The hope for the No. 6 Notre Dame women's lacrosse Class of 2024 is that they will be remembered for what's to come and not what they have already done. But a class that features three of the top six scorers in program history, one of its most dominant draw control specialists and a starting goalie who was an All-American honorable mention last year, among others, already has plenty to celebrate.
So, the Irish did just that all day on Saturday. The afternoon began with a ceremony to honor the 11 seniors and six graduate students, which led to a matchup with No. 23 Duke that quickly became another blowout. The scrappy Blue Devils that took down No. 11 Virginia just a week prior did jump out to an early 1-0 lead, but from there, it was all Irish. With the stress of the postseason looming, it was a senior day to savor for Notre Dame, who won its sixth straight game by a final score of 19-7. The last three of those victories came by double-digit margins.
The veterans fittingly led the way for the Irish, just as they have for so much of this outstanding season. Notre Dame rattled off five straight goals after that early deficit and never saw their lead seriously challenged the rest of the way. Five players — all seniors or graduate students — notched hat-tricks. The big three of graduate student attackers Kasey Choma, Jackie Wolak and Madison Ahern all tallied three times. So did Arden Tierney, who tied Choma for the game-high in assists with three.
Senior attacker Abby Maichin also buried three, including a particularly nifty goal near the end of the third quarter. In fact, of the 30 points the Irish scored Saturday (19 goals, 11 assists), only one (an assist by freshman midfielder Kathryn Morrissey) came from someone who isn't a part of the team's graduating class. It was also a milestone day for the team's leader, as head coach Christine Halfpenny moved past Tracy Coyne with her 148th victory, the most in program history.
Beating Duke also makes it very likely the Irish will enter postseason play as one of the hottest teams in the country. The combined record of their final three regular season opponents — Liberty, Virginia Tech and Louisville — is just 18-23, with only the Hokies currently holding a record above .500. That doesn't guarantee anything, of course. But the Irish look like a team capable of achieving illustrious goals as they continue to score them with the best.
