Notre Dame midfielders Kasey Choma and Andie Aldave combined for nine goals, Irish senior goalie and Tewaaraton nominee Bridget Deehan made 11 saves and Notre Dame downed Louisville for a second time this season Saturday afternoon as the No. 5 Irish (8-5, 5-5 ACC) picked up a 15-11 senior day victory over the then-No.19 Cardinals (5-10, 1-9 ACC) at Arlotta Family Lacrosse Stadium. Notre Dame had previously won 15-10 at Louisville in late March.
Choma now has 11 goals in her last two games. The sophomore from Manorville, New York followed up her six-goal performance against Virginia Tech this past Wednesday with five goals on Saturday, again leading the Irish in goals. On Tuesday afternoon, Choma was one of three Irish named to the All-ACC Second Team.
Aldave was as efficient as possible Saturday, scoring on each of her four shots. The senior from Baltimore, Maryland is sixth on the Irish with 12 goals on the year. She also helped the Irish dominate the restarts, leading all players with 12 draw controls on the day.
Deehan, who made a highlight-reel save with her left foot from point-blank range while the score was 2-1 early in the first half, recorded double-digit saves for the seventh time this season. The Milton, Georgia native paces the ACC with 9.69 saves per game and was named to the All-ACC First Team, along with Irish graduate student attacker Samantha Lynch.
Notre Dame jumped out to a 6-2 lead with just over seven minutes to go in the first half. Sophomore attacker Madison Ahern and senior attacker Maddie Howe both scored a pair of goals during the run. Howe matched Choma’s team-high five points with a hat trick and two assists on the day, and both she and Ahern were later named to the All-ACC Second Team.
After entering the second half down 7-3, two quick goals from Louisville senior midfielder Caroline Blalock cut the Irish lead to two. The Cardinals, however, would then be held scoreless for over 11 minutes as Notre Dame embarked on a 6-0 run to put the game away.
During the run, Aldave scored three times, Choma and Howe both found the net and sophomore attacker Jackie Wolak added a goal to accompany her three assists as the Irish went up 13-5 with just under 19 minutes to go.
The Cardinals closed the game on a 6-2 run, but it was a case of “too little, too late” as Notre Dame cruised to a second straight win to close out the regular season.
The Irish will now begin their ACC Tournament campaign with a quarterfinal showdown against Duke Wednesday afternoon in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Notre Dame will have last beaten the Blue Devils exactly a month earlier in a 13-9 victory in nearby Durham.
Wednesday’s game is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. and will air on the ACC Network.
