Head coach Christine Halfpenny's No. 21-ranked Irish squad is much better than its record shows. The young group, which turned over 17 seniors and graduates from last year's historic team, has come into its own as the season has progressed, and entered Sunday's matchup with No. 8 Syracuse coming off of three straight wins. Playing in the gauntlet of the ACC, which boasts eight top-25 teams, four in the top 10 and the nation's two best, the Irish have struggled out of the gate in conference play, posting a 1-3 record.
With that said, their three losses include two heartbreakers against No. 15 Clemson and No. 13 Duke, games they lost by one and two goals respectively, and a 15-9 defeat to undefeated No. 1 Boston College in a game where the Irish tied or won three of the four quarters. Unfortunately for Notre Dame, their trip to New York was more of the same story: a battle down to the wire with an elite ACC team ending in a close Irish loss.
Capitalizing on an early woman-up opportunity, Caroline Trinkaus would open the scoring for the Orange a little over two minutes into the first quarter for her 18th goal of the season. Set up by sophomore midfielder Kathryn Morrissey, graduate midfielder Kristen Shanahan provided a quick answer for the Irish to knot the score at 1-1. A few scoreless minutes passed before Ashlee Volpe, who set up the first goal, got on the scoresheet herself. Trinkaus scored her second of the day on the following possession from a free-position shot. The Orange ended with a 4-1 lead into the second.
Notre Dame would respond, however, with a 4-0 run of its own to take its first lead of the game. Sophomore midfielder Meghan O’Hare’s first goal of the season started the run. Goals from Shanahan and sophomore attacker Kate Timarky tied the game before Shanahan gave the Irish a 5-4 lead, completing her first-half hat trick. The Orange would come right back, ending the half with a free-position goal from Gracie Britton and a goal in the final seconds from Emma Ward to retake a 6-5 lead.
The two teams went back and forth to start the third quarter. Leading scorer and point-getter freshman midfielder Madison Rassas tallied her 29th goal of the season on another setup from Morrissey, her third of the day. After junior attacker Emma Murphy got on the board for Notre Dame, the Orange answered with a goal from Emma Muchnick followed by Trinkaus' third of the game. The Morrissey-Shanahan combo struck again to even the score at 8-8 heading into the final frame, as Morrissey logged her fourth assist for Shanahan’s fourth goal.
Penalties continued to plague the Irish, as Syracuse took advantage of two straight woman-up opportunities for a pair of early goals in the fourth. Ward's fourth assist of the game set up Alexa Vogelman to extend a 3-0 run for the Orange, giving them a commanding 11-8 lead entering the final 10 minutes. The Irish would not go away, though, as freshman attacker Katie Mallaber and Shanahan cut the deficit to one with five minutes remaining. But as she did all game, Trinkaus stepped up in front of goal, delivering the would-be dagger with 2:33 left in the fourth. Morrissey would score with 30 seconds left to make things interesting, but the Irish were unable to win the ensuing draw, allowing Syracuse to take an important 12-11 ACC victory.
Across the board, shots, shots on goal, saves and turnovers were nearly even on both sides, with Syracuse taking a 15-9 advantage on draw controls but losing 19-13 in the battle for ground balls. Ultimately, in a hard-fought game decided by the finest of margins, it was penalties that were the deciding factor in Notre Dame’s loss. The Irish committed 30 to Syracuse’s 19, with the Orange scoring four woman-up goals including a decisive two to begin a 3-0 fourth-quarter run that would define the game. The duo of Morrissey and Shanahan led the way on offense for the Irish, with five and six points respectively. Shanahan’s five goals and Morrissey’s four assists were both career highs. Senior goalie Isabel Pithie put in another strong performance, making 12 saves with a .500 save percentage.
Now falling to 6-5 on the year and 1-4 in conference play, Notre Dame will set their sights on another tough ACC test in No. 2 North Carolina in South Bend on Sunday, March 30.
