March 1, 2007
#8 Notre Dame vs. #4 Cornell
Saturday, March 3 • 1:00 p.m. (ET)
Hewlett High School • Hewlett, N.Y.
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The No. 8 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will face No. 4 Cornell this Saturday (March 3) at Hewlett High School in Hewlett, N.Y. Game time is slated for 1:00 p.m. (ET). The Fighting Irish are coming off an 11-8 victory at Penn State on Sunday (Feb. 25) and will be looking to start a season 3-0 for the first time since the 2003 campaign. Cornell also will carry a 2-0 mark into Saturday’s contest. The Big Red are coming off a 16-6 win over Colgate on Tuesday. Cornell defeated Notre Dame 9-6 last season in Lisle, Ill.
ND-CORNELL SERIES NOTES: Saturday will mark the fifth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Cornell … the Big Red have won all four previous encounters, including last year’s 9-6 affair in Lisle, Ill. … the first meeting between the two schools occurred in 1990, a 14-8 decision at Cornell … the two teams met again the next season at Notre Dame with Cornell coming away with a 10-3 win … the third meeting took place in 2005, with the Big Red capturing an 11-10 victory in Ithaca, N.Y.
ABOUT THE IRISH: Notre Dame is 2-0 and coming off an 11-8 victory at Penn State on Sunday (Feb. 25) … fifth-year senior attackman Brian Hubschmann and junior midfielder Michael Podgajny share team-high honors with five goals apiece … Podgajny has a team-best seven points … freshman attackman Will Yeatman leads the Irish in assists with three to go along with three goals for six points … junior goaltender Joey Kemp has both Irish decisions and has a 7.15 goals-against average and a .588 save percentage … Notre Dame downed No. 13 Loyola 9-7 in the season opener on Feb. 17 … the Fighting Irish return six starters and 16 letterwinners from last year’s team that posted a 10-5 record and earned a berth to the NCAA tournament … Kemp earned honorable mention All-America honors from the USILA last season … he ranked in the top-12 nationally in both save percentage and goals-against average … Kemp also is a preseason honorable mention All-America selection by Inside Lacrosse along with Hubschmann … Hubschmann led the team with 31 goals last season and tied for team-high honors in points with 50 … the Irish are currently 8th in the USILA coaches poll and 11th in the Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll … Kevin Corrigan is in his 19th season as the head coach of the Fighting Irish … Corrigan has an overall record of 158-88 (.642) at Notre Dame.
ABOUT CORNELL: The Big Red are 2-0 with home wins over Binghamton (19-4) and Colgate (16-6) … Eric Pittard leads the team with seven goals to go along with four assists for 11 points … his point total ties him for the team lead with John Glynn, who has six goals and a team-high five assists … goaltender Matt McMonagle has a 5.33 goals-against average and a .615 save percentage … Cornell returns six starters and 31 letterwinners from a team that went 11-3 last season … the Big Red tied for first in the Ivy League with a 5-1 mark in ’06 … Cornell fell to UMass, 10-9, in the first round of the 2006 NCAA tournament … four All-America honorees returned to the squad this season … McMonagle and midfielder Max Seibald were both USILA second-team members last season, while defenseman Mitch Belisle and attackman David Mitchell were honorable mention selections … head coach Jeff Tramboni is in his seventh season at the helm of the Big Red program … he has an overall record of 60-25 (.706) at the school.
WHERE TO WATCH: The showdown between Notre Dame and Cornell can be seen tape-delayed on und.com beginning on Sunday, March 4 … in addition, the game will be aired on Long Island’s Telecare channel 29 and channel 73 Cablevision of Long Island on Wednesday, March 7 at 10:00 p.m.
THE LAST TIME: Cornell defeated Notre Dame 9-6 last season … the Big Red were ranked eighth at the time of the contest, while the Irish were 12th … the game was played in front of 3,523 fans at Benedictine University in Lisle, Ill. … it marked the first NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse game played in the Chicagoland area … Brian Hubschmann led the Irish with four points on two goals and two assists … Pat Walsh also chipped in two scores … Joey Kemp played all 60 minutes in goal and made 14 saves for Notre Dame … Joe Boulukos led the Big Red with three goals, while David Mitchell and Eric Pittard each had two tallies … Cornell goaltender Matt McMonagle stopped 12 Irish shots on the day.
RECAPPING PENN STATE: Michael Podgajny tallied four goals and two assists to lead No. 11 Notre Dame to an 11-8 victory over Penn State on Sunday, Feb. 25 in Holuba Hall. The four goals and six total points were both career-high marks for Podgajny. Freshman Will Yeatman chipped in two goals and an assist for the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame negated an early 2-0 Penn State lead by running off five straight goals. Podgajny started the surge with 7:27 left in the first quarter as he scored off a feed from Ryan Hoff. Yeatman would then connect on back-to-back unassisted tallies to give Notre Dame its first lead of the game at 3-2 with 12:49 left in the second period. Junior Alex Wharton gave the Irish a two-goal advantage as he took a pass from Podgajny and scored. Wharton then assisted on a Lucius Polk goal that put Notre Dame up 5-2 with 6:40 remaining in the second quarter. Following a Nittany Lion tally, the Fighting Irish would account for the game’s next five goals to take a 10-3 lead by the 2:21 mark of the third quarter. A Brian Hubschmann goal gave Notre Dame a 6-3 lead at halftime. Podgajny began the second-half scoring for the Irish as he deposited a man-up goal with just 36 seconds elapsed in the half. Hubschmann then notched his second score to make it an 8-3 contest. Notre Dame kept the momentum going as Podgajny collected the hat trick off a feed from Yeatman. Less than a minute later, Hoff scored with the assist going to Podgajny and the Irish would lead 10-3. The Nittany Lions did not go away as they went on a 5-0 run of their own to close the deficit to two at 10-8 by the 6:23 mark of the fourth quarter. Pat Heim accounted for two of the goals, while Gil Pearsall, Matt Loy and Chris Hogan also scored during the stretch. Heim led Penn State with three goals on the day, while Pearsall had two. Podgajny stopped the Irish bleeding by netting his fourth goal of the afternoon to secure the Notre Dame victory. His classmate Taylor Clagett went 14-21 in faceoffs to aid the Irish effort. Notre Dame held a 37-35 advantage in shots. Joey Kemp played 57:33 and made 11 saves for Notre Dame, while allowing seven goals to collect the win. Scott Rodgers made one save and gave up one goal for the Irish. Drew Adams stopped 12 shots and allowed 11 goals for Penn State.
GOING FOR THREE: With a win on Saturday, Notre Dame will start a season 3-0 for the first time since the 2003 campaign … this season marks the ninth time in the 27-year history of varsity lacrosse at Notre Dame that the Irish have started out 2-0 … Notre Dame has begun a season 3-0 on four occasions.
CAREER DAY FOR PODGAJNY: Junior midfielder Michael Podgajny netted a career-high four goals to go along with two assists for a career-best six points in the 11-8 victory over Penn State on Sunday (Feb. 25) … it marked the fourth hat trick of his career … his previous high point total for a game was four, which he achieved twice with three goals and one assist.
HUBSCHMANN STAYING HOT: Brian Hubschmann recorded his eighth-career hat trick with a three-goal effort in the 9-7 season-opening victory over No. 13 Loyola (Feb. 17) … he notched two more scores in the 11-8 victory at Penn State (Feb. 25) … the fifth-year senior has 19 multiple-goal games during his Fighting Irish career … he has scored at least two goals in the past seven games dating back to last season.
INSTANT IMPACT: Freshman Will Yeatman has made his presence felt in the Irish lineup during the first two games of his collegiate career … he had a fine Irish debut as he notched three points in a 9-7 victory over Loyola … the attackman put the Irish on the board with a goal just 28 seconds into the contest … he also added two assists in the winning effort … Yeatman collected three more points in an 11-8 triumph at Penn State on Feb. 25 … the rookie scored two goals and dished out an assist against the Nittany Lions.
NOTRE DAME IN THE POLLS: Notre Dame is ranked 8th in the latest USILA coaches poll … the Irish are currently 11th in the most recent Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll … the Irish’s highest ranking last season was 8th the week of April 3rd.
QUALITY COMPETITION: The Fighting Irish have four teams on their 2007 regular-season schedule that appear in the latest Nike/Inside Lacrosse media poll … Notre Dame defeated then-No. 13 Loyola 9-7 in the season opener on Feb. 17 … the Greyhounds are now ranked 18th … the Irish will have back-to-back road tilts against ranked foes beginning with No. 4 Cornell (March 3) … Notre Dame then faces No. 10 North Carolina (March 10) … the Cornell contest will take place at Hewlett High School in Hewlett, N.Y. … the Irish also will host No. 20 Denver in a GWLL showdown on April 15.
HOME SWEET HOME: Notre Dame has won its past eight home contests … the streak stems back to a 14-13 overtime win over 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 … the Irish are 1-0 at home so far this season … two of the games during the streak have been played in the Loftus Sports Center, while the other six have taken place outside at Moose Krause Stadium … Notre Dame owns an overall home record of 110-35 (.759) during the 26-plus years of varsity lacrosse at the University.
IRISH IN SEASON OPENERS: With the win over Loyola on Feb. 17, Notre Dame is 20-7 all-time in season openers, including a 14-5 mark in the Kevin Corrigan era … the Irish have won the last five lid-lifters … the Irish last dropped a season opener in 2002, a 10-9 overtime setback at home against No. 16 Penn State … including this year, the Fighting Irish have opened their slate against a ranked opponent for 14 consecutive seasons, with 12 of those contests coming against Penn State … the Irish’s current streak of wins in season openers matches the program’s longest such stretch, which occurred from 1990-94.
HUBSCHMANN AND KEMP NAMED TO TEWAARATON TROPHY WATCH LIST: Brian Hubschmann (Sr., A) and Joey Kemp (Jr., G) have been named to the 2007 Tewaaraton Trophy Preseason Watch List … the award is presented annually to the nation’s top player … the athletes on the list are considered early season indicators of who to watch as the 2007 lacrosse season begins … the list of 51 players will be voted upon by coaches and narrowed as the season progresses, ultimately reaching a final list of five who constitute the award’s finalists.
IRISH EARN PRESEASON HONORS: Senior attackman Brian Hubschmann and junior goaltender Joey Kemp were selected as preseason honorable mention All-Americans by Inside Lacrosse/Faceoff Yearbook … Hubschmann was the team’s co-leading scorer last season with 50 points on a team-high 31 goals and 19 assists … Kemp was a USILA honorable mention All-America selection in 2006 … he started all 15 games, posting a 7.54 goals-against average and a .596 save percentage … he ranked eighth nationally in save percentage and 12th in goals-against average … Kemp was joined on the Face-Off Yearbook Preseason All-GWLL Team by his classmates Taylor Clagett (M/FO) and Ross Zimmerman (D).
HUBSCHMANN, LIVA AND KEMP NAMED `07 IRISH CAPTAINS: Seniors Brian Hubschmann and Bill Liva along with junior Joey Kemp have been named captains for the 2007 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team … Hubschmann, an attackman, is in his fifth season with the Irish after missing all of his junior campaign with a knee injury … he led the team in goals last season with 31 and tied for the team lead in points with 50 … Liva has been a fixture in the Irish lineup during his first three seasons … he has played in 32 games, totaling 20 points on 12 goals and eight assists … Kemp has emerged as one of the top goaltenders in the nation throughout his first two seasons, ranking in the top-10 nationally in save percentage both years … he also was an honorable mention All-American in 2006.
COACHING CHANGES: The freshmen will not be the only new faces on the Irish this season … head coach Kevin Corrigan has brought in two new assistant coaches, Gerry Byrne and Brian Fisher, to replace Kevin Anderson and Dave Cornell … Anderson stepped away from coaching, while Cornell took the head coaching job at Connecticut College … Byrne will not be a new face to everyone at Notre Dame since he served as an assistant under Corrigan from 1989-91 … most recently he held the head coaching position at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. … Fisher comes to Notre Dame from Rutgers, where he had a stellar four-year career from 1998-2001 followed by a five-year coaching stint with the Scarlet Knights.
DOUBLE DUTY: Freshman attackman Will Yeatman spent this past fall playing tight end for the Fighting Irish football team … Yeatman played in 12 of Notre Dame’s 13 games on the gridiron … the San Diego native was a prep All-American in lacrosse at Rancho Bernardo High School.
BACK TO THE DANCE: Notre Dame returned to the NCAA tournament in 2006 for the first time since the 2001 season … the Fighting Irish posted a 10-5 record last season, including a 3-2 mark in the GWLL, which placed them second behind conference champion Denver.
IRISH DEFENSE: Notre Dame boasted the nation’s 11th-best scoring defense in 2006 by allowing just 7.67 goals per game … several key components to the Irish defense are back this season, including goaltender Joey Kemp and defensemen Joey Rallo, Ross Zimmerman and Regis McDermott along with defensive midfielders Brannon Halvorsen and Sean Dougherty … the Irish also ranked third in man-down defense by allowing just seven goals in 33 chances (.788).
SAVING THE DAY: Notre Dame junior goaltender Joey Kemp has had a huge impact on the Irish during his first two campaigns … as a freshman, he started nine games, posting a 5-2 record and led the nation with a .652 save percentage en route to being tabbed the Great Western Lacrosse League Rookie of the Year … he followed that up with another stellar season in 2006 … he ranked eighth nationally with a .596 save percentage and 12th with a 7.54 goals-against average … he earned USILA Honorable Mention All-America honors along with being a first-team all-GWLL selection.
FACING OFF: Junior midfielder and faceoff specialist Taylor Clagett has been a valuable asset for the Irish during his first two seasons in an Irish uniform … he won 126 of 205 faceoff attempts last season … his .615 winning percentage would have ranked him sixth nationally, however he missed four games due to injury and could not qualify among NCAA statistical leaders in that category … he has a .611 (281-460) career winning percentage.
FOLLOW ALL ND HOME GAMES ONLINE: All six of Notre Dame’s true home games will feature livestats available through und.com, the official web site of all 26 varsity athletic programs at the University … simply go to the men’s lacrosse page and click on `Schedule’ at the top of the page, find the game that is being played that day and click on `Gametracker’ to follow the game for free.
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 up-to-the-minute game updates for all 26 varsity sports at Notre Dame.
KEEPING UP WITH ND MEN’S LACROSSE: For results of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse games, call the Notre Dame Sports Hotline at (574) 631-3000 and choose #5 and #1 … the hotline provides schedules and result information for all 26 varsity sports and serves as a supplement to the match recaps and weekly releases provided on the official athletic website, www.und.com … 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 … 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.