Laxers hope to make Irish's Cade angry

When it comes to lacrosse it doesn't take much to get Notre Dame goalie Alex Cade mad. Just score on him.

"He gets mad every day in practice when he is scored on," said Notre Dame lacrosse coach Kevin Corrigan, whose team plays No. 16 Penn State at 7 tonight in Holuba Hall.

The source of Cade's anger can be found in his simple goalkeeping philosophy.

"Every time I get in the cage I strive to not let anyone score on me," he said.

But for Cade, opportunities to get mad don't come often. For the past two years his goals against average has been the best in the nation, and he is arguably the best collegiate goalie. And those are not shallow predictions; his performance in the past two seasons speak volumes about his talent.

Besides a stellar goals against average for two consecutive years, Cade was a United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association honorable mention and a first-team Great Western Lacrosse League All-American last year. And this year he is a first- or second-team preseason All-American pick in most polls.

Cade has been able to excel at one of lacrosse's most demanding and punishing positions. And while every lacrosse player gets his share of bumps and bruises, not every one stops little white balls traveling well over 50 mph.

"It's about as punishing as any other position on the field," he said "There are a lot of bumps and bruises."

Penn State hopes to bruise the egos of Cade and his No. 13 Notre Dame teammates tonight.

The two teams' rankings are evidence they are also similar on the field. Both return their top three scores from last year and the majority of their defense.

"They return the bulk of their NCAA team from last year," Penn State coach Glenn Thiel said. "They are legit."

On offense, the Irish return last year's leading scorer in midfielder Jimmy Keenan, along with Chris Dusseau and Will DeRisio, the 1996 team's second and third top scorers.

Defensively, it is much the same for the Irish. Todd Rasssas, a USILA first-team All-America last season, leads the defense. He is joined by the experience combo of Dave Cashen and Laurence Galli. And then there is Cade.

"We are a very good defensive team that is waiting to see what else we have as the season progresses," Corrigan said.

For Penn State, it is much the same story. On offense the top three scorers from last year's team -- attackmen Greg Jackson, Chris Killoren and Jason Rickel -- return.

But on defense things are a bit different for the Lions. Gone is Chris Lamy, who transferred to Maryland, after seeing playing time last year after tri-captain Tolleison Morriss went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament against Georgetown.