After several straight games of overcoming an early deficit, the Irish finally got the start they were looking for Wednesday, jumping out to a 9-1 halftime lead and beating Ohio State 16-9 at the Loftus Center.
A motivated Irish squad set the tempo from the beginning of the game, putting constant pressure on the Buckeyes both offensively and defensively. Moving effortlessly through the Ohio State defense, Notre Dame scored five quick goals in the first 12 minutes to take a commanding early lead.
Irish coach Tracy Coyne said she was impressed with the play in the first half.
"We really wanted to get out to a fast start, and showed a lot of intensity turning fast breaks and turnovers into goals," she said.
The Buckeyes finally got on the board with a Kristen Slahor goal midway through the first half, but the Irish countered with a 4-0 run to seize the 9-1 lead at the break.
Ohio State surged out of the half offensively, scoring four quick goals to cut the deficit to 9-5. That would be the closest the Buckeyes would come, however, as the Irish kept building their lead and countering Ohio State goals the rest of the game.
Notre Dame played one of its most complete games of the year, with nine different players scoring points on the match. Sophomore Jane Stoeckert and senior Meghan Murphy led the way with four points each. Junior Caitlin McKinney and senior Lena Zentgraf also netted three goals apiece in the victory.
"It was a total team effort," Coyne said. "We do everything we can to improve every game, so when the time comes we'll be a solid tournament team."
Slahor led the Buckeyes with three goals, and six different Ohio State players netted one goal on the game.
The Irish dominated possession offensively and defensively, out-shooting the Buckeyes 33-14.
The match - the first at home for the Irish in almost a month - was moved from Moose Krause Stadium indoors to the Loftus Center earlier in the week due to weather concerns.
Next up for the Irish is a Big East matchup with Loyola in Baltimore. The Greyhounds have struggled this season and have a 1-5 record after losing to Princeton Wednesday.
The match is the Big East opener for Loyola, while the Irish are 0-1 in Big East play after a loss to Syracuse Sunday.
The Irish improved to 6-2 on the season with the win, while Ohio State dropped to 3-2.
