Men's lacrosse finish season ranked 14th nationally in final STX/USILA ranking.

June 10, 1999

NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- The Notre Dame men's lacrosse team closed out the 1999 campaign with a 14-10 loss to fifth-seeded Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA tournament at Minnegan Stadium in Towson, Md. on May 16.

The Irish, who finished the season with an 8-6 record, squared off with the Hoyas for the second time in '99 at the NCAAs. Earlier in the campaign, Notre Dame dropped a similar four-goal decision to Georgetown as Coach Kevin Corrigan's squad lost 12-8 at Moose Krause Stadium on April 10.

The Irish made their eighth NCAA tournament appearance in the program's history, and seventh in the last eight seasons. All eight NCAA berths have come in the '90s for the Irish, and all have been during the Corrigan era. Notre Dame has a 1-8 record all-time in NCAA tournament contests.

Corrigan's squad played six games against ranked teams this season. Three of those opponents -- Loyola, Hofstra and Georgetown -- were part of the 12-team NCAA tournament field this year. Eight opponents on the '99 Irish slate were ranked in the final STX/USILA Poll.

Notre Dame finished the season ranked 14th in the final STX/United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Poll. The Irish climbed as high as 13th during the season for the weeks of March 29 and April 26.

NOTRE DAME vs. GEORGETOWN REVIEW -- Georgetown used three unanswered goals in the third quarter, breaking a 7-7 halftime tie, to beat the Irish 14-10 in the first round of the NCAA tournament in Towson, Md. It was the second four-goal win for the Hoyas over Notre Dame as well as the third straight win for Georgetown over Corrigan's squad.

Irish senior attack Chris Dusseau (Columbus, Ohio) opened up by scoring Notre Dame's first two goals. Georgetown jumped out to a 4-2 advantage with three unanswered goals, but Steve Bishko (West Islip, N.Y.) score with 29 seconds left in first quarter closed the gap to 4-3.

Senior Brad Owen (Amherst, N.H.) tied the game for the third time at 4-4 with the first of his season-high three goals. The two teams exchanged goals throughout the second 15-minute stanza with Notre Dame outscoring Georgetown 4-3. David Ulrich (Baltimore, Md.) and John Flandia (West Islip, N.Y.) knotted the game at 5-5 and 6-6, respectively, before Owen notched his second score of the quarter with 33 seconds remaining before intermission. The 7-7 halftime deadlocked was the sixth and final tie of the contest.

Georgetown scored the first four goals of the second half and held the Irish scoreless for the entire third quarter. Owen finally put Notre Dame on the scoreboard for the first time in the second half with 10:45 remaining in the final quarter with Todd Ulrich (Baltimore, Md.) dishing off his third assist on the afternoon. Tom Glatzel (Ellicott City, Md.) scored two of the three third-quarter goals for the Irish.

Goalie Kirk Howell (Nashville, Tenn.) registered 13 saves for the Irish in goal. The 14 goals allowed by Notre Dame were the most scored on Notre Dame in '99. It also snapped a string of four straight games in which Corrigan's squad had held its opponent to under 10 goals.

HEAD COACH KEVIN CORRIGAN -- Kevin Corrigan finished 11th season at the Notre Dame helm and his 13th in the collegiate ranks. The three-time Great Western Lacrosse League coach of the year earned his 100th career win during the '99 season in Notre Dame's 10-8 victory over Hobart on March 27. He owns a 104-70 (.598) overall ledger and an 94-55 (.631) mark with the Irish. Corrigan has guided Notre Dame to eight NCAA tournament appearances and eight (either outright or shared) conference titles. Prior to 1998, he had led the Irish to six straight tournament berths from 1992-97. Under Corrigan in 1995, Notre Dame won its first-ever NCAA tournament game with a 12-10 victory over Duke which propelled the Irish into the quarterfinals for the first time in school history. Previous to his tenure at Notre Dame, he served as head coach at Randolph-Macon during the 1985 and 1986 campaign where his teams compiled a 10-15 mark.

DUSSEAU EARNS ALL-AMERICA HONORS -- Chris Dusseau became the sixth different Notre Dame player to earn All-America honors when he was named to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) Honorable Mention All-America team. Since 1993, Notre Dame has had at least one player earn All-America honors.

THREE IRISH PLAYERS CLAIM GWLL HONORS -- Three Notre Dame players earned Great Western Lacrosse League honors. Chris Dusseau copped first team all-conference honors for the fourth consecutive year. He becomes the first Irish player to earn GWLL all-league honors four straight seasons. Sophomore attack David Ulrich and senior defense Laurence Galli (Garden City, N.Y.) each were named to the all-conference squad for the first time in their careers.

IRISH RESULTS IN THE NCAAs -- Notre Dame made its eighth NCAA tournament appearance in in 1999. The Irish earned their first NCAA berth in 1990 and made their second appearance in 1992. From 1992-97, Coach Kevin Corrigan's squad was one of just six schools to garner an NCAA bid each of those six seasons. Notre Dame's only tournament win came in 1995 when the Irish stunned the lacrosse world with a 12-10 victory over fifth-seeded Duke. It marked the first, and only, time in NCAA tournament history that a team from the West advanced past the first round.

    Results:
    1990 -- lost to Harvard 9-3 (May 16, 1990; Cambridge, MA)
    1992 -- lost to Johns Hopkins 15-7 (May 10, 1992; Baltimore, MD)
    1993 -- lost to Virginia 15-9 (May 15, 1993; Charlottesville, VA)
    1994 -- lost to Virginia 24-4 (May 14, 1994; Charlottesville, VA)
    1995 -- def. Duke 12-10 (May 13, 1995; Durham, NC);  
            lost to Maryland 14-10 (May 20, 1995; College Park, MD)
    1996 -- lost to Johns Hopkins 12-7 (May 12, 1996; Annapolis, MD)
    1997 -- lost to Loyola 21-5 (May 11, 1997; Towson, MD)
    1998 -- lost to Georgetown 14-10 (May 16, 1997; Towson, MD)

DUSSEAU CLOSES OUT SEASON WITH 31 GOALS -- Chris Dusseau led the Irish in goals scored for the fourth straight year as he netted a personal best 31 during the 1999 campaign. The senior attack closed out his Notre Dame career with 115 goals, good for second on the all-time goals scoring list. He averaged 3.75 goals in his final four games and registered back-to-back career bests when he scored five goals against Army on April 17 and six goals against Masschusetts the following week on April 24. The six goals tied the Irish record for most goals in a road contest. Dusseau scored his 100th career goal against Georgetown on April 10 and is one of just three Irish players to reach the milestone. The other two players to score 100-plus goals in their careers were Randy Colley (173 goals from 1992-94) and Joe Franklin (113 goals from 1983-86). He is the first Notre Dame player to lead the team in goals scored four consecutive years.

DUSSEAU REACHES THE CENTURY MARK -- Notre Dame senior attack Chris Dusseau became the 12th Irish player to reach the 100-point mark in his career this season. He finished third in the scoring column this season with a team-high 33 goals and two assists (35 points), Dusseau completed his career eighth on the all-time scoring list with 115 goals and 11 assists for 126 points. Dusseau, a co-captain for the Irish this season, started all 51 games during his career.

TABLES TURNED -- Six of the seven opponents Notre Dame lost to in 1998 were on the Irish schedule in '99. The Irish posted a 4-3 record during the regular season against those foes as Corrigan's squad avenged losses to Hobart, Butler, Massachusetts and Harvard this season.

SUPER SOPHS -- Notre Dame's sophomore class was well represented in the Irish scoring column this season as four of the team's five scorers were second-year players. David Ulrich led the team in scoring with 17 goals and a team-high 31 assists (48 points), while teammate Tom Glatzel was second with 26 goals and 15 assists (41 points). David's twin brother, Todd, was fourth in scoring with 13 goals and 12 assists (25 points), while Steve Bishko rounded out the top five scorers with 16 goals and eight assists (24 points).

GOAL DISTRIBUTION -- Notre Dame averaged 1.19 more goals per game this season than it did a year ago. The Irish averaged 10.36 goals in 1999 compared to 9.17 goals in 1998. The number of players who scored 10 or more goals doubled from three to six in '99.

HOWELL WAS A BIG FACTOR IN GOAL THIS SEASON -- Junior Kirk Howell, who spent two seasons prior to the '99 campaign as the backup to four-year starter Alex Cade, was impressive for the Irish this season. He played 825:54 of the possible 842:11 minutes and allowed 118 goals while making 160 saves. The 160 saves were the eighth most by an Irish player in a single-season. Howell had a .576 save percentage and an 8.58 goals against average during the season. He registered a career-high 17 saves in two games this season -- Loyola and Georgetown -- and has had 10 or more saves in eight of his last 10 outings and in nine games overall.

TOUGH DEFENSE -- Notre Dame's defense stifled opponents as the Irish allowed just 8.71 goals per game this season. The 14 goals by Georgetown in the first round of the NCAA represented the most goals given up by the Irish this season. In the four games leading up to its contest with the Hoyas, Notre Dame had allowed an average of 6.75 goals and had held all four opponents to under 10 goals. Coach Kevin Corrigan's squad gave up 10 or more goals in just six contests and held eight of its opponents to under 10 goals. The Irish were most effective in the second and fourth quarters as opponents averaged just 1.86 and 1.93 goals per game, respectively.

IRISH STRONG AT HOME -- In three (1994, 1995 and 1997) of the last seven years, Notre Dame finished the home portion of its season undefeated. The Irish posted 5-0 marks in both '94 and '95 and were 6-0 in '97. Corrigan's squad was 6-1 at home this season. Since 1984, Notre Dame has an 80-25 (.762) record at home and is 41-8 (.837) over the last eight seasons.

IRISH PRODUCE THRILLING WINS AT HOME -- Notre Dame produced a 6-1 record at home this season. Two of those win were by a single goal (Butler and Harvard) and another, Hobart, was by just two goals. The victories over the Bulldogs and Crimson were come-from-behind thrillers that produced game-winning goals in the final minute of the contest. Against Butler, Notre Dame trailed 7-5 heading into the fourth quarter, but tallied three unanswered goals in the 6:23 of the contest to pull out the win. David Ulrich netted the game-winning score with 53 seconds remaining for the 8-7 victory. The final regular-season contest at home against Harvard was even more thrilling as the Irish scored five unanwered goals to produce an 9-8 win. After Harvard went up 8-4 with 9:58 remainng in the third quarter, Notre Dame's defense held the Crimson in check while the offense got on track. The Irish cut the lead to 8-6 following the third 15-minute stanza, then pulled to within one goal with 9:26 remaining in the contest on Todd Ulrich's score. Steve Bishko tied the game at 8-8 with 2:31 left and then netted the game-winner with three seconds remaining as Notre Dame produced one of its most impressive comebacks in recent memory.

DUSSEAU TO PLAY IN NORTH/SOUTH SENIOR CLASSIC -- Chris Dusseau was selected to play in the 58th Annual USILA STX North/South Senior Lacrosse Classic. The game, which features the top senior Division I college lacrosse players in the nation, will take place on Saturday, June 12 at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

1999 Schedule/Results
(8-5, 3-1)

FEBRUARY
28  Sun.    (19) at Penn State (11)     L, 8-13


MARCH
5   Fri.    (19) DENVER                 W, 17-9
7   Sun.    (19) AIR FORCE              W, 16-2
13  Sat.    (19) at Villanova           W, 14-10
20  Sat.    (17) at Loyola (1)          L, 8-10
27  Sat.    (17) HOBART                 W, 10-8
30  Tue.    (13) BUTLER (19)            W, 8-7


APRIL
3   Sat.    (13) at Hofstra (15)        L, 9-10 (OT)
10  Sat.    (14) GEORGETOWN (8)         L, 8-12
14  Wed.    (14) at Ohio State          L, 4-5
17  Sat.    (14) ARMY                   W, 15-7
24  Sat.    (15) at Massachusetts       W, 9-7


MAY
1   Sat.    (13) HARVARD                W, 9-8
16  Sun.    (14) vs. Georgetown (5)     L, 10-14
            (NCAA First Round - Towson, Md.)

STX/UNITED STATES INTERCOLLEGIATE LACROSSE ASSOCIATION POLL
(Final Poll)

                            Pts.
1.  Loyola (12-0)           200
2.  Virginia (9-3)          184
3.  Duke (13-2)             178
    Johns Hopkins (10-2)    178
5.  Georgetown (11-2)       160
6.  Delaware (13-2)         140
7.  Syracuse (9-4)          134
8.  Hofstra (11-2)          131
    Princeton (9-3)         131
10. UMBC (11-3)             113
11. Maryland (9-5)          94
12. Penn State (8-4)        89
13. Navy (7-6)              81
14. NOTRE DAME (8-5)        73
15. North Carolina (6-9)    43
16. Butler (8-6)            41
17. Yale (7-6)              36
18. Cornell (7-6)           31
19. Hobart (6-7)            19
20. Army (8-6)              16

FACE-OFF LACROSSE POLL
(Final Poll)

                    Pts.
1.  Loyola          260
2.  Johns Hopkins   245
3.  Duke            228
4.  Syracuse        226
5.  Virginia        208
6.  Georgetown      197
7.  Delaware        176
8.  Princeton       153
9.  Maryland        150
10. Hofstra         140
11. Penn State      135
12. UMBC            129
13. Navy            110
14  North Carolina  85
15. NOTRE DAME      66
16. Cornell         58
17. Butler          49
18. Towson          36
19. Lehigh          13
    Ohio State      13
    Yale            13

IRISH IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICS

    David Ulrich --  8th in assists per game (2.21)
                    29th in points per game (3.43)
    Chris Dusseau -- 28th in goals per game (2.36)
    Kevin Higgins -- 19th in ground balls per game (6.06)
                    27th in face-off percentage (.516)
    Kirk Howell --  12th in goals against average (8.57)
                    22nd in save percentage (.576)
    Team --         14th in scoring defense (8.71)
                    15th in scoring margin (+1.64)
                    16th in winning percentage (.571)
                    19th in face-off percentage (.530)
                    28th in scoring offense (10.36)
                    29th in man-advantage defense (.688)
                    30th in man-advantage offense (.290)