Irish are entering matches in an unfamilar role - as the favorites
By MIKE CONNOLLY
Sports Writer
From the start of the program, the Notre Dame men's lacrosse team has played the role of David.
The non-scholarship, little-respected school from the West would roll into the East every few years and knock off a Goliath, but no one really feared Note Dame.
Last spring, the Irish played their David role to perfection. The 12th-seeded Irish shocked the fifth-seeded Loyola Greyhounds, 15-13, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The upset was just the second time in NCAA Tournament history that a No.12 seed beat a five seed.
The first time was in 1995 when Notre Dame beat Duke in the first round. The Irish ended their season with a loss to John Hopkins in the quarterfinals and many experts dismissed the win against Loyola as just another fluke win by the pesky Irish. But for the Notre Dame players, that win was the boost of confidence they needed to propel them through off-season workouts and into the 2001 season.
The season began in the usual fashion — three solid wins against strong but not spectacular programs from the East. The Irish were 3-0 but hardly taken seriously. Most polls ranked them just outside the top 10 and no one expected their little winning streak to continue past spring break when the Irish would take on powerhouses Virginia and Loyola.
No one, except the Irish.
"When we finished last year, we won a few games in a row and then won a big game in the Tournament so we knew we had a talented team," senior defender Mike Adams said. "We worked hard all season and even though some people didn't know how good we were, we believed in ourselves."
After a 11-8 win against Virginia followed by a 10-7 victory over Loyola, where Notre Dame led for most of the game, almost everyone started to believe in the Irish. Notre Dame rocketed to No. 2 in the USILA/STX poll.
Suddenly, the Irish were no longer David, slaying the giants of the East.
Now the Irish were one of the giants and every team remaining on their schedule is gunning for them.
"We've put a big target on our chest for the rest of the year with these wins," head coach Kevin Corrigan said. "I am sure our guys understand that. When you get some wins and the rankings, what comes with it is a target for everyone and that starts this weekend."
As the Irish defend their ranking Saturday against Hofstra, they will learn for the first time what it is like to play as the favorite.
"I kinda get worried about us getting over confident and lazy but I think the seniors on this team will keep us in line," senior midfielder Todd Ulrich said.
The seniors take extra precautions to be sure the team stays focused because they have traveled the longest road to the No. 2 ranking. The Class of 2001 remembers the trying 1998 season.
Growing Pains
Corrigan said his 1998 team had the same talent and potential as this year's squad. But while the 2001 team rose to the challenge to post an undefeated record, the 1998 version stumbled to a losing record. For the first time since 1989, Notre Dame did not make the NCAA Tournament.
"We thought the team we had when they were freshmen was an excellent team," Corrigan said. "I hope they remember that year because they should have learned something. It's a fine line. You gotta take care of your business every day if you want to be successful. Some of the success we are having this year is a result of those guys having that experience. You can't take anything for granted."
The losing was especially difficult for twin brothers Todd and David Ulrich and Tom Glatzel. The three Irish stars enrolled at Notre Dame after playing for one of the best high school lacrosse teams ever. Boys Latin in Baltimore finished the 1997 season ranked No. 1 in the country. Going from the best team in the country to a 5-6 team was frustrating.
"Going from being ranked No. 1 to being on a team with a losing record it was really a shock," Todd Ulrich said. "We almost forgot what it was like to be on a team with a losing record."
The 6-5 loss to Butler still leaves a bitter taste in the mouth of David Ulrich.
"The loss to Butler has got to be the absolute low point of my college career. That was just the nail in the coffin," he said. "It meant that for the first time since our conference started getting an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame wouldn't get that bid. We had lost a bunch of close games and that game pretty much determined our fate."
Driving from Baltimore to Notre Dame the next August, Todd and David vowed that they would never again miss the playoffs.
"On the way back to school sophomore year, my brother and I talked about it and we decided we wanted to make a name for ourselves and prove that we weren't an average team," Todd Ulrich said.
The following year, Notre Dame returned to the Tournament with a 7-5 record, but lost in the first round. As the sophomores on the field gained another year of experience, Corrigan moved another piece of the puzzle into position.
After redshirting a year and watch from the bench for another, goalie Kirk Howell got his first chance to start between the pipes for the Irish.
Although shaky in his first season, Howell has developed into one of the best keepers in the country. He has complemented Notre Dame's dazzling attack and stifling defense with spectacular saves.
Howell made 15 saves in the Tournament upset of Loyola in 2000 and made more than 30 combined saves in the wins against Virginia and Loyola this year. Now in his third year as a starter, the fifth-year senior has learned to play more relaxed.
"When things aren't going well, my first year I might have been more discouraged and start looking for answers," he said. "Now I just kind of sit back and keep trying to play my game, eventually it comes to me."
Building something of their own
The Tennessee-native Howell, unlike most of the players on this year's team, does not come from a state known for lacrosse. The sport is played most by the private schools in the East, especially in Baltimore and New York. When the Ulrichs and Glatzel decided to come to Notre Dame rather than a traditional power like Syracuse, Princeton or John Hopkins, it surprised many people in the East.
"The people that ask you [about choosing Notre Dame] are more caught up in the lacrosse aspect of things," David Ulrich said. "They miss the total college experience that we were looking for. They had a great lacrosse program but it is also a great school. All three of us had always been big fans of Notre Dame and it was just an opportunity to build something."
The Notre Dame coaching staff stressed the opportunity to create a new tradition throughout the recruiting process.
"It's unique to be the start of a tradition. It's something I never had been a part of before — the chance to build a program and see it grow," Todd Ulrich said. "We came here and we could step in and play every day. Notre Dame is Notre Dame. It's awesome. We didn't care what other people said."
Now those same programs that used to look down on Notre Dame and Western lacrosse find themselves looking up in the polls at the Irish. It's a new feeling for Notre Dame but one the team is thoroughly enjoying.
"It's nice to go into a game and you're not scared of the team you are playing," David Ulrich said. "You expect to win. It's definitely not something I was used to the first couple of years. But this year it seems like everyone expects to win. That's the biggest difference between this year and other years."
But the now-Goliath squad isn't looking past any lower-ranked teams. They too easily remember how easily a David can slay the giant.
"If we overlook anyone on your schedule, we are making a mistake," Corrigan said. "There might not be anyone on our schedule with the name of a Virginia or a Loyola but there are plenty of teams on our schedule that can beat us. It would be arrogant for us to think that any school on our schedule can't beat us."
All Sports Stories for Friday, March 23, 2001
