The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team continues its winning streak after defeating Duke 13-9 in their game Sunday afternoon. The game proved to be a full-team effort, with senior goaltender Bridget Deehan making 12 saves and nine other players netting goals for the Irish (5-2, 2-2 ACC).
Duke started the match off strong, scoring the first goal of the game, but the Irish responded in kind, keeping their opponent off the board for 13 minutes as they carried out a 4-0 run. Senior midfielder Andie Aldave, senior attacker Maddie Howe and graduate student attacker Jessi Masinsko all contributed to the attempt. A similar pattern followed as freshman attacker Katie DeSimone scored for Duke, only for Notre Dame to perform another 4-0 run in response. Even with the Blue Devils scoring again after being kept from the board for another 15 minutes, the Irish maintained a lead of 8-3 at the midpoint. The Irish ultimately dominated the time of possession in the first half, outshooting the Blue Devils (6-4, 2-4 ACC) 21-8.
Duke picked up some momentum coming into the second half as they held the Irish to only eight shots (of which, five were good) and put themselves back into the contest with a score of 10-7. However, eight stops and a career-high six ground balls by Deehan ensured an Irish lead in the last 30 minutes of play. Late in the half, Notre Dame quickly tallied three goals in under two minutes to finish out their scoring drive, making the final score 13-9.
This game marked some milestones for the team. Graduate attacker Samantha Lynch — who was named ACC Offensive Player of the Week for a second time this season — now leads the team with 22 goals and 28 points in seven games. Graduate midfielder Savannah Buchanan also leads the team in turnovers with 17 to her name. Additionally, sophomore midfielder Kasey Choma and sophomore attacker Jackie Wolak both have five multi-goal performances in seven games.
Coming off of this success, the Irish look ahead to face the University of Virginia on April 3 in which they will seek to continue their winning streak.
