Jan. 29, 2008
Providence, R.I. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team has been selected to finish second in the annual BIG EAST preseason poll in voting done by the league’s head coaches. Defending BIG EAST champion Syracuse was selected first while getting five first-place votes. That breaks a string of six consecutive years that Georgetown was selected first in the preseason poll. The Irish received one first-place vote.
Overall, the Orange recorded 25 points with Notre Dame getting 20. Georgetown was third with 18 points, followed by Rutgers (13) in fourth, Loyola (Md.) with eight points for fifth and Connecticut sixth with 6 points overall.
The Irish are coming off a 2006 season that saw them finish fourth in the league standings with a 3-2 BIG EAST mark while going 11-6 overall. They lost in the semifinals of the first-ever BIG EAST Tournament to Georgetown, 12-10, at Syracuse. Notre Dame will play host to this year’s BIG EAST Tournament with the games played at Notre Dame Stadium the weekend of April 25-27.
The BIG EAST also announced its’ preseason all-BIG EAST team that included two Notre Dame players who were both unanimous selections. Senior midfielder Caitlin McKinney (Lafayette Hill, Pa.) and junior attacker Jillian Byers (Northport, N.Y.) were both unanimous selections to the team for the second year in a row. McKinney has been a preseason selection three times in her career while Byers has received recognition in each of the last two years.
McKinney is coming off her best season at Notre Dame as she finished second in scoring with a career high 44 goals and 65 points and was fifth overall in the BIG EAST scoring race. Her 21 assists also were second on the team. The speedster finished the year on a Notre Dame record 39-game point streak that started on April 24, 2005 during her freshman year. She was selected as a unanimous first team all-BIG EAST selection for the second year in a row and also was selected second team IWLCA All-American, making her a two-time All-American at Notre Dame. She collected three or more points in 12 of the team’s 17 games in 2007 and had 12 games with two or more goals. For her Notre Dame career, she is fourth in goals (114), fifth in assists (55) and fourth all-time in points with 169.
Byers joined McKinney as a unanimous first team all BIG EAST selection in 2007 after leading Notre Dame with 58 goals and 66 points to finish fourth among the conference scoring leaders. Her 58-goal season coupled with 54 as a freshman; made Byers the first Notre Dame player to score 50 goals in a season twice in her career and she now has 112 markers over her first two seasons. Byers also was a second team IWLCA All-American, giving her All-America honors in each of her first two campaigns. During the 2007 season, she scored at least three points in 12 of the team’s 17 games and had 13 games with three or more goals. A two-time BIG EAST offensive player of the week, she reached both the 100-point plateau and the 100-goal mark quicker than any player in Notre Dame history, hitting the “Century” mark for points in 24 games and goals in 33. In 36 career games, Byers has 112 goals and 32 assists for 144 points. She already ranks fifth in goals and seventh in points on the Irish all-time scoring lists.
Notre Dame opens the 2008 regular season on Friday, February 15 when the Irish play host to Canisius at the Loftus Sports Center in a 5:05 p.m. game.
2008 BIG EAST Coaches Preseason Poll
2007 Records 2007 FinishSchool (1st votes) Points BIG EAST Overall Regular SeasonSyracuse (5) 25 4-1 13-6 2ndNotre Dame (1) 20 3-2 11-6 4thGeorgetown 18 4-1 10-8 1stRutgers 13 3-2 12-5 3rdLoyola (Md.) 8 0-5 2-14 6thConnecticut 6 1-4 10-6 5th
Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
Jillian Byers, Notre Dame, Jr., A *Nina Frankoski, Rutgers, Jr., A *Bridget Looney, Syracuse, Sr., D *Caitlin McKinney, Notre Dame, Sr., M/A *Whitney Michele, Connecticut, Jr., M *Halley Quillinan, Syracuse, So., A *Katie Rowan, Syracuse, Jr., A *Kristen Stone, Loyola, Jr., D *Sandra Abel, Rutgers, Jr., GKJessica Davis, Rutgers, So., DPatty Piotrowicz, Georgetown, Sr., MJordan Trautman, Georgetown, Jr., D
* - unanimous selection
Preseason Offensive Player of the YearKatie Rowan, Syracuse, Jr., A
Preseason Defensive Player of the YearKristen Stone, Loyola (MD), Jr., D