Michael Podgajny Class: Senior Hometown: Ridley Park, PA High School: Ridley Weight: 183 Position: Midfield Birthdate: 02/09/1986

Earned honorable mention All-America accolades during his junior season ... will be counted on to anchor the Irish midfield this season ... has appeared in 37 games, including 19 starts, during his Notre Dame career ... has compiled 43 goals and 27 assists for 70 points to go along with 79 ground balls ... is playing with more confidence than he has in previous seasons ... has improved each season since coming to Notre Dame ... very experienced ... a very good shooter ... capable of having big games ... three-time monogram winner ... prep All-American at Ridley High School ... boasts skills, savvy and a sense of the game.

AS A JUNIOR: Had a breakout season for the Fighting Irish ... named an STX/USILA honorable mention All-American along with being a second-team all-GWLL performer ... tallied career-high totals in points (39), goals (26) and assists (13) ... second on the team in assists, while he was third in goals and tied for third in points ... only Notre Dame player to score at least one goal in every game ... first on the team with a career-best 63 ground balls ... whistled for five penalties, totaling three minutes ... helped the Irish rank third nationally in man-up offense (.500) by scoring a team-high nine man-up goals ... attempted 83 shots ... opened the season with a goal in a 9-7 victory over #13 Loyola ... registered a (then) career-high in points (6) and goals (4) in addition to two assists in an 11-8 triumph of Penn State ... deposited a goal and an assist in a 13-8 setback to #4 Cornell ... had one goal in an 11-8 loss to #15 North Carolina ... notched two goals in a 16-5 triumph of #19 Drexel ... tallied one goal in games against Dartmouth (L, 7-6), Bellarmine (W, 11-3) and Brown (W, 11-3) ... recorded a career-high seven points on three goals and a career-best four assists in a 15-5 win over Villanova ... picked up a career-best eight ground balls against the Wildcats ... matched that total in the next contest against Air Force ... posted three points on two goals and one assist in back-to-back games, league wins over Air Force (16-4) and Denver (14-6) ... registered a goal and an assist in a 14-2 victory against Lehigh ... tallied four points on one goal and three assists in a 12-6 win at #20 Ohio State ... scored one goal in a 14-9 besting of Quinnipiac in the regular-season finale ... matched a career-high output with four goals in an 11-10 setback at #5 Johns Hopkins during the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

AS A SOPHOMORE: Played in 11 games ... missed four games ... totaled 15 points on seven goals and eight assists ... had two game-winning goals and one man-up tally ... attempted 44 shots ... collected six ground balls ... opened the season with a three-point performance on a goal and two assists in an 8-4 victory over #14 Penn State ... dished out an assist in a 9-6 loss to #8 Cornell ... missed the next four contests (North Carolina, Villanova, Bellarmine, #5 Hofstra) ... tallied goals in wins over Brown (11-5) and Dartmouth (8-7) ... netted the deciding eighth goal for the Irish against the Big Green ... matched a career-high with two assists in a 9-8 win over Butler in the GWLL opener ... upped his point streak to a (then) career-best six games with an assist in an 8-5 loss at #18 Denver ... had the streak snapped against Air Force ... notched an assist in a 10-7 win over Lehigh ... netted a goal in a 10-8 triumph over Ohio State ... picked up a season-high three ground balls against the Buckeyes ... tied a (then) career-best mark with four points on three goals and one assist in a 19-7 victory against Quinnipiac in the regular-season finale ... whistled for three penalties, totaling 2:00 of penalty time.

AS A FRESHMAN: Top scorer in the freshman class as he tallied 16 points on 10 goals and six assists ... fifth-leading scorer overall on the team ... helped the Irish finish fourth in the nation in scoring offense (11.91) ... played in all 11 games, making starts in the first eight games ... picked up 10 ground balls ... took 44 shots, which was fourth-most on the team ... called for two penalties (2:00) ... picked up his first collegiate point with an assist in the 14-6 season-opening win at #21 Penn State ... notched a goal and an assist in an 11-10 loss at #10 Cornell ... scored a season-high three goals, including a man-up goal, in a 9-7 win versus #10 North Carolina in the First Four invitational ... picked up a season-best two assists in a 22-6 triumph over Butler ... scored a goal in a 10-9 loss to #19 Dartmouth ... collected a season-high four ground balls in a 9-6 loss to Denver ... notched an assist in a 14-13 overtime win over Air Force ... finished the season strong by scoring two goals against Fairfield and three more against Ohio State ... also dished out an assist against the Buckeyes to give him a season-best four-point game.

PREP AND PERSONAL DATA: Three-year letterwinner in lacrosse at Ridley High School ... also collected two prep letters in basketball and one in soccer ... All-American his senior season in lacrosse ... his nationally-ranked squad won back-to-back state championships his sophomore and junior seasons ... two-time all-state, all-conference and team MVP in lacrosse ... captained the team as a senior in leading them to a regional title ... named the 2003 Pennsylvania state championship MVP ... led team in points (81), goals (52) and assists (29) in 2003 ... as a sophomore, the team went undefeated ... two-time conference champion ... registered 135 career goals and 91 assists ... participated in the Pennsylvania senior all-star game ... tallied 58 points (36 goals, 22 assists) playing for Monsignor Bonner High School as a freshman in 2001 before transferring ... in his first prep season, he was a first-team all-Catholic League selection ... was also a Top-205 camp all-star ... tabbed as a "Young Gun" midfielder by Inside Lacrosse magazine ... from the same high school as former Irish player Matt Ryan ... member of the National Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honor Society ... father, John, played college basketball at Washington and Lee University, where he earned AP honorable mention All-America recognition ... son of Laura Jean and John Podgajny ... has one older brother ... last name is pronounced puh-GO-nee ... born Feb. 9, 1986, in Chester, Pa. ... enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business as a finance major.

PODGAJNY'S CAREER STATISTICS