The No. 21 Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team returns to Arlotta Stadium on Saturday afternoon for yet another top 25 clash, as the No. 9 Stanford Cardinal close out their three-game road trip in South Bend. Although the Irish are still slated to face Louisville at home in two weeks, Saturday’s contest will serve as senior day, where the Irish will honor seven key seniors.
With the toughest strength of schedule in the nation, all six Irish defeats have come against top 25 opponents. However, the NCAA Selection Committee won’t show Notre Dame much grace unless they can rattle off some wins to close out the season. The 6-6 Irish are currently outside the cutline of the ACC Tournament with a 1-5 conference record, meaning the team will have to make up some ground in their final three games if they hope to make their postseason aspirations a reality.
The Cardinal enter Saturday’s affair with a 10-3 record overall and 4-2 mark in their first year as members of the ACC. They have dropped two of their last three, with losses to No. 1 Boston College and at No. 22 Army before getting back in the win column with a dominating 15-2 performance at Louisville last Saturday.
Stanford is 4-2 this season against top 25 foes, with wins at No. 19 USC and No. 10 Virginia, as well as in Palo Alto against then-ranked No. 21 Colorado and No. 13 Yale. Notre Dame’s lone victory over a ranked opponent came last month when the Irish sunck past then-ranked No. 23 Harvard 8-6 at Arlotta Stadium.
14th-year head coach Christine Halfpenny’s squad is led by the midfield trio of freshman Madison Rassas, graduate Kristen Shanahan and sophomore Kathryn Morrissey. The nation's No. 1 recruit in last year’s class, Rassas has lived up to expectations for the Irish as she leads the team in goals and total points, tallying 29 and 33, respectively. Shanahan is the do-it-all veteran leader, recording 22 points while dishing out 10 assists. Morrissey has had breakout year two in South Bend, adding 18 goals and 13 assists herself.
Across the sideline, Danielle Spencer is in her sixth season leading Stanford. Her Cardinal group is headlined by the sophomore attack tandem of Aliya Polisky and Ava Arceri. A preseason third-team All-American, Polisky has fired in 42 goals and added seven assists to lead the team in points. Arceri picked up ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors back in early March and has added 34 goals and 12 assists of her own to distribute the scoring for Stanford.
Saturday’s rivalry game between Stanford and Notre Dame is set for a 1 p.m. face-off at Arlotta Stadium. Senior day festivities will begin roughly 20 minutes prior, and streaming is available on ACCNX.
