The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team opened up the 2025 season with a massive test on the road against No. 2 Northwestern. The Wildcats, a perennial powerhouse in the women’s lacrosse world, sought revenge after last year’s 14-10 upset defeat in South Bend. Last year’s win propelled the Irish to their first No. 1 ranking in program history. But after graduating 17 players from last year’s historic team, including their legendary attacking trio of Jackie Wolak, Madison Ahern and Kasey Choma, they entered this year’s matchup ranked 13th in the nation, penned as clear underdogs in Evanston.
Northwestern’s hunger for revenge was evident out of the gate. The Wildcats overwhelmed Notre Dame in the first quarter, taking a commanding 7-0 lead after the first 15. Last year’s leading point scorer Madison Taylor was the catalyst. She set the tone from the very first possession, capitalizing on a free-position shot to immediately put the Wildcats in front. She had a hand in the next two goals as well, finding the Harvard graduate transfer Riley Campbell in transition for the assist and dispatching a long-range effort from straight on to extend the lead to 3-0. She would get her hat trick with 4:30 remaining in the quarter after putting away another free-position shot. Campbell would add a second of her own, on top of goals from Emerson Bohlig and a career-first for true freshman Aditi Foster to cap off the dominant quarter.
Taylor would pick up right where she left off in the second quarter, scoring her fourth of the day to make it 8-0. Notre Dame would make things interesting, though. Sophomore attacker Kate Timarky finally got the Irish on the board with 12:24 remaining in the second quarter. A little over a minute later, graduate student Kristen Shanahan, who returns after last year’s season-ending injury, would follow up the missed free-position shot off the post and cut the deficit to six. Northwestern would respond with the next goal before last year’s leading freshman point-getter midfielder Kathryn Morrissey answered on a free-position shot. Taylor could not be held down, however, as she masterfully split an Irish double team and converted her fifth goal of the half. Shanahan’s behind-the-back effort, her second goal of the day, took the Irish into halftime trailing 10-4.
Across the tail end of the second quarter and the entirety of the third, Notre Dame’s defense kept the Wildcats scoreless. In that time, Timarky logged her second goal of the day and junior attacker Emma Murphy added another to cut the deficit to four. Northwestern would finally break its prolonged scoring drought, opening up the fourth quarter on a 2-0 run. Bohlig grabbed her second of the day on a free-position shot before Taylor added her sixth to make it 12-6. Morrissey, Timarky and Shanahan all completed hat tricks on a 4-1 run Notre Dame run down the stretch, but the Irish ultimately ran out of time to mount the comeback despite their best efforts. Northwestern’s 22-5 edge in draw controls tells much of the story in this game. Taylor’s offensive dominance tells the rest, her goal-scoring and playmaking powering Northwestern to a statement win in game one. With that said, Notre Dame more than held its own with one of the nation’s best and will be encouraged by the performance of its young core, particularly the sophomore duo of Morrissey and Timarky. Shanahan also proved to be a welcome addition back in the lineup after her injury absence in 2024.
Notre Dame would turn around quickly, returning home to face Central Michigan University in the home opener. Head coach Emilia Ward enters her third season after leading the Chippewas to a regular-season conference title in 2024. Her team, however, was no match for Notre Dame.
The Irish asserted themselves from the opening faceoff in what would be a one-sided first quarter. Graduate captain Shanahan went behind the back for the second time this season to open the scoring for Notre Dame. Central Michigan's response on the next possession, a goal from Hanna Wegner, would be the closest the Chippewas would come.
The Irish would score the next 11 goals unanswered, holding the Chippewas scoreless for 18 minutes of play. Their dominant run was fueled by a lopsided advantage in draw controls. After struggling against Northwestern, Shanahan rarely lost in the draw circle against CMU. She won 14 of 18 in the first half, many of them leading directly to downhill opportunities that Notre Dame turned into several goals. The talent discrepancy was also evident throughout the game, as Irish midfielders and attackers feasted in their one-on-one matchups.
Unlike against the Wildcats, where only three players carried the scoring burden, the Irish spread the love on Sunday. While the trio of Timarky, Morrissey and Shanahan got on the board, scoring a combined six of the team’s 20 goals, three other Irish players tallied hat tricks. Junior attacker Emma Murphy and sophomore attacker Angie Conley each had three, but it was freshman midfielder Madison Rassas who was the standout. The top recruit whose father, Todd, was an All-American with Notre Dame’s men’s lacrosse team, scored a team-high five goals to go with three assists. Freshman midfielder Ellie McClelland, another highly-touted recruit who played on the 2023 USA U18 National Development Team, also got in on the action with her first career goal. The high potential of this Irish underclassmen group was on full display during the first-half onslaught.
After taking a 14-2 lead into the break, Notre Dame would take its foot off the gas a bit in the second half. CMU put up a valiant effort, tightening up defensively and competing on draw controls, winning 6 of 13 compared to 4 of 18 in the first. It held the Irish to less than half of their first-half offensive output while more than tripling its own. While the game still finished with a comfortable 20-7 Irish victory, the Chippewas did not go down without a fight.
After splitting 1-1 in the opening weekend, Notre Dame will be optimistic for the future of this young, up-and-coming group. The Irish will stay in South Bend for the Military Appreciation game against Eastern Michigan on Feb. 15. Face-off is set for 3 p.m. with ACCNX providing the broadcast.
