Get a taste of the Notre Dame Men's Lacrosse experience.
Gerry Byrne enters the fifth season of his second stint as an assistant coach for the Notre Dame men's lacrosse team in 2011. In 2007, Byrne returned to the Fighting Irish program, where he served as an assistant from 1989-91. Prior to his return to Notre Dame, he was the head coach at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. from 2003-06.
The Fighting Irish have enjoyed tremendous success since Byrne rejoined the staff. Notre Dame has posted a 50-15 record (.769) and the Irish have earned an NCAA Tournament berth all four seasons. In 2010, Notre Dame advanced to the title game of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Byrne also helped the Irish reach the quarterfinals in 2008. Notre Dame received a national seed and a first-round home game during the 2008 and 2009 tournaments.
In Byrne's most recent stint on campus, Notre Dame captured three regular-season Great Western Lacrosse League (GWLL) titles and two GWLL tournament championships before the Fighting Irish moved to the BIG EAST in 2010. Notre Dame has produced 19 All-America and 27 all-conference selections along with 12 Major League Lacrosse (MLL) draft picks over the past four seasons.
Notre Dame has reaped the benefits of Byrne's defensive knowledge. The Fighting Irish have ranked in the top-five nationally in team defense during the past four seasons under the guidance of Byrne. In 2009, Notre Dame led all NCAA Division I teams with a school-record 6.19 goals-against average. The Irish defense ranked second nationally in 2010 with a 7.53 goals-against average. The stout defense was a key reason why the Fighting Irish had unprecedented success in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
Notre Dame took down five top-10 foes during the 2010 campaign, including three straight during the run to the national title game. After a 7-6 regular season, the Fighting Irish gained their fifth straight NCAA Tournament berth and a trip to sixth-ranked Princeton in the first round. After downing the Tigers 8-5, Notre Dame defeated No. 3 Maryland, 7-5, to advance to the national semifinals at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.
The sensational run continued as the Irish bested seventh-ranked Cornell 12-7 to set up a showdown with Duke in the final. Notre Dame opened the 2010 season with an 11-7 win at then No. 2 Duke, yet the Blue Devils prevailed in the second meeting by taking the back-and-forth contest 6-5 in overtime.
Senior goalie Scott Rodgers was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2010 NCAA Championship, becoming just the fifth player to earn that honor from a team that did not win the title. Rodgers and the Notre Dame defense allowed just 23 goals (5.75 per game) during the four games of the tournament. For the season, Rodgers ranked first nationally in save percentage (.605) and was third in goals-against average (.7.56).
Rodgers was joined on the NCAA Championship all-tournament team by junior teammates Zach Brenneman (M), who had a hat trick in both the semifinals and final, and Kevin Ridgway (D), a key stalwart in the stingy defense.
Rodgers, Ridgway and Brenneman were three of five Fighting Irish players to earn both honorable mention All-America honors from the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) and all-conference accolades during the first season of BIG EAST lacrosse. Midfielders Grant Krebs and David Earl joined the trio by receiving both national and league recognition. The five All-America honorees matched a program record.
The 2009 Irish squad posted the first undefeated regular season in program history and finished with an overall record of 15-1. The win total and winning percentage from the 2009 campaign are program records. Notre Dame received the 2009 GWLL coaching staff of the year award, making it the second time in three seasons that the Irish staff garnered the accolade.
The Fighting Irish also matched program standards by reaching #2 in the national polls and having five players receive All-America honors. Among the All-America selections were Rodgers, who also was named the GWLL Player of the Year, and defensemen Regis McDermott and Sam Barnes. Those three were among a group of eight Irish players that copped All-GWLL accolades during the season. The Long Island Lizards selected McDermott in the third round of the 2009 MLL Draft.
After completing a 13-0 regular season, the Irish defeated Quinnipiac and Ohio State to capture the second annual GWLL tournament. The Irish received the No. 7 seed for the 2009 NCAA Championship, yet fell to Maryland, 7-3, in the first round to end the historic run.
In 2008, Notre Dame ranked fifth nationally in both goals-against average (7.04) and goals scored per game (12.09). The Irish compiled a 14-3 record, including a 4-1 league mark to tie for first, and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship for the fourth time in school history. The Fighting Irish also played host to an NCAA Tournament game for the first time ever.
The sixth-seeded Irish defeated Colgate 8-7 in overtime to advance to the quarterfinals, where they were topped by eventual national champion Syracuse, 11-9. Notre Dame concluded the season ranked fifth in the final USILA poll.
The Irish defense came through when it counted most during the 2008 campaign. In the title game of the inaugural GWLL tournament, Notre Dame, behind a stellar effort from senior goalie Joey Kemp, shut down #10 Ohio State in a 9-2 triumph to give the Irish the title. On the season, Notre Dame surrendered 10 or more goals on just two occasions, while holding the competition to six goals or fewer eight times.
Four Irish players, including Kemp and defenseman Sean Dougherty, were tabbed as All-Americans in 2008. Kemp became just the second first-team All-American in program history and the first goalie to be named a first-teamer as he received the 2008 Kelly Award for Outstanding Goalie in Division I from the USILA.
Dougherty was a third-team pick. Fellow defenseman Ross Zimmerman received first-team all-GWLL honors as he helped the Irish to a three-way tie for the league's regular-season title. In all, six Irish players garnered all-league accolades in `08. Following the season, Dougherty, Kemp and Zimmerman all were drafted into the MLL.
Another piece of hardware that the 2008 Irish squad received was the Trophy Award at Notre Dame's seventh annual O.S.C.A.R.S. (Outstanding Student-Athletes Celebrating Achievements and Recognition Showcase). Established by the Office of Student Welfare and Development at Notre Dame, The Trophy Award annually recognizes an athletic team that has demonstrated its commitment and dedication to the community through unparalleled community service to Notre Dame and South Bend. The Irish have been very active in the South Bend area, including a mentorship program at Jefferson Middle School.
In his first season back with the Irish in 2007, Byrne helped guide a Notre Dame defensive unit that held opponents to a then program-record 6.66 goals per game, which ranked fourth nationally. The defense played a large role in the Irish posting an 11-4 record overall, including a perfect 5-0 conference mark to win its first outright GWLL title since 2001. In addition, the Irish also ranked fourth nationally in scoring offensive with an 11.65 goals per game average. Notre Dame concluded the season ranked 11th in the final USILA poll.
The 2007 season saw five Fighting Irish players earn All-America honors. Juniors Dougherty and Kemp were two of those honorees that helped to bolster the stingy Notre Dame defense. Kemp also was named the GWLL player of the year and was selected to the all-league first team along with Dougherty, while Zimmerman was tabbed as a second-team all-GWLL performer. The Irish coaching staff also was recognized as the GWLL's staff of the year.
Byrne graduated Cum Laude from UMass Amherst in 1986 with a degree in economics. He was a two-year starter and a three-year letterman in addition to being an All-New England defenseman for the Minutemen in 1986. He was a starter in two NCAA Tournament games, including the 1986 quarterfinals versus Johns Hopkins.
Byrne then earned his MBA from Notre Dame, where he also worked as defensive coordinator for the Fighting Irish. He helped Notre Dame earn its first NCAA Tournament berth during the 1990 campaign as the Irish posted a 9-7 record, including a perfect 3-0 mark in the MLA's Great Lakes Conference, which gave them the league title.
Following his graduation from UMass, Byrne was a four-time All-United States Club Lacrosse Association member with the Brine Lacrosse Club. He was also invited to tryout with the U.S. National Team on three occasions (1989, 1997, 2001), which placed him among the top-30 defensemen in the nation. Other playing accolades for Byrne include being named an All-Lake Placid Classic performer on 11 occasions and an All-Vail Shootout competitor nine times.
One of his signature years as a player came in 1997. That season he was named a Vail Shootout All-Star in the Elite Division along with copping Vail Shootout MVP honors in the Masters Division. Byrne also was named the Lake Placid Tournament Defensive MVP in the Elite Division and was chosen as the Masters Division MVP. Finally, he was invited to the National Team Selection Camp and was the USCLA/Empire League Player of the Year for the Syracuse Lacrosse Club.
Byrne was inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame - New England Chapter - in 1999 and was the 2001 New Hampshire High School Coach of the Year while at Souhegan High School. He was drafted by the New York Saints of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) in 1991 and played for them in 1992. Byrne also was drafted by the Rochester Knighthawks of the NLL as a defensive forward and went on to win a World Championship with them in 1997.
He continued his professional career following a three-year retirement when the Boston Cannons of Major League Lacrosse drafted him in 2000. Byrne played for the Cannons from 2000-02, while having the distinction of being the oldest active player in the league at that time. He played in the inaugural MLL Final Four in 2001 and made another appearance there the following season.
In addition to his duties at Saint Anselm, Byrne stayed active in the sporting world in several other ways. He served as managing director at Kiltegan Marketing Group, which is an integrated sports marketing services company with clients such as Reebok and Major League Lacrosse. Byrne also has spent time as the director of marketing for Cybex International and Brine, a major manufacturer of lacrosse equipment. He also owns the Premier Players Lacrosse Camps and is the founder of the Texas Top-99.
Byrne is a native of Levittown, N.Y., where he was an All-Long Island Catholic League lacrosse player at Chaminade High School before his graduation in 1982. He and his wife, Dr. Tracy Byrne, a practicing OB/GYN and a 1990 graduate of Notre Dame, are the parents of three children, Rory, Pierre and Brandon.
