SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program opened their 2024 campaign with a convincing 21-6 victory over Eastern Michigan on Friday night.
It took the Irish just 88 seconds of play to score the season-opening goal off a shot from Abby Maichin. The Irish jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 28 seconds later when Jackie Wolak fired in her first of the season.
The Eagles scored off a rebound opportunity to cut the Irish lead in half with 11:44 to play in the first quarter.
The team’s leading scorer a season ago, Wolak scored her second of the game before assisting Madison Ahern moments later as the Irish took the 4-1 lead less than four minutes into play.
Maeve Dwyer scored her first collegiate goal with 4:54 to play in the first quarter off a free position shot to give the Irish the 7-1 lead.
The Irish added three more goals to the tally before the end of the quarter to take the 10-2 lead into the second frame.
Arden Tierney opened the second quarter scoring to give the Irish the 11-2 lead just 41 seconds into the frame with her first goal with the Irish.
Three more Irish goals, from Kasey Choma, MK Doherty and Keelin Schlageter gave the home team the convincing 14-4 lead at the half.
Ahern’s third goal of the night kicked off the second half scoring, joining Wolak and Choma with three on the night to extend the Notre Dame lead to 15-4..
The Irish tacked on three more goals, including the first collegiate goal from Kathryn Morrissey, to take the 18-4 lead into the final quarter of play in Loftus.
Notre Dame added three more goals to their tally in the final quarter for the 21-6 final and first win of the season.
Angie Conley, who had two assists earlier in the contest, scored her first collegiate goal with just eight seconds to play to complete the win.
Lilly Callahan and Izzy Pithie both earned time in the cage Friday night with Callahan stopping seven shots faced before Pithie took over in the fourth quarter and stopped a pair of shots by the Eagles.
KEY STATS
Jackie Wolak scored her first hat trick of the season in the opening quarter against EMU Friday night. The graduate student scored off her first three shots on goal while adding an assist for four points in the first 15 minutes of play.
The Irish saw four individuals score their first goals with the Irish in Friday night’s win, including Maeve Dwyer with her first collegiate multi-goal game. Arden Tierney also scored her first in an Irish uniform while Kathryn Morrissey and Angie Conley posted their first collegiate goals on the opening night.
Choma finished the night with a team-best four goals while her assist brought her points total to five, tied with Wolak for a team-high.
In addition to her four goals, Choma shot 1.00, ripping four shots on the Eagles net in the victory.
Credited with the win in goal, Lilly Callahan tied the program record of career wins with her 16th.
WHAT THEY’RE SAYING
“There’s a lot to be excited about with this team. I’m proud of our fast start tonight, and our overall execution. Eleven point getters and our depth was showcased all over the field. We look forward to building on this momentum this Sunday.” – Head Coach Chris Halfpenny
UP NEXT
The Irish women continue their February home stand Sunday with a bout with Central Michigan set for noon ET inside Loftus Sports Center.
The game will mark the second, and final, of the team’s Hair Havoc Games to raise awareness for the HEADStrong Foundation.