No. 7/7 Irish Welcome In BIG EAST Foes Rutgers And Villanova

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 7/7 University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team
returns home this weekend and welcomes in No. 19/RV Rutgers (7 p.m. Friday) and
Villanova (1 p.m. Sunday).

The Irish (6-0) are coming off a 12-11 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville last
Wednesday. Sophomore Shauna Pugliese scored three goals and dished out two assists
to lead Notre Dame. Fellow sophomore Barbara Sullivan tied a school record with nine
draw controls, with all coming in the second half, to help swing the momentum in
favor of the Irish.

Leading Notre Dame this season on offense continue to be senior leaders Jaimie
Morrison and Jenny Granger, who have totaled 25 goals and 15 assists between the two
of them.

On defense sophomore Barbara Sullivan has 25 ground balls, 17 draw controls and 13
caused turnovers, while freshman Stephanie Peragallo has 15 ground balls and 14
caused turnovers.

In goal senior Ellie Hilling has earned all six decisions while sporting an 8.41
goals against average and a .422 save percentage.

The decision to play at Arlotta Stadium or Loftus Sports Center hasn’t been decided
yet for either game with the recent winter weather in the South Bend area. Fans can
stay tuned to UND.com, @NDWomensLax (Twitter) and Facebook.com/NDWLAX for the latest
news. If the games are outdoors, a free live broadcast will be online at UND.com.
Live stats will be available if the games are inside or outside.

Rutgers – 7 p.m. – Friday

Rutgers (7-1) is off to its best start in school history and defeated Princeton,
12-10, Tuesday night. Katrina Martinelli leads the Scarlett Knights on offense
having totaled 22 goals and six assists. Goalie Lily Kalata is 7-1, has a .500 save
percentage and sports a stingy 6.27 goals against average.

The Scarlet Knights are first in the country in scoring defense as they have limited
opponents to just 6.12 goals per game on 17.5 shots per game by using a stall
offense. They average just 9.50 goals on 22.5 shots per game. In comparison the
Irish are averaging 14.17 goals on 29.5 shots a game while giving up 8.17 goals a
game on 20.7 shots per game.

Last year Rutgers came just seconds from upsetting the Irish and knocking them from
the ranks of the unbeaten in Piscataway, N.J. Trailing 12-11 with one minute
remaining in overtime, Granger found the back of the net to knot the score at 12.
Just 37 seconds later junior Margaret Smith gave the Irish the improbable win as she
scored the winning goal.

Assisting on both goals was former Notre Dame standout Maggie Tamasitis, who makes
her return to campus this Friday as a first-year assistant coach with - coincidently
- Rutgers.

Notre Dame leads the all-time series 9-4 against the Scarlet Knights.

Villanova – 1 p.m. – Sunday

Villanova (4-3) plays at Marquette Friday night before meeting the Irish Sunday. The
Wildcats defeated Davidson, 11-7, last weekend. Sophomore Jessica Mucci leads
Villanova with 31 points on seven goals and 24 assists. Senior Maria Bowman has 12
goals and seven assists. Goalie Amanda Hirschfeld has a 4-2 record, a 8.39 goals
against average and a .495 save percentage.

Last year the Irish blitzed the Wildcats 18-5 behind five goals from junior Lindsay
Powell. Sophomore Allie Murray earned her first career start and win in goal,
replacing a sick Ellie Hilling. The Exton, Pa., native tallied nine saves on the
day, including six in the second frame.

Notre Dame leads the all-time series 4-0, including the only shutout in BIG EAST
history, 16-0 in 2010. The series got underway in 1999, with the Irish coming away
with a 15-9 win.