SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The fourth-ranked Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team fell in heartbreaking fashion to fifth-ranked Michigan Sunday in the NCAA Tournament Second Round as the Wolverines beat the buzzer to take the 15-14 decision.
A strong defensive start for both teams saw multiple caused turnovers a piece to keep the game scoreless.
After a blocked shot on the Wolverines’ end, Jackie Wolak found Madison Ahern who fired a rocket shot into the back of the net for the opening tally.
The Wolverines won the following draw control but Grace Weigand forced an attacker to step out of bounds and the Irish took over. Kasey Choma took advantage of the possession, scoring her first of the day with an assist from Wolak.
Wolak made it 3-0 Irish at 7:39 of the first to notch her third point of the day and break the career-points record at Notre Dame.
The Wolverines scored two consecutive goals to draw within one with just under four minutes to play in the first quarter.
The Irish won the ensuing draw control but were unable to capitalize and Michigan regained possession late in the quarter with the Irish still up by one.
Michigan tied it with a shot at 53 seconds remaining to make it a 3-3 game. Kelly Denes won the draw control following the Wolverines’ goal but the Irish could not convert in the final seconds and the game remained tied through 15 minutes played.
Kathryn Morrissey reclaimed the Irish lead after Madison Ahern drew a foul behind the net to reset the offense. Ahern fed a pass up to MK Doherty who quickly sent it to Morrissey who buried her shot.
Ahern scored off the free position before Choma net her second of the game to give the Irish the 6-3 lead partway through the second quarter.
Michigan snapped the Irish scoring run with a goal at 6:54 of the second quarter to cut the Irish lead to two goals as the Irish held the 6-4 edge.
Morrissey’s second goal of the game came at 5:01 of the second frame but Michigan would answer with two goals late in the half to make it a one-goal game through 30 minutes played.
Morrissey goal then two Michigan goals to make it 7-6 at half
Michigan tied it up to start the second half, capitalizing on the man-advantage to make it 7-7 less than a minute into the frame as the two sides looked to break apart from the other.
It was Morrissey who eventually broke the stalemate, scoring her second career hat trick, and second in as many games to give the Irish the 8-7 edge over Michigan. The Wolverines answered shortly after and the score was tied yet again.
Ahern’s second free position tally of the day gave the Irish the lead back, up 9-8, at 12:00 left in the third frame.
A strong defensive output on either end of the field held both offenses scoreless for the next 5:19 but it was the Wolverines who finally broke the drought and tied it back up. A shot on doorstep for Michigan made it 9-9 with 6:41 left to play in the third quarter.
Abby Maichin scored her first goal to break the tie and reclaim the Irish lead, finding the back of the net at 5:50 of the third quarter. The senior attacker scored again just 43 seconds after her first as the Irish took their largest lead of the half, up 11-9, with 5:07 to play in the frame.
Michigan scored a goal with 1 second left in third to make it a one-goal contest with one quarter left in regulation as the Irish held the 11-10 advantage over the visitors. The Wolverines then tied the contest yet again 64 seconds into the fourth quarter.
The visitors took their first lead of the game at 11:57 of the fourth quarter as a free position shot wound up behind Callahan as Michigan claimed the 12-11 score.
Maichin’s hat trick goal knotted the contest up for the sixth time in Sunday’s contest as the two teams were locked in a 12-12 game.
Michigan reclaimed the lead with a goal at 7:40 of the fourth but the Irish won the following draw control and called timeout to draw up their next play. Shortly after the return from break, Doherty found Choma through traffic whose hat trick goal tied the contest back up, this time at 13 a side.
The Irish defense looked to have forced a turnover with just over five minutes to play and officials signaled Irish ball. After grouping up, the call was overturned and the Wolverines were awarded a free position in which they took the lead, 14-13, with 5:12 to play in regulation.
As time wound down, in the final quarter of regulation the Irish defense buckled down and Keelin Schlageter forced a turnover deep in the defensive zone to set the Irish offense up. The team was unable to capitalize on the possession and Michigan regained control. The Wolverines did not convert on their possession and Callahan’s ground ball scoop put the Irish back on the attack with 63 seconds to play.
The team’s leading scorer, Wolak drew a foul at the eight-meter arc and capitalized on a free position attempt from the hanging hash with 31 seconds to play.
With the game tied 14-14 the Wolverines won the final draw and took advantage, firing a shot top shelf as the buzzer sounded to end Notre Dame’s season.
KEY STATS
- The top-five showdown saw eight ties throughout the course of 60 minutes.
- With the first goal of the game Sunday, the Irish women set the program record for points in a single season as Jackie Wolak and Madison Ahern combined for two points on the goal. The previous best was 471, set in 2009.
- Kasey Choma’s first goal of the contest to give the Irish the 2-0 lead set a new program best for goals in a single season, notching Notre Dame’s 325th of the year. The midfielder would go on to record three goals on the day, hitting 251 career goals with the Irish and becoming just the second individual in program history to eclipse 250 goals.
- After assisting on the first two goals Sunday, Jackie Wolak’s first of the contest set the program record for points in a career as the graduate attacker surpassed Jillian Byers’ 336 record from 2009. Wolak finished the day with seven points, off two goals and five assists, and ends her historic Irish career with a program-best 341 points.
- The team’s 22 points on the day mark 492 on the season while the 14 goals round out the season with a program record 337.
- Wolak finished the year with 110 points which ranks third all-time in program history for most in a single season, surpassing her previous best of 105 set in 2023.
- With eight assists Sunday, including five from Wolak, the Irish set a program record for most assists in a season. The 155 helpers in 2024 surpassed that of 147 set in 2009.
- On top of her career points record set Sunday afternoon, Wolak’s fourth assist of the day passed Maggie Tamasitis’ record 151 assists to stand alone in first all-time at Notre Dame.
- With three caused turnovers against Michigan, Keelin Schlageter led the team in the category while Abby Lyons boasted a team-best five ground balls.
- The historic 2024 season concludes with the Irish owning a 16-4 record.