Irish Game Report

IrishGirl10 presents 4 quarters of action with her first Irish Game Report of the year:

First Quarter: Women's Soccer

This past Sunday, the Irish ladies claimed the Big East National Division Title with a 3-1 win over Providence. This achievement brings the ND title tally to thirteen: ten from the divisional format of the conference and three as a result of winning the overall championship. Considering these ladies have only been members of the Big East Conference for 16 seasons, this record is pretty remarkable; but unsurprising when one considers the consistently outstanding talent featured on the Irish roster. Currently ranked No. 4/5, the team is 14-1-1 for the year; with upcoming matches against Villanova (October 22) and Georgetown (October 24), however, that win column will undoubtedly improve to an even sweet 16. Following the conclusion of their regular season play, the Irish will enter the Big East tournament with the first game slotted for October 28 at a yet-to-be-determined site. Being the loyal Irish fan I know you are, I’m sure you’ll be tuning in. But if not, we’ll have all the latest news and scores right here.

Second Quarter: Men’s Soccer

At a record of 7-4-3, the boys of Notre Dame soccer have seemingly struggled to capitalize on offensive opportunities and find the back of their opponent’s net. With three shutout losses (they managed to sneak one in against West Virginia), three ties after fruitless double-overtimes, and only two wins with a goal margin greater than two, it’s an easy argument to make. What doesn’t fit this picture, however, is the extreme talent and high capability level of this Irish squad – including previous members of the U-14 through 18 U.S. National Teams and their pools. So what’s the problem? Experience. Our roster consists of 8 freshman, 6 sophomore, 8 juniors, and 7 seniors; only two of these seniors saw game action prior to their junior year, with the minutes of play for current juniors and sophomores doing little to impress. What this team needs, unfortunately, is time. With three games left in regular season - match-ups against the strong competitors of Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and Georgetown – the Irish players have multiple opportunities to prove themselves and display the talent their backgrounds suggest. Here’s hoping it happens in time for the start of the Big East tournament November 17.

Half-Time Updates

-Men’s and Women’s Cross Country concluded their seasons at the Pre-NCAA meet, with the boys placing seventh and the girls placing twenty-third overall on October 16.

-Men’s Golf finished second at the Lone Star Invitational in San Antonio, TX on October 18, next weekend they travel to California for the Saint Mary’s Invitational. The women’s team recently finished fifth at the Mercedes-Benz Championship in Knoxville, TN; next they will compete in the Landfall Tradition in Wilmington, NC.

-Men’s Lacrosse defeated Johns Hopkins 10-7 in the San Francisco Fall Classic on October 16.

-Men’s Tennis is set to host the Midwest Regional Championships starting this Saturday, with the women traveling to Ann Arbor for their Midwest Regional.

-Women’s Basketball is set to participate in the first Super Six Series, a set of games in which two teams are chosen from the top six conferences (Big East, ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-10, and SEC), with the resulting twelve scheduled to face off six early-season games.

-Volleyball (currently 12-8 for the season) will play this Saturday in South Bend against Syracuse.

Third Quarter: Hockey

Last Thursday and Friday, the Irish opened their season at home with a pair of games against Lake Superior State. Both nights, the boys left the ice with a 4-2 win blazing on the scoreboard. Scoring a goal apiece in the first match-up were freshmen David Gerths and Mike Voran, junior Billy Maday, and senior Calle Ridderwall. Sophomore goaltender Mike Johnson racked up 26 saves, shutting out the Lakers in the third period after their pair of goals split between the first and second. On Friday, seniors Calle Ridderwall and Ben Ryan along with freshmen T.J. Tynan and Anders Lee each recorded goals for the Irish – 3 in the first period and 1 in the third. Once again, Johnson tallied 26 saves, with a shutout in the third period. This Saturday, Notre Dame faces off against a top-ranked Boston College team that is certain to test the legitimacy of these early Irish wins as well as indicate where they deserve to be placed in early CCHA ratings. Despite a 16-11-2 series record that favors the Eagles, the Irish have won four of the last six encounters beginning in 2003-04. Not to mention, the Irish are still seeking vengeance for their defeat at the hands of BC in their first NCAA Tournament Championship. What does this all mean? That when the puck drops this Saturday at 7:05, our boys are going to swiftly and soundly destroy this overrated Back-Up team and reclaim their rightful place at the top of the CCHA.

Fourth Quarter: Basketball

Let’s take a break from the official-sounding game reports and stats. It’s confession time: I hate the NBA. I also hate high school basketball…but that has a lot to do with my required attendance at every. single. game. as a member of the dance team (yes, I was on the dance team – judge as you will). So logically, I must hate college basketball right? WRONG. I love it. Every spring break while my friends are timing their tequila shots to a serenade of raucous whistles, I’m getting spilled on as I paw my way towards the television and the magic of the NCAA tournament. When it was recently announced that the Irish are pegged to finish seventh overall in the Big East Conference, I wasn’t sure quite how to feel. Preceding the Irish are (in order) Pittsburgh, Villanova, Syracuse, Georgetown, West Virginia, and St. Johns; and they are followed by Louisville and Marquette (tied for eighth), Connecticut, Seton Hall, Cincinnati, USF, Providence, Rutgers, and DePaul. Woof. See what I mean? The Irish are crushed in the middle of the conference, in between some insanely talented bookends. If we have learned anything from coach Brey and past seasons, however, it’s that rankings and season records are deceiving. As such, I’m attempting to take the current team placements lightly. Luckily, the Irish appear to start this season with a rather light load: two exhibition matches against Marian and Catholic, continuing on to face Georgia Southern, Liberty, Chicago State, and Maine before the Thanksgiving holiday. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s hoping these games give the Irish the wins and the confidence they need to get started on a consistent and successful season.

-IrishGirl10

The House that Jackson Built

IrishGirl10 is back with another guest post for Irish Creed,

 this time providing the Fighting Irish Faithful with an inside look at Notre Dame Hockey.

I grew up in Northern Wisconsin just a stone’s throw from the Minnesota border. For some of you this means I must live on a farm, root for the Packers like it’s my only reason for existing and subsist on a diet of beer and cheese. And you’d be pretty accurate. What you missed in this equation, however, is hockey. My town, and the surrounding region (which pretty much goes all the way up to Canada), live and breathe hockey. As such, I was a little nervous about going to Notre Dame. They had a hockey team, sure, but compared to the domination of my home state Badgers and my brother’s support of the Fighting Sioux out in North Dakota, I was a little nervous that Our Lady’s loyal sons would disappoint out on the ice. To say these worries were completely unwarranted is a vast understatement and does a great disservice to the Irish Hockey Team’s meteoric rise to supremacy in the CCHA and the NCAA itself. Where did this team come from?

Cue coach Jeff Jackson.

Jackson arrived on the South Bend scene in 2005; the new head coach of a team coming off a 5-27-6 season. With two NCAA Championships under his belt from Lake Superior State University, Jackson wasn’t fazed. Instead, he went to work. In his first year, the team improved to 13-19-4; in 2006-2007, the Irish had a record-breaking season with 32 overall wins and their first-ever CCHA regular season and tournament championship titles; they went on to the NCAA tournament for the second time in program history and were rewarded with an unprecedented tournament win. Coach Jackson was also rewarded; he was named CCHA Coach of the Year and received the Spencer Penrose Award for the National Coach of the Year. Hardly one to rest on his laurels, in the 2007-2008 season, Jackson guided the Irish through their repeat advancement to the NCAA tournament. This time, the Irish persevered to reach their first-ever Frozen Four and eventual berth into the NCAA Championship game, where they suffered a devastating loss at the hands of Boston College. In the 2008-2009 season, Notre Dame earned its second CCHA title, but their season ended in the NCAA Midwest Regional Semifinal with a loss to Bemidji State – the small Minnesota school would go on to win the NCAA title in Cinderella-like fashion. In 2009-2010, my last season as a student, the Irish were 13-17-8 overall, their play-off dreams cut short by consecutive losses in the CCHA tournament.

This brings us to our current season. With the performance of coach Jackson seemingly guaranteed to be solid, what this season holds for the Irish comes down to the boys in the skates. Despite the loss of some talent due to both graduation and the NHL draft, the Irish feature a strong returning roster that is bolstered by 13 new and highly capable additions. Led by their veteran captains – Seniors Joe Lavin, Calle Ridderwall (team MVP and Offensive Player of the Year as voted by the ND Monogram Club), Ben Ryan, and Ryan Guentzel – this freshmen class features: three players from the USA Hockey’s National Team Developmental Program (Johns, Rust, Tinordi), eight players fresh from the United States Hockey League (USHL), two players that have already been drafted by NHL teams (Costello, Lee), and five who were listed by the NHL’s Central Scouting in their final rankings prior to the June Entry Draft (Johns, Rust, Tinordi, and Lind). Not too shabby considering the talent these guys are joining ranks with.

Last Sunday, the Irish opened preseason play with a 5-3 win over the University of Guelph. They resumed preseason play this weekend in St. Louis at the Ice Breaker Tournament, beating Holy Cross 6-3 in the opening match. Freshman left wing Anders Lee made a strong entrance to his Notre Dame career, tallying an impressive hat trick for the Irish – with assists by Kevin Lind, Ben Ryan, and Ryan Guentzel. Joining Lee on the scoreboard were senior Joe Lavin, sophomore Nick Larson, and fellow freshman T.J. Tynan (assists by Ryan Guentzel, Mike Johnson, Riley Sheahan, Shayne Taker, Billy Maday, and Nick Larson). The Irish succeeded in shutting down Holy Cross in all six of their power-play opportunities and managed to capitalize upon one of their own four power-play chances with a goal. This win allowed the Irish to advance to the championship game against Boston University, which ended in a devastating last minute 5-4 loss. Our stellar freshman class continued their strong performance with goals by Bryan Rust (Riley Sheahan, Joe Lavin) and Shayne Taker (Anders Lee). Scoring twice in the second period was sophomore Nick Larson, who was twice assisted by T.J. Tynan and Billy Maday. The Irish managed to out-shoot B.U. 34-24, with neither team capitalizing on the power play (ND 0/7, B.U. 0/4). Following the tournament, freshman Anders Lee was named the CCHA Rookie of the Week.  


The Irish will look to their talented freshmen and established leaders as they open their season this weekend in a home series against the Lake Superior State Lakers, the games are slotted for 7:35 p.m. on October 14 and 15 at the Joyce Center.

Now I know you Irish fans are content to let football consume your life this Fall, but when the temperatures start dropping in South Bend to those lovely flesh-freezing levels (literally.), don’t hesitate to take your raucous support indoors to watch the Irish Icers skate their way to an NCAA title.

-IrishGirl10