May 4, 2008
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – For the first time in the 28-year history of the program, the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team will host an NCAA Tournament game. The Fighting Irish garnered the sixth seed in the 2008 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship and will play host to Colgate in the first round on Sunday, May 11. Game time is slated for 12 noon (ET) at Alumni Field.
The game will be aired live on ESPNU.
Notre Dame has been seeded in the NCAA Tournament on one other occasion. In 2001, the Irish were the fifth seed and advanced to the national semifinals. This is Notre Dame’s third straight NCAA Tournament appearance and the 13th trip in program history.
The Fighting Irish (13-2) are riding a season-best six-game winning streak into NCAA play. Notre Dame captured the inaugural Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) Tournament title on Sunday with a 9-2 win over Ohio State in Birmingham, Mich. Notre Dame also boasts a program-record 18-game home win streak.
Colgate (11-5) has won seven straight contests, including a 12-11 victory over No. 2 Syracuse on Saturday. The Raiders won this season’s Patriot League title to earn their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament.
This will be the second meeting between Notre Dame and Colgate in men’s lacrosse. The Fighting Irish notched an 11-10 win over the Raiders in Geneva, N.Y. during the 1987 season.
The 16-team NCAA Tournament field is comprised of seven automatic-qualifying teams and nine at-large teams. Only the top eight squads in the field are seeded. Duke garnered this year’s No. 1 seed, while Virginia is the second seed and Syracuse is the third seed.
The GWLL placed three teams into the NCAA field for the first time in the 15-year history of the conference. Joining the Irish in the NCAAs from the league is Ohio State and Denver. The Buckeyes and Pioneers are not seeded.
Notre Dame is 4-12 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. Last season, the Fighting Irish were topped by the eventual national champion Johns Hopkins, 11-10, in overtime during the first round in Baltimore, Md. Notre Dame also fell to the eventual champion (Virginia, 14-10) during the 2006 NCAAs. The top postseason run for the Irish occurred in 2001 as they advanced to the national semifinals. Along with the 2001 campaign, Notre Dame made quarterfinal appearances in 1995 and 2000.
The winner of the Notre Dame-Colgate contest will take on the winner of the Syracuse-Canisius tilt in the quarterfinal round on May 18 in Ithaca, N.Y. The semifinals and finals will be held in Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. on May 24 & 26. For more information on the 2008 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament, including a complete bracket, log onto ncaasports.com
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