The memorable days just keep piling up for Notre Dame women’s lacrosse in the home stretch of its season. Saturday at Virginia Tech joined the list, as the Irish rolled into Blacksburg and comfortably claimed a 20-9 win over Virginia Tech that handed head coach Christine Halfpenny her 150th victory with the Irish.
Notre Dame, who improved to 13-2 overall and 6-2 within the ACC, also set a program record for goals scored against Virginia Tech. The team’s offensive output remained consistent across the game, as the Irish potted at least four goals in every quarter — the third of which saw Notre Dame score seven times and shut the Hokies out.
In extending its win streak to eight games, Notre Dame jumped out to a fast start at Thompson Field. The Irish controlled each of the game’s first four draws, fueling a 5-1 scoring advantage within the contest’s opening 12 minutes. Graduate attacker and draw specialist Arden Tierney spearheaded the early push, tallying each of Notre Dame’s first two goals before assisting on the team’s fourth. Her spinning finish in tight opened the scoring for the Irish just 73 seconds into the game.
The second quarter saw Virginia Tech push back within a goal on back-to-back strikes from Paige Tyson. But Tierney and graduate attacker Madison Ahern each scored hat-trick goals in the seven minutes before halftime, restoring a three-goal Notre Dame lead and keeping momentum squarely with the Irish.
What little doubt remained about Notre Dame’s chances to win quickly washed away during a one-sided third quarter. Graduate attacker Jackie Wolak finished off a hat trick of her own by scoring three and a half minutes out of halftime. Then, graduate midfielder Kasey Choma, who surprisingly went without a goal in the first half, deposited four in an 11-minute stretch. The third came with another superb, behind-the-back finish, contributing to a decisive third quarter in which the Irish outscored Virginia Tech by a 7-0 count.
With the game well under control, Notre Dame cruised to an 11-goal victory in the final period. Ahern, the team’s leading scorer on the day with a season-high five goals and two assists, added one more goal with 5:42 to play. Wolak and Choma ended the day right behind her with four goals, while Tierney finished with three. Senior midfielder and draw specialist Kelly Denes, as usual, engineered a successful showing in the draw circle for Notre Dame, controlling eight draws as part of an 18-13 Irish advantage in the circle. Across the board, Notre Dame took advantage of opportunities as well, going 8-for-8 on free position shots while the Hokies scored only twice in such situations.
In the Irish cage, senior goalie Lilly Callahan performed sharply once again, limiting her fifth consecutive opponent to single-digit goals. She allowed just eight in 55 minutes of action, making seven saves before giving way to junior backup Isabel Pithie.
As the regular season nears its end, only 7-9 Louisville stands between Notre Dame and a perfect season away from home. The Cardinals have lost four consecutive games within the ACC, most recently dropping a close contest at Duke on Friday.
Notre Dame and Louisville will meet at UofL Lacrosse Stadium at noon on Thursday for both teams’ final game in the regular season.
