Bulldogs Open GWLL Slate Saturday Against Notre Dame

April 5, 2006

THE FACE-OFF: Butler (3-6) opens Great Western Lacrosse League play and returns to the Butler Bowl for the first time in nearly a month Saturday, hosting eighth-ranked Notre Dame (6-2) in a 1 p.m. (ET) face-off. The game will be televised live on Comcast Local, as the Bulldogs look to continue a two-game winning streak.

THE SERIES: Butler and the Fighting Irish meet for the 14th time Saturday as lacrosse opponents. Notre Dame owns a 12-1 advantage in the all-time series. Butler's only win came in 1998, a 6-5 victory in Indianapolis. The Bulldogs are 1-5 against Notre Dame in Indianapolis.

BUTLER COACH Stan Ross: Ross enters his second season on the Butler sidelines after an impressive inaugural campaign that saw a win over No. 16 and Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) champion Fairfield and four Bulldogs earn postseason honors. Ross was named the third head coach in Butler lacrosse history June 16, 2004, arriving in Indianapolis after serving as Towson's top assistant and defensive coordinator for six seasons. He carries an 8-13 career record into today's contest.

LAST TIME OUT: After host Robert Morris erased a 5-1 Butler first-period lead, the Bulldogs scored the game's final two goals for an 8-7 win at Joe Walton Stadium in Moon Township, Pa., Saturday afternoon. Andrew Watt gave Robert Morris their first and only lead of the game, 7-6, 1:27 into the fourth period with the team's fourth man-up goal. Butler would have the last say however, tying the game with 6:53 remaining before freshman Jeremy Sieverts tallied the game-winner with 4:49 remaining in regulation.

CLIFFHANGER: Sophomore Cliff Smith has picked up right where he left off during his rookie campaign. The team's top returning scorer from a year ago (18 goals, eight assists in 2005) is once again leading the Butler attack. His 14 goals and 17 points are tops for the Bulldogs in 2006. Smith had scored at least one goal in the team's first eight games this season before going scoreless in Saturday's win at Robert Morris.

JEREMY'S SCORIN': Freshman Jeremy Sieverts has stepped right into the Butler line-up and found the net often. Sieverts' 11 goals and 15 points both rank second on the team. He owns the team-lead with four man-up tallies. That total also paces the GWLL.

DEFENSIVE EFFORT: After allowing an average of 12.8 goals per game in their first five contests of the season (posting a 1-4 record), Butler has clamped down on defense recently, allowing just 7.5 scores per outing over the past four games (2-2 mark). That can be attributed to an experienced defensive unit, led by seniors Gary Gambarani and Steve Forsythe and juniors Brendan Flanagan and Carlos Navarro. Gambarani and Forsythe earned postseason All-GWLL honors last season. Forsythe missed the first two games of the year with an injury.

FACE TIME: Senior Phil Brauch has given the Bulldogs a face-off presence that has been lacking in years past. Brauch is winning 55 percent of his face-off attempts so far this season, but he is 10-of-15 and 15-of-20, respectively, in the Bulldogs' last two games. Butler has won both contests.

QUICK SHOTS: Butler had a balanced attack with seven players accounting for the team's eight goals against Robert Morris. Only Mike Hinker found the net twice while Doug Mathias and Pat Hurto chipped with a goal and an assist each. The two goals were the first of Hinker's career...Junior newcomer Adam Wade is third on the team in scoring with six goals and 11 points...Senior Phil Brauch leads the team with 38 ground balls, followed closely by junior Carlos Navarro's 34. Brauch's average of 4.22 ground balls per game is fourth in the GWLL...Cliff Smith and Doug Mathias have the only two man-down goals recorded in the GWLL so far this season...Smith is second in the league in shots per game at 7.22.

TICKET INFORMATION: The price of admission for Saturday's contest is $5 for adults and $3 for youth. Butler is offering a special group rate of $1 per youth for larger groups that contact Butler ticket manager Matt Harris (mdharris@butler.edu; 317.940.9390) in advance. As always, Butler students receive free admission when presenting their Butler student ID.

UP NEXT: The Bulldogs continue GWLL play, traveling to Ohio State Friday (April 14). Face-off is set for 7 p.m., and live stats will be available on www.butlersports.com through Gametracker.