After more than a week without a game, the Irish played three games over a 10-day stretch. They lost to Ohio State 13-8 before rebounding to defeat Boston University 14-5. A 6-5 loss to Cornell capped off the stretch for Notre Dame.
Against the Buckeyes March 10, sophomore attack Betsy Mastropieri scored a career-high four goals, all in the first half, as the Irish (3-4) held a slim 6-5 edge heading into halftime.
Ohio State rebounded in the second half, scoring the first four goals after the break on their way to outscoring the Irish 8-2 in the second half. The Buckeyes, led by senior attack Brittney Zerhusen's five goals and three assists, went on two separate 4-0 runs in the second half. Sophomore midfielder Jenny Granger chipped in two goals and four draw controls.
"When we're up, we stop getting possession on the draw and we're not converting turnovers into goals," senior captain defender Jackie Doherty said. "We aren't converting offensively and struggling defensively."
In Notre Dame's first game in its own Arlotta Stadium, the Irish once again brought a slim lead into halftime against Boston University. This time, however, the Irish broke open the game with nine second half goals.
Spurred by a 7-0 second half run in which seven different players scored, Notre Dame's lead ballooned to a game-high 10 goals. The Irish outshot the Terriers 40-16 in the game.
Junior attack Maggie Tamasitis and senior midfielder Kailene Abt both scored three goals and added three assists in the win. Doherty scored her first goal of the season and forced six turnovers.
"Against Boston, we were able to hold the ball for a long time and convert the goals and pull away," Doherty said.
On Sunday in Baltimore, the Irish dropped a 6-5 double overtime decision to Cornell just a year after Notre Dame played in four overtime games.
After the Irish rushed out to an early 4-0 advantage, the Big Red stormed back in the second half, tying the game on junior attack Jessi Steinberg's goal with 8:19 left in the period. Steinberg finished with three goals on the day.
Freshman midfielder Kaitlyn Brosco broke the tie in the first overtime with a free-position shot but Cornell responded by the knotting the game up with just 24 seconds left in the period. The Big Red scored the only goal in the second overtime to win the game.
The Irish are now 0-2 in games decided by one goal and their four losses have come by a combined 10 goals. Last year, Notre Dame was 5-3 in games decided by a goal.
"Someone needed to step up and convert on offense [against Cornell]," Doherty said. "We haven't had an entire game where our offense and defense both played well."
The Irish head to Long Island, N.Y. Saturday to take on non-conference foe Hofstra in a noon contest.
