Dec. 15, 2010
2011 Notre Dame Men’s Lacrosse Schedule
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team has announced its 2011 spring schedule. The Fighting Irish have 12 regular-season tilts on the slate beginning with a rematch of the 2010 national championship game against Duke on Feb. 20 in Jacksonville, Fla.
Seven of the teams on Notre Dame’s schedule appear in the Inside Lacrosse Face-Off Yearbook preseason coaches poll. Irish foes Syracuse, North Carolina and Duke occupy spots 2-4, respectively, while Georgetown is 13th followed by Denver at 14th. Drexel (17) and Villanova (20) also appear in the top-20 poll. The Fighting Irish are ranked seventh.
“We couldn’t be more excited about the schedule,” says Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan. “We open with Duke and end with North Carolina and we have a great BIG EAST slate in between. We also play some of the top teams in the Midwest. This is an ideal schedule for us in a lot of ways. We’ll face great competition and play top teams from different conferences. It’ll be a great opportunity to prove ourselves and prepare ourselves for the end of the year.”
Notre Dame will have five contests aired on ESPN or ESPNU. Included in those televised games is an exhibition showdown with the U.S. National Team, which will be broadcast by ESPNU, on Jan. 30 in Orlando, Fla.
The national title game rematch against Duke will be aired live on ESPN. That contest is part of the inaugural Sunshine Classic at Everbank Field, the home to the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars. Duke topped Notre Dame 6-5 in overtime in the NCAA finals at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. The Fighting Irish opened the 2010 campaign with an 11-7 victory at Duke. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series against the Irish, 5-2.
Georgetown and Jacksonville University will play at noon (ET) in the first game of the Sunshine Classic, while the Irish and Blue Devils will meet at 3:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. Go to judolphins.com for additional information on the event.
Following the game against Duke, Notre Dame will travel to Penn State on Feb. 27. This will mark the 14th straight season that the Irish and Nittany Lions have squared off. Notre Dame topped Penn State 12-8 last season. The Irish are 13-4 all-time against the Nittany Lions.
The Irish will open the home portion of their ledger on March 6 against Drexel. Notre Dame fell at Drexel 7-6 in overtime last season. This is the fourth straight season that the two schools will face each other. The Fighting Irish are 2-1 versus the Dragons.
Notre Dame will travel out West to face Denver on March 12. The Fighting Irish and Pioneers have met in each of the past 13 seasons with many of those encounters coming as foes in the Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL). Notre Dame leads the series 11-3 after defeating Denver 14-7 last season at Arlotta Stadium.
A home date against Ohio State, another former GWLL foe, will await the Irish on March 23. Notre Dame topped Ohio State 7-6 in overtime last season to move its all-time record against the Buckeyes to 26-9, including eight straight victories.
The Fighting Irish will begin their second season of BIG EAST Conference play on March 27 at Rutgers. Notre Dame fell at home to the Scarlet Knights 10-8 last season. The Irish are 3-2 versus Rutgers. This will be Notre Dame’s first trip to Piscataway, N.J., since falling in the semifinals of the 2001 NCAA Championship to Syracuse.
A season-long three-game homestand will commence on April 2 against Villanova. The Wildcats topped the Irish 9-8 last season in Villanova, Pa., yet Notre Dame leads the series 9-5. This will be the seventh consecutive season that the two teams have met.
A home showdown with Georgetown on April 10 will be broadcast on ESPNU. Georgetown claimed an 11-8 victory over Notre Dame last season in Washington, D.C. The Hoyas are 7-3 all-time against the Irish. It will be Georgetown’s first trip to Notre Dame since 1999.
The home schedule will end on April 16 against St. John’s. Notre Dame won 13-6 at St. John’s last season. That was just the second meeting ever between the two schools. The Irish have won both contests against the Red Storm.
Notre Dame will play its final three regular-season contests away from home. The program’s first-ever trip to Providence will occur on April 23. Notre Dame bested the Friars 11-3 last season.
The Irish will wrap up BIG EAST play on April 30 at Syracuse. It will be Notre Dame’s second trip to the Carrier Dome, with the first coming in 2004. The Orange claimed a 12-6 victory over the Irish last season at Arlotta Stadium.
Notre Dame will face North Carolina in the regular-season finale in Chapel Hill, N.C., on May 6. The Fighting Irish and Tar Heels have met in seven of the past eight seasons. North Carolina holds a slim 5-4 edge in the series.
Both the Syracuse and North Carolina contests will be aired on ESPNU.
“The preseason game against the National Team (on ESPNU), which will be a neat experience for us, to the Duke game on ESPN and the three other games on ESPNU will be tremendous exposure for us,” adds Corrigan. “It’s exciting to play big games in those types of settings. We’re excited about it.”
The Fighting Irish will hope to be among the 16-team NCAA Championship field for the sixth straight season when the 2011 tournament commences with first-round games on May 14 and 15 at campus sites. The quarterfinals will be held May 21 and 22 in Hempstead, N.Y., and Foxboro, Mass. The NCAA semifinals and final will take place at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md., on May 28 and 30, respectively.
Last season, Notre Dame went 10-7, including a 2-4 mark in BIG EAST play. The Irish had a memorable run to title game of the 2010 NCAA Championship by defeating No. 6 Princeton (8-5), No. 3 Maryland (7-5) and No. 7 Cornell (12-7) before falling to Duke.
Four teams on Notre Dame’s 2011 slate qualified for the 2010 NCAA Championship (Denver, Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse).
For ticket information, call the Notre Dame ticket office at (574) 631-7356, visit und.com/tickets or stop by the Notre Dame ticket office inside Purcell Pavilion.
2011 NOTRE DAME MEN'S LACROSSE SCHEDULE
JANUARY30 Sun. vs. U.S. National Team# (Orlando, Fla.) (ESPNU) 1:30 p.m.FEBRUARY20 Sun. vs. Duke (Jacksonville, Fla.) (ESPN) 3:00 p.m.27 Sun. at Penn State 1:00 p.m.MARCH6 Sun. DREXEL 1:00 p.m.12 Sat. at Denver 7:00 p.m.23 Wed. OHIO STATE 4:00 p.m.27 Sun. at Rutgers* 1:00 p.m.APRIL2 Sat. VILLANOVA* 1:00 p.m.10 Sun. GEORGETOWN* (ESPNU) 12:00 p.m.16 Sat. ST. JOHN'S* 1:00 p.m.23 Sat. at Providence* 1:00 p.m.30 Sat. at Syracuse* (ESPNU) TBDMAY6 Fri. at North Carolina (ESPNU) 7:00 p.m.14/15 Sat./Sun. NCAA Championship (First Round) TBD Campus Sites21/22 Sat./Sun. NCAA Championship (Quarterfinals) TBD Hempstead, N.Y./Foxboro, Mass.28 Sat. NCAA Championship (Semifinals) 4:00 p.m./6:00 p.m. Baltimore, Md. (M&T Bank Stadium)30 Mon. NCAA Championship (Final) 3:30 p.m. Baltimore, Md. (M&T Bank Stadium)
Home games in BOLD CAPSAll times local to site# - Exhibition game* - BIG EAST game
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