johns Hopkins in Annapolis, Md., in the first round of the 1995 NCAAs and dropped a 12-7 decision. The first-ever meeting between the two teams took place in the first round of the 1992 NCAA tournament with the Blue Jays earning a 12-7 victory.
IRISH BACK IN THE NCAAs:
Notre Dame is making its 10th NCAA tournament appearance and ninth in the last 10 seasons. This is the third consecutive year the Irish have been part of the 12-team NCAA tournament field, but the first time in school history that they are playing as a seeded team. After six consecutive appearances from 1992-97, the Irish missed the NCAAs in 1998. Kevin Corrigan, the 13-year mentor for the Irish has led Notre Dame to all 10 of its appearances. Corrigan’s squads have posted a 3-9 record in NCAA tournament competition, but are 2-1 in their last three games.
IRISH IN THE QUARTERFINALS:
With their 12-7 victory over Bucknell, the Irish have earned their second straight appearance in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA tournment, and its third overall in the program’s history (the Irish are 0-2 in their two NCAA quarterfinal appearances). Notre Dame earned its first-ever quarterfinal berth in 1995 after upsetting Duke 12-10. Following the win, the Irish traveled to Maryland’s Bryd Stadium where they dropped a 14-10 decision to the Terrapins. Last year, after upsetting Loyola 15-13 in the first round, Notre Dame lost to Johns Hopkins 15-11 at Homewood Field.
PLAYING AS THE FAVORITE:
For the first time in school history, Notre Dame is playing in the NCAA tournament as a seeded team. With the win over Bucknell in the first round, the Irish are 1-0 while playing as a higher seeded team.
SCOUTING THE IRISH:
Notre Dame carries an eight-game win streak into its quarterfinal matchup with Johns Hopkins, which equals the second-longest in school history. A win today would match the school record of nine consecutive victories set in 1992 when that Irish squad finished with a 10-5 record. Notre Dame posted eight straight wins in both the 1993 and 1994 seasons when those Irish teams finished with 11-3 and 10-2 marks, respectively.
The Irish have been near perfect this season as they head into today’s quarterfinal matchup with Johns Hopkins with an overall record of of 13-1 which represents the most wins in school history as well as best winning percentage (.929). Notre Dame began the 2001 campaign with five straight wins that produced victories over four ranked opponents on the road — Penn State (10-8), Rutgers (9-4), Virginia (11-8) and Loyola (10-7). The only loss for head coach Kevin Corrigan’s squad has been to Hofstra as the Irish dropped an 11-10 decision to the Pride in overtime.
The Irish posted a 5-0 record in Great Western Lacrosse League play and have outscored their opponents 111-44 in the last eight games with an average margin of victory of 8.38 goals per game.
Notre Dame’s offense and defense have been spectacular this season as the Irish are averaging 12.21 goals per game, while giving up just 6.43 goals per game. Only two opponents — Hofstra and Army – have scored more than 10 goals in a game, while the Irish defense has held six teams to five goals or less. Notre Dame is on pace to shatter the school mark for average goals allowed. The school record for goals in a season is 7.20 set by the 1996 squad.
Eight of Notre Dame’s attack and midfielder players have scored 10 or more goals this season. The Irish offense is led by its’ attack unit of senior starters Tom Glatzel (36 goals, 26 assists), David Ulrich (18 goals, 27 assists) and Jon Harvey (25 goals, 3 assists).
The Irish midfield also has contributed plenty of offense for the Irish with junior John Flandina and senior Todd Ulrich tied for fourth in the scoring column with 18 goals and six assists each. Senior Steve Bishko is the team’s sixth leading scorer with 16 goals and four assists, while another senior Chris Young has contributed 11 goals and nine assists. Junior Devin Ryan has been an offensive force as well with 15 goals and one assist.
Notre Dame’s defense has been achored by the play of defensemen Mike Adams, a senior, and junior A.J. Wright, while senior goalkeeper Kirk Howell has been the backbone of the team’s stellar defensive efforts throughout the season. He has allowed just 84 goals in 14 starts, made 149 saves and has a .639 save percentage and 6.53 goal against average.
The Irish completed an undefeated season at home, at 6-0, for the fourth time in school history, while finishing the regular season with a 6-1 road mark. Notre Dame opened the season by playing six of its first seven games on the road.
Notre Dame won its third consecutive GWLL title this season, and seventh in the last eight years. This is the second consecutive season Notre Dame has posted 10-plus wins in a given season after last year’s team finished with a 10-4 campaign. Overall, it is the sixth 10-plus win season in the program’s history.
RECAP OF FIRST ROUND — BUCKNELL:
Four players scored multiple goals for the Irish in the 12-7 first round NCAA tournament victory over Bucknell. It was the second straight first-round win for Notre Dame, and third in school history.
The Irish outscored the Bison 6-1 in the second quarter to break open the close game. With the score tied at 2-2 early in the second 15-minute stanza, John Flandina began the string of five unanswered goals.
After a tightly-contested first quarter featuring just one goal by each team, the squad exchanged scores early in the second period before Notre Dame’s six-goal run.
Leading 8-2 just 39 seconds into the third period, Notre Dame allowed three Bison goals in the third quarter to head into the final stanza with a 9-5 lead. The Irish, however, responded with three straight goals to open the fourth period, including a pair by senior attack Jon Harvey.
Eight different players scored for Notre Dame, led by four seniors notching two goals each. Harvey registered a pair of goals as did attack David Ulrich, and midfielders Chris Young and Steve Bishko. Tom Glatzel added a goal and four assists. Goalie Kirk Howell finished with eight saves as he played all but four minutes.
HEAD COACH KEVIN CORRIGAN:
Kevin Corrigan is in his 13th season at Notre Dame and 15th in the collegiate ranks. The three-time Great Western Lacrosse League coach of the year earned his 100th career win during the ’99 season in Notre Dame’s 10-8 victory over Hobart on March 27 and notched his 100th win as the Irish head coach in 2000 with his team’s 10-5 victory at Army. He owns a 127-75 (.629) overall ledger and an 117-60 (.661) mark with the Irish. Corrigan has guided Notre Dame to 10 NCAA tournament appearances in the last 12 years and 10 (either outright or shared) conference titles. He led the Irish to six straight tournament berths from 1992-97. Under Corrigan, Notre Dame has been victorious in the first round of the NCAA tournament on three occasions. In 1995, Notre Dame won its first-ever NCAA tournament game with a 12-10 victory over Duke which propelled the Irish into the quarterfinals for the first time in school history. In 2000, his squad upset fifth-seeded Loyola (Md.) in 15-13 in the first round for the school’s first-ever win over the Greyhounds. Notre Dame’s most recent NCAA tournament win, its 12-7 win over Bucknell a week ago, marked the third NCAA win for the program. Previous to his tenure at Notre Dame, Corrigan served as head coach at Randolph-Macon during the 1985 and 1986 campaign where his teams compiled a 10-15 mark. Notre Dame’s game against Fairfield on Apr. 22 marked the 200th of Corrigan’s collegiate tenure.
THE POLLS ARE IN:
Notre Dame has played as a top 10 team in all but one game this season. The Irish are fifth in all three polls — the USILA/STX poll, the Warrior/Inside Lacrosse.com poll and the Brine/360 Lacrosse.com rankings. Coach Kevin Corrigan’s squad earned its highest ranking in school history the week of March 19 when the Irish climbed to second for one week before losing to Hofstra on March 24. Previous to that poll, the highest ranking for a Notre Dame team had been sixth — in both March of 2001 and April of 1996.
ULRICH, GLATZEL FINALISTS FOR TEWAARATON TROPHY:
Senior attackmen David Ulrich and Tom Glatzel are among the finalists for the inaugural Tewaaraton Trophy to be presented by the University Club of Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the Tewaaraton Award Foundation. The award is presented annually to the top male and female lacrosse players in the United States. The first-ever honorees will be awarded the trophy on June 7, 2001. Ulrich was among the 15 players named at the start of the season, but Glatzel’s play this season has earned him a spot on the list of finalists as well.
THE CAPTAINS:
The captains for the 2001 captain are defensemen Mike Adams, attack Tom Glatzel, goalie Kirk Howell and attack David Ulrich.
SERIES RECORD:
This will be the fourth meeting between the two schools overall with the Blue Jays having won all three previous matchups. Notre Dame and Johns Hopkins will be facing each other for the fourth time in NCAA tournament competition. The first-ever meeting took place at Homewood Field with the Blue Jays earning a 15-7 victory in Notre Dame’s second-ever NCAA tournament game. Four years later, the two teams met in the first round of the NCAAs in Annapolis, Md., with Johns Hopkins coming away with a 12-7 victory. Last year’s NCAA quarterfinal game at Homewood Field produced a 15-11 victory for the home team.
COMMON OPPONENTS:
The Irish and Blue Jays have played four common opponents this season — Hofstra, Virginia, Ohio State and Loyola — with each team posting a 3-1 record. Notre Dame’s only loss was to Hofstra 11-10 in overtime, while the Blue Jays were a 7-6 winner against the Pride. Johns Hopkins lost in four overtimes to Virginia 9-8, while the Irish were victorious 11-8. Both teams were victorious against Ohio State and Loyola. Notre Dame beat Ohio State 13-4 and Loyola 10-7, while Johns Hopkins registered a 17-7 victory against the Buckeyes and 13-10 win over Loyola.
CAPTAIN KIRK:
Fifth-year player Kirk Howell is in his second year as an Irish captain. Last season, he served as team captain along with Patrick Darcy, Steve Fiamingo and Kevin Higgins. Howell has the distinction of being one of just four Irish players players to serve as team captain twice during their careers. Randy Colley (1994 and 1995), Alex Cade and Jimmy Keenan (1997 and 1998) are the three others to have serve as two-time captains.
RECORD-SETTING CAMPAIGN:
Notre Dame’s 13 wins represent the most ever by a Notre Dame team. Previously, the school-record for wins was 11 set by the 1993 Irish squad which finished with an 11-3 record and .786 winning percentage. Notre Dame’s .929 winning percentage is clearly best among any Irish team in school history. Prior to this season, the 1994 squad owned the best mark for winning percentage as that Irish team finished 10-2 (.833).
IRISH POST BACK-TO-BACK 10-WIN SEASONS:
Notre Dame’s 12 wins this season marks the second straight season the Irish have recorded 10-plus wins in a campaign. In 21 seasons of lacrosse, Notre Dame teams have won 10 or more games on six occasions. The first 10-win season was in 1988 as that Irish squad finished with a 10-4 record. From 1992-1994, Notre Dame teams posted records of 10-5, 11-3 and 10-2, respectively. The Irish finished 10-4 in 2000, which was their first 10-win season since the 1994 campaign.
PLAYING THE UNDERDOG ROLE:
A number five seed in the NCAA tournament is certainly something new for the Irish after earning one of the top eight seeds when the bracket was unveiled two weeks ago. After playing as a seeded team last week, Notre Dame returns to somewhat of an underdog role against Johns Hopkins with the Blue Jays seeded fourth in the tournament field.
ROLE REVERSAL:
Notre Dame certainly could have offered Bucknell a little advice last week on what it was like having to play the fifth seed in the tournament because up until this year, that’s the seed the Irish had been assigned to go up against. Corrigan’s squads have certainly relished the role as spoiler as the Irish have produced upset wins on two occasions. In 1995, Notre Dame beat No. 5 Duke 12-10 in Durham, N.C., and last season pulled off another upset when it won its first-round matchup with No. 5 Loyola, 15-13, in Baltimore, Md.
SEEING DOUBLE:
Seniors David and Todd Ulrich are the first twin brothers to play on the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team. David has been a three-year starter at attack, while Todd was a starter in the midfield in both his sophomore and junior seasons. They are one of four Boys’ Latin graduates on the team (the other is senior attack Tom Glatzel and freshman Dan Berger).
IN HIGH GEAR:
Notre Dame’s offense has been in high gear of late outscoring its opponents 111-44 in the last eight games. Overall, the Irish have tallied 171 goals in 14 games, 81 more than their opponents who have scored 90 on the season. As a team, Notre Dame ranks 12th in scoring offense, and has averaged 13.80 goals per game in its last five outings. The 17 goals scored by the Irish against Army on April 14 marked a season high.
HIGH SCORIN’ IRISH:
Notre Dame’s 12.21 goals per game currently ranks as the fifth best average in school history behind the 1992 (14.1), 1993 (13.4), 1994 (13.2) and 1983 (12.8) Irish squads.
NOTRE DAME SET FOR 15TH GAME:
Today’s game will be the 15th of the season for the Irish. Only one other Notre Dame team has played 15 games – the 1992 squad which finished with a 10-5 record. Last season, the Irish played 14 games while posting a 10-4 mark.
STINGY DEFENSE:
Notre Dame’s defense has been nothing short of spectacular this season as the Irish are third nationally in scoring defense allowing just 6.41 goals per game. Only two opponents (Hofstra and Army) have scored more than 10 goals against the Irish. The Pride tallied 11 in their 11-10 overtime win, while the Cadets put 13 on the scoreboard, the most given up by the Irish since last season’s 15-13 loss to Johns Hopkins in the second round of the NCAA tournament. The Irish have held four opponents — Rutgers, Ohio State, Air Force, Butler, Fairfield and Harvard– to under five goals in their wins. Notre Dame’s 14 opponents have scored just 90 goals this season, the fewest allowed by a Notre Dame team that has played 12 or more games.
ROAD TESTED:
Notre Dame finished the regular season with a 6-1 road mark as the Irish opened the 2001 campaign by playing six of its first seven games on the road. The last Notre Dame team to finish with six road wins in a season was the 1996 squad which won all six of its games on the home field of its opponent. That season, the Irish also notched a neutral site victory against Maryland-Baltimore County and lost to Johns Hopkins in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Annapolis, Md. to finish with 7-1 road mark overall. Notre Dame owns a 7-1 overall mark on the road in road games this season when adding in the win over Bucknell last weekend on the neutral site at West Point, N.Y.
HOME SWEET HOME:
Notre Dame has an impressive .769 winning percentage at home since 1981, the program’s inaugural season as a varsity sport as the Irish teams have compiled an 90-27 record. Notre Dame was a perfect 6-0 in home games this season, the fourth undefeated home season in the program’s 21-year history. Irish teams have also gone without a home loss during the 1994 (5-0), 1995 (5-0) and 1997 (6-0) campaigns. During the past seven-plus seasons, the Irish have compiled a 37-7 (.841) record at home.
GWLL DOMINANCE:
For the second straight season, Notre Dame was undefeated in Great Western Lacrosse League play with a 5-0 record and won its third consecutive league crown. The Irish have won or shared the league crown in 10 of Kevin Corrigan’s 13 seasons as head coach.
SIZING UP THE TOURNAMENT FIELD:
Notre Dame has played three of the teams in this year’s NCAA tournament field with a 2-1 record against those opponents. All three of the games were on the road as the Irish beat Virginia 11-8 and Loyola 10-7, but lost in overtime to Hofstra, 11-10. Two of those teams, Loyola and Hofstra, are among the eight left in the field.
CORRIGAN TURNS THE TABLE ON ALMA MATER:
Notre Dame’s 11-8 win at Virginia on March 14 marked the first win by an Irish team over the Cavaliers in three meetings between the two schools. It also marked the first-ever win for Kevin Corrigan against his alma mater. A 1982 graduate, he played lacrosse for the Cavaliers and also served as an assistant there from 1987-88. Corrigan’s father Gene was the men’s lacrosse coach and athletic director at Virginia before serving as commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
IRISH TRIP UP GREYHOUNDS IN REGULAR SEASON:
Heading into its matchup with Loyola on March 18, Notre Dame had never beaten the Greyhounds in a regular-season matchup. In fact, up until last year’s first-round NCAA tournament win, the Irish were 0-10 overall against Loyola. But this season, Notre Dame picked up its first-ever win in a regular-season game as they beat the Greyhounds 10-7 in Baltimore, Md.
LEAVING HIS MARK:
For the fourth straight year, senior attack David Ulrich is the team leader in assists with 27. The Baltimore, Md. native became Notre Dame’s career assist leader on Apr. 18 in Notre Dame’s win over Butler and now has 108 assists in 53 career contests. He has a career assist average of 27.0 per season and 2.00 per game. Randy Colley (1991-95), Notre Dame’s career scoring leader, topped the Irish career assist chart with 100 before his mark was eclipsed. Ulrich had 30-plus assists during both the 1999 and 2000 campaigns. Last year, he tied the Irish single-season mark when he dished off 32 assists. Ulrich’s 176 career points places him third on the all-time career scoring list. Colley ranks first with 273 points, while Mike Sullivan (1989-92) is second on that list with 185 points.
MOVING UP THE RANKS:
The numbers registered by Tom Glatzel have been staggering as the Irish senior has scored 36 goals and dished off 26 assists (career best) this season. He is averaging 2.57 goals and 4.43 points per game. Most impressive, are his numbers over the past two-plus seasons. As a freshman, he scored just two goals and dished off an assist, but since that season, he has scored 100 goals and dished off 59 assists in 42 games. Glatzel has career totals of 102 goals and 60 assists for 162 points, which places him fourth on the all-time scoring list. He is one of just four Irish players to have scored 100 or more goals during their careers. The other four players include Randy Colley (173 from 1991-95), Chris Dusseau (115 from 1996-99) and Joe Franklin (113 from 1983-86).
BROTHERLY LOVE:
Twin brothers David and Todd Ulrich certainly have been a strong scoring combination for the Irish during the past four seasons. Perhaps no assist dished off by Dave to Todd was more significant than the one against Butler which was Dave’s 100th of his career. That assist, which occurred in the third quarter, was the one that tied the Notre Dame school record. Dave would become the school’s career assist leader on the next Irish goal scored by Jon Harvey early in the fourth quarter.
YOUNG HAS BANNER DAY AGAINST CRIMSON:
Senior Chris Young had a memorable finish to his Irish career playing his final game at Moose Krause Stadium against Harvard as he scored two goals and dished off a career-best five assists for a career-high seven points in the 16-4 victory. This season he has nine goals and nine assists for 18 points. His nine assists and 18 points are both single-season bests for the Irish midfield player.
IRISH IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS:
Three Irish players –Tom Glatzel (tied for 6th in points per game and 15th in goals per game), David Ulrich (tied for 11th in assists) and Kirk Howell (3rd in both save percentage and goals against average) — are ranked among the national leaders. As a team, Notre Dame is first in winning percentage, third in scoring defense, fourth in scoring margin, 12th in scoring offense, 15th in man-down defense and 18th man-up offense.
CALL HIM MR. VERSATILITY:
Junior defensive midfield Chad DeBolt certainly can stake claim to the most versatile student-athlete on the men’s lacrosse team — if not the most all-around performer among all of Notre Dame’s varsity athletes. In addition to being a member of the lacrosse team, he also has been a walk-on member of the Irish football squad for the past two seasons. DeBolt made 72 special team appearances during the 2000 football campaign — including a season-high 13 vs. USC — and was one of just four walk-ons on the usual travel list. He recovered a blocked punt versus Rutgers and blocked a punt in the USC game, both of which led to Irish touchdowns.
As a member of the lacrosse team, he has ranked as the team’s face-off leader each of the past two seasons.
Besides having success on the both the gridiron and lacrosse field, DeBolt has taught himself how to play the bagpipes. The Notre Dame tradition of having an Irish player lead the team onto the field before warm-ups playing Scotland the Brave is unique to all of college lacrosse. The tradition was started at the start of the ’96 campaign by Sean Meehan, a 1999 graduate and four-year member of the lacrosse team. As a sophomore last season, DeBolt took over that duty, teaching himself how to play the instrument. DeBolt learned to play the bagpipes during the summer following his freshman season in 1998 and throughout the 1999-2000 school year, receiving lessons from Meehan and the Notre Dame Bagpipe Club.
STRONG ACADEMICS:
More than one in every three Notre Dame student-athletes made the Dean’s List (3.4 grade-point average or better on a scale of 4.0) during the 2000 fall semester. Of the 737 student-athletes on Notre Dame varsity rosters, 275 (37 percent) made the Dean’s List. Of those 275, 16 came from the men’s lacrosse program. The Irish had their best semester ever in recording a 3.193 average as a team.
The 16 names to the Dean’s list were: junior Owen Asplundh (3.867, English), senior Steve Bishko (3.733, Economics). freshman Andrew Coleman (3.686, First Year of Studies), freshman Stewart Crosland (3.750, First Year of Studies), senior Chris Fallon (3.867, American Studies), sophomore Timothy Brooks Hartnett (3.350, Mendoza College of Business), senior Jon Harvey (3.667, History), senior Kirk Howell (3.750, Government), junior Matt Leisen (3.467, Finance), freshman Chris Masterson (3.529, First Year of Studies), freshman John Mulflur (3.572, First Year of Studies), senior Mike Pfeffer (3.533, Architecture), freshman Hani Rimlawi (3.738, First Year of Studies), junior Devin Ryan (3.467, Management Information Systems), junior A.J. Wright (3.584, Accounting) and senior Chris Young (3.600, Finance).
MAKING THE GRADE:
Junior Owen Asplundh was honored and recognized at the recent Academic Excellence Awards Dinner by Notre Dame’s Office of Academic Services for Student-Athletes as the men’s lacrosse player with the highest cumulative grade point. Asplundh, who is enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters and is majoring in English and African-American Studies, owns a grade index of 3.457 following five semesters. As a team, the men’s lacrosse team earned a 3.193 grade point average in the fall semester, which ranked as its best cumulative total ever.
MEN’S LACROSSE TO RECEIVE GRANTS-IN-AID NEXT YEAR:
In December of 2000, Notre Dame athletics director Kevin White announced that the men’s lacrosse program would receive the full complement of grants-in-aid (12.6) under NCAA guidelines by the 2004-05 season. Since its inaugural campaign in 1981, men’s lacrosse has not received any scholarship funding.