April 2, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team continues to climb in the national rankings as the Irish moved to 11th in the nation (the program’s highest ranking ever) in this week’s Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) Poll. The Irish face their biggest game of the season on Wednesday, April 3rd when they play host to seventh-ranked Syracuse at the Loftus Sports Center. The opening draw is set for 4:00 p.m.
Wednesday’s BIG EAST showdown features two of the league’s top teams. The Irish come into the game with a 6-1 overall record and are 2-0 in BIG EAST play. Syracuse is 6-2 on the year with a 2-1 mark in league play. The Orangewomen’s lone league loss came to top-ranked Georgetown.
The two teams have met four times in the all-time series with the Orange winning all four games. Syracuse is 1-0 at Notre Dame, 2-0 at Syracuse and 1-0 at a neutral site. Last season, the Irish dropped a 13-10 decision in the season finale at Syracuse. The Orange led 7-2 at halftime and survived a second-half comeback by the Irish that featured a Notre Dame record six-goals by current junior midfielder Danielle Shearer.
Wednesday’s game will also feature the BIG EAST’s Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week. Syracuse midfielder Kim Wayne was the league’s top offensive player for last week as she scored 13 points in games versus Colgate and Connecticut. Versus Connecticut, Wayne had three goals and seven assists for 10 points and is currently the top scorer in the BIG EAST with 36 points.
The league’s defensive honors went to Notre Dame goalkeeper Jen White (Jr., Annapolis, Md.) who was 2-0 last week giving up just 11 goals (5.50 goals against) while making 20 saves (.645 save percentage), grabbing 10 ground balls and forcing two turnovers. White leads a Notre Dame defense that has given up just six goals per game to rank second in the nation in that category. She is the top goalkeeper in the league with a 6.00 goals against and is second with a .584 save percentage.
The Syracuse game closes out a five-game Notre Dame homestand. The Irish play at Connecticut (Apr. 6) and at Ohio State (Apr. 9). The next Irish home game is scheduled for Friday, April 12 versus the Duke Blue Devils. Game time at Moose Krause Stadium is set for 4:00 p.m.