SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A commanding first half for the University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team proved not enough as they fell for the first time this season, dropping a 16-14 decision to ACC foe Syracuse in their conference opener.
One of the nation’s top draw control units showed early success Saturday afternoon with the team’s leading specialist Kelly Denes winning the opening draw. Despite holding possession in the attacking end through the first minute of play, a costly turnover in front of the crease resulted in a Syracuse clear and opening goal on the other end of the field as the Irish trailed 1-0 just 94 seconds into play.
The Orange extended their lead shortly after to make it 2-0 with 12:52 to play in the first quarter before Kasey Choma got the Irish on the board less than 40 seconds later off a pass from Madison Ahern.
Shortly after the Orange regained the two-goal lead the Irish pressured the offensive end and Kathryn Morrissey saved a loose ball to maintain possession. Choma then found Morrissey standing out front of the cage who buried a shot to make it 3-2.
A free position goal from the Orange halfway through the opening quarter made it 4-2 but Ahern took advantage of traffic in front of the Syracuse goal to score her first of the day, sparking a streak of four unanswered goals for the Irish.
Ahern fired a rocket of a pass to Choma right out front who scored as she fell to tie it up 4-4 with 7:12 to play in a high-scoring first quarter.
The Irish took their first lead of the day with a free position goal from Madison Ahern with 5:32 left in the opening quarter for her second goal of the afternoon.
Jackie Wolak gave the Irish their first multi-goal lead of the day, capitalizing on a free position attempt with 1:13 to play in the first quarter to give Notre Dame the 6-4 advantage.
With five seconds to play in the opening frame, the Orange snapped the Irish scoring streak with a free position goal to make it 6-5 through the first 15 minutes played.
The Irish scored the first three goals of the second quarter, from Choma and Wolak (two) to take the 9-5 lead but Syracuse scored one late to cut the Irish lead to three with 2:48 to play in the second frame.
Abby Maichin scored her first of the day to give the Irish double digits Saturday as the home team took the 10-6 lead with 60 seconds remaining in the half.
Irish goalkeeper Lilly Callahan came up with a clutch save in the waning moments of the second quarter to hold Syracuse to just one goal in the second set of 15 as Notre Dame took the 10-6 lead into the halftime break.
A pair of free position opportunities for the Orange drew them within two of the Irish lead early in the third quarter.
Morrissey scored her second of the contest to put the Irish back in front by three after a feed from behind the net from Choma found the basket of Morrissey who fired the ball into the back of the cage, beating the Syracuse keeper as the Irish took an 11-8 lead.
The Orange drew within one after a controversial play in front of the Irish crease. An official review determined a good goal and the Irish saw their lead dwindle to 11-10.
A shot clock violation on the Irish after winning the ensuing draw resulted in Syracuse getting possession and capitalizing on their opportunity to knot it up, 11-11, with less than four minutes to play in the third quarter.
Syracuse took the lead in the final 30 seconds of the third quarter after the first shot was saved but a ground ball in favor of the visitors kept the ball on that end of the field where they eventually beat Callahan with just 28.5 ticks left on the clock.
While man-up, Wolak scored her fourth goal of the contest to tie it back up, 12-12, with 12:58 to play in regulation.
The Orange scored two consecutive goals, including one on the free position, to make it 14-12 as the Irish trailed by two for the first time since the opening quarter.
After Syracuse made it 15-12, Wolak scored her team-best fifth of the day to draw the Irish back within two with just under seven minutes remaining in regulation. The five goals marked her best offensive performance of the season.
Maichin’s second goal of the afternoon made it 16-14 with 63 seconds left on the clock as the Irish offense looked to pull off the ultimate fourth quarter comeback.
The goal from the senior, however, proved to be the final of the day as the Irish suffered their first loss of the season. After dominating the first two quarters, the Irish were held to just four goals in the final 30 minutes for the 16-14 final.
KEY STATS
- Jackie Wolak’s five goals led the team and brings her program-leading total to 18 on the season. Her seven points was also a team-best on the afternoon.
- Kasey Choma joined Wolak with a hat trick performance, adding a team-high three assists in the contest for six points on the afternoon.
- With three caused turnovers, Olivia Dooley led the team in the category while Abby Lyons’ four ground ball recoveries led the Irish.
- Lilly Callahan finished the day with four saves.
- With eight draw controls in the contest, Kelly Denes led the team as they won 15 total draws.
UP NEXT
The Irish hit the road for the first time in 2024 next weekend as they head to North Carolina to face the Tar Heels on Saturday, March 2 at 11am.