Over the weekend, Notre Dame women’s lacrosse hit the road for two games in North Carolina against Duke and Elon. Though the Irish fell to the Blue Devils by an 11-9 score on Friday, they responded with an 8-4 defeat of the Phoenix on Sunday. Now at 3-3 on the season overall, the Irish have dropped each of their first two ACC games.
Notre Dame 9, Duke 11
Friday’s game in Durham was close throughout, as the Irish struck first on a goal from graduate midfielder Kristen Shanahan 130 seconds in. The Blue Devils countered with three consecutive goals across the next five minutes, holding their lead at 3-1 until Shanahan found twine again with 1:41 to play in the first quarter. Entering the second, Duke led by a 3-2 margin.
The Blue Devils moved into their largest lead of the night to start quarter two, as Maddie MacDonald scored her second goal of the game to help build a 5-2 advantage. Shanahan completed her hat trick in the player-up situation moments later, bringing the Irish back within a 5-3 score. Each team buried a shot one more time within the final five minutes of the first half, keeping Duke in a 6-4 lead at halftime.
Sophomore midfielder Kathryn Morrissey scored her second consecutive goal to start the second half, trimming Duke’s edge to 6-5. The Irish eventually captured the lead with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter on three straight goals from freshman midfielder Madison Rassas, junior attacker Emma Murphy and sophomore midfielder Angie Conley. Callie Hem tied the game back up at 8 for Duke, setting up a decisive fourth quarter.
Duke controlled the final 15 minutes with its success in the draw circle, as the Blue Devils outscored the Irish 3-1 and captured all five of the available draws. Hem pushed Duke into a 9-8 lead hardly more than a minute into the final quarter, and Mattie Shearer made it 10-8 only 37 seconds later. Rassas provided Notre Dame’s only goal in the quarter with six minutes left in the game, but the Blue Devils answered on Bella Goodwin’s free-position shot with 4:31 remaining. They’d wrap up the 11-9 win from there, improving to 3-2 before sweeping the weekend against Xavier on Sunday.
Shanahan led the Irish with three goals and an assist, while Goodwin paced the Blue Devils with four points on two goals and two assists. Senior goalkeeper Isabel Pithie took the loss in goal with six saves, while winning netminder Kennedy Everson made nine, including five in the third quarter, on the other side.
Notre Dame 8, Elon 4
Despite continued success from its opponents in the draw circle, Notre Dame got back on track on Sunday. The Irish defense overcame a 12-4 deficit in draw controls to earn a low-scoring victory over Elon.
Both teams scored just once in the first quarter, with Rassas getting Notre Dame on the board to tie the game with 4:48 to play. The Irish once again did not find twine in the first 10 minutes of the second quarter, allowing Elon to take a 2-1 lead. However, a late-half surge led to goals from junior attacker Fran Frieri and Morrissey, springing the Irish into a 3-2 halftime advantage.
Notre Dame’s momentum stretched into the early part of the second half, as the Irish scored twice in the first four minutes after halftime. Freshman attacker Katie Mallaber recorded her first collegiate goal ahead of Rassas’ second of the game, which put the Irish up 5-2. Elon would hang around despite a Shanahan goal down the stretch in the third quarter, as the Irish entered the fourth with a 6-4 lead.
The Irish put the game away by shutting Elon out in the fourth quarter. Morrissey and sophomore attacker Kate Timarky added two more goals for good measure, sealing an 8-4 Notre Dame victory. Pithie put together a strong day in goal for the Irish, making 10 saves, while Morrissey and Shanahan each posted three points.
Now ranked 22nd nationally, the Irish have a tough test waiting back in South Bend this week. Notre Dame will oppose No. 1 Boston College at 11 a.m. on Saturday, looking to upset the Eagles for a second consecutive season.
