MEN'S LACROSSE: Irish ready for Ivy League Penn
By JOE LICANDRO
Sports Writer
As if last Saturday's overtime loss against Penn State was not enough, the Notre Dame men's lacrosse team received some more bad news yesterday when starting midfielder Matt Howell suffered a knee injury in practice.
The sophomore, who scored his first career hat trick in the Irish's 10-9 loss to the Nittany Lions last Sunday, is expected to miss at least six weeks and could be out for the remainder of the season, depending on how long it takes him to recover from knee surgery.
"We will miss Matt Howell tremendously on offense," said senior attackman Owen Asplundh. "Matt is a great player with a lot of talent. Everyone on offense is simply going to have to pick up their play."
The Irish will find out if they can recover from the loss of Howell when they travel to Philadelphia to take on the Penn Quakers Saturday at 1 p.m. Notre Dame is hoping to rebound from last Sunday's loss against Penn State and even their record at 1-1 against the Quakers by returning to the basic fundamentals of lacrosse.
The Irish committed many careless turnovers last weekend on the defensive end that led directly to easy Penn State goals.
"We gave Penn State four goals by turning the ball over," said Irish head coach Kevin Corrigan. "We looked lost on the defensive end. We looked like we had never had practice before."
With Howell out of the lineup, Corrigan will be forced to juggle his starting lineup and play more young players on offense. Freshmen Brian Giordano and Matt Malakoff had impressive debuts last Sunday and will be counted on to spark the Irish offense on Saturday.
Giordano's speed and quickness were instrumental in generating Irish scoring opportunities, while Malakoff added his first career goal in an Irish uniform. Giordano will start in place of Howell on the first-team midfield line alongside senior captains John Flandina and Devin Ryan and sophomore Steve Claggett. Freshman Chris Richez will also see considerable action as he replaces Giordano's spot on the second-team midfield.
"Replacing Matt Howell will be tough, but I feel comfortable out there at the offensive midfield position," said Giordano. "Playing alongside John Flandina and Devin Ryan is a great opportunity for me. We have a lot of young guys on offense this year and coach needs us to give our best and contribute to the team right now."
The Penn Quakers are a mystery team. They have yet to play a game this season so the Irish have had no game film to study this week in practice. Furthermore, Penn will have a new look this season under new coach Matt Hogan. The Irish will have their work cut out for them as the Quakers return 22 players including six starters from last year's squad
Notre Dame needs a win over Penn on Saturday to get their season on the right track. With Howell out with an injury, the Irish will rely even more on their defense to defeat the Quakers. Irish players know they must play a complete game to claim their first victory of the season.
All Sports Stories for Friday, March 1, 2002
