No. 13 Notre Dame salvaged an earlier loss in the week when it defeated California 16-11 at home Saturday, after losing to No. 4 Duke Thursday.
The Irish (10-3) began the weekend with a 20-10 loss to the Blue Devils (10-1). After jumping out to a 3-1 lead in the first minutes of the game, Notre Dame was overwhelmed by the powerful Duke attack.
The Blue Devils went on a 10-1 run that included a stretch of nine straight goals and went into halftime in control of the game with an 11-4 lead. The Irish were unable to make up much ground in the second half, never cutting further into the Duke lead than seven goals.
The Notre Dame defense, which entered giving up only seven goals a game on its four game win streak, could not contain Duke's offensive stars. The combination of Blue Devils senior Kristen Waagbo, junior Caroline Cryer and sophomore Carolyn Davis netted 14 of the goals. Waagbo tallied four goals and two assists, and Davis and Cryer put in five goals each.
The Irish were led offensively by sophomore Jillian Byers with four goals. Senior Kaki Orr also contributed two goals and an assist for Notre Dame.
The Blue Devils outshot the Irish 33-22.
The Irish were able to rebound Saturday with a win over California (5-4). The Golden Bears got off to a fast start, taking a 5-2 lead in the first half as the Notre Dame woes continued.
The Irish then clicked offensively, scoring six straight to take an 8-5 lead into the half. Notre Dame built up a seven-goal lead midway through the second half and kept California in check down the stretch for the 16-11 win.
The Irish continued their offensive balance, with six different players scoring two goals or more. Sophomore Jane Stoeckert led the Irish with six points on three goals and three assists. Junior Mary Carpenter added a career-high three goals, and Byers, McKinney, Heather Ferguson and Megan Murphy each had two.
Senior Laura Cavallo led the Golden Bears with four goals and an assist. Madeleine Dale also scored twice, and five Cal players notched single goals.
Notre Dame outshot California 39-23, and goalkeeper Erin Goodman had five saves for the Irish.
The Irish will return to Big East play Saturday, finishing up its five-game home stand with a match against No. 11 Georgetown.
