NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team has announced its 2011 fall schedule along with other dates of importance in the months of September and October.
On the field, the Fighting Irish will face Air Force and Navy during their fall exhibition season. The Air Force contest will take place Saturday, Oct. 8 at Notre Dame’s Arlotta Stadium. The two teams will square off at 10:00 a.m. (ET) and later that day, the Fighting Irish football team will play host to the Falcon gridiron squad. There is no charge for fans wishing to attend the lacrosse game.
The following weekend, Notre Dame will face the Midshipmen at Miller Field in Annapolis, Md.
“Our fall schedule will give us a chance to face two smart, disciplined and well-coached teams,” says Notre Dame head coach Kevin Corrigan, who will be entering his 24th season on the Irish sidelines this spring. “Those games will help us be better prepared as we get ready for the 2012 season. The Air Force game will also allow some of our alums and fans in the community that are on campus for the football game to see us compete.”
Off the field, the Irish squad has several noteworthy events taking place in the fall. The team took part in a “barnstorming” trip to central Indiana last Saturday. The Fighting Irish held a practice/instra-squad scrimmage at Carmel High School in Carmel, Ind., to help energize the growth of lacrosse in the Indianapolis area. The event was free and open to the public.
In October, Corrigan will take the team’s sophomores and juniors to New York City to explore networking opportunities with Notre Dame alums, including former lacrosse players. This will mark the fourth straight year that Corrigan has taken this kind of trip to the Big Apple with members of his squad. The contingent visited the New York Stock Exchange, BlackRock, MTV headquarters and NASDAQ last fall.
The week after the New York trip, Corrigan will take some of his student-athletes to Chicago for additional networking chances. Chicago will be the third city in the past two years alone that Corrigan has taken members of his team to help them explore future employment opportunities. In addition to last year’s New York visit, upperclassmen on the team were able to network at Google and EA Sports in San Francisco during the fall ball trip out West when the Irish faced Johns Hopkins.
“The networking trips are tremendous opportunities for our guys to get exposure with our alumni and to explore career possibilities,” adds Corrigan. “This is a time for them to gain access to internships as they move into their junior year.”
Along with practicing, playing, studying and networking, the Fighting Irish players also have been busy helping out in the South Bend/Michiana community. The Notre Dame team is once againparticipating in a mentorship program at Marshall Intermediate School in South Bend. The squad has been a part of the program for several years to help youth in the area. It is just one of several ways that the Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team gives back to the community.
