PROVIDENCE, R.I. — In a back-and-forth battle Wednesday night, the Irish women’s lacrosse team left Brown with the victory, 16-15, after MK Doherty scored the game-winner with just 36 seconds to play in regulation.
The Bears struck first Wednesday evening to take the 1-0 lead at 1:38 of the first quarter. The Irish defense locked down for the majority of the Bears’ opening possession but a last second shot beat Lilly Callahan in the cage and the Irish found themselves trailing early.
Jackie Wolak got the answer for the Irish five minutes later as the graduate evened the score 1-1 with 8:38 to play.
The graduate student scored her second of the day just 27 seconds later to give the Irish the 2-1 lead before Madison Ahern joined the scoring on the following possession to take the 3-1 lead. The three goals by the Irish attackers came just 42 seconds apart to take the commanding lead.
MK Doherty and Kasey Choma connected on a free position goal at 6:58 of the first quarter to extend their lead before the Bears got one back to cut the Irish score in half.
Awarded a free position shot at the top of the eight-meter, Wolak wasted no time in firing a shot into the back of the net to take the 5-2 lead.
Brown answered moments later to make it a 5-3 game before drawing within one on the power play late in the quarter to make it 5-4.
After making it a one-goal game, Lilly Callahan made a series of key saves in the final minute of the first quarter to keep the Irish ahead through 15 minutes played.
Wolak gave the Irish a bit of cushion with her fourth tally of the game to take the 6-4 lead and first goal of the second quarter.
Doherty won the following draw with a snag from the circle to maintain Irish possession but the Irish could not convert and Brown regained the ball and cut the lead to one once more.
The Irish reclaimed the two-goal lead with a bouncing shot from Doherty at 7:15 of the second to take the 7-5 lead.
Tierney extended the Irish lead just 15 seconds later with a pass from Doherty to make it 8-5 before Choma net her second of the day to give the visitors their biggest lead of the game at 9-5.
Brown got one back with 4:11 left in the half as both teams sat with a woman in the box for a pair of offensive fouls. The Bears scored again to bring the game within two, 9-7, late in the quarter.
Keelin Schlageter thought she had the answer moments later off a pass from Tierney but the ball wound up behind the cage and the officials huddled. Play was paused for a repair in the equipment as the net had a hole but the score was held and play went on.
The score would hold through the horn to mark the end of the first 30 minutes, as the Irish held onto the 9-7 lead heading into the half.
The second half started in the Irish defensive end as the Notre Dame squad looked to kill off the Brown power play. With just six seconds remaining on the Irish foul, the Bears took advantage to make it a 9-8 game.
Wolak matched her season-best five goals with her first of the second half to give the Irish the 10-8 lead at 2:04 of the third quarter.
With 10:22 to play in the third quarter the Bears tied it up at 10-10.
Choma’s third of the day gave the Irish back the lead but the Bears tied it up shortly after to make it an 11-11 game. The graduate would not quit there, scoring her fourth of the night and tying her season best to give Notre Dame the 12-11 lead.
Kathryn Morrissey scored her first of the day to extend the Irish lead before Doherty’s hat trick goal pushed the edge to 14-11 as the Irish sideline began their sideline celebration.
Brown answered with a goal at 2:26 of the fourth quarter, capitalizing on the free position to make it 14-12 partway through the fourth quarter.
The final media timeout of the game came with 6:36 left in the fourth quarter as the Irish clung to their two-goal lead and the ball in Brown’s possession.
A free position shot found its way past Callahan in the Notre Dame crease at the return from the break to make it 14-13 at 8:50 of the frame.
The Bears won the following draw and took advantage of the possession, knotting it up at 14-all with just over five minutes to play in regulation.
Ahern snapped the stalemate with under 4:30 to play but the Bears answered with a goal of their own with 1:53 left to make it a 15-15 game.
Kelly Denes won the important draw following the Bears’ goal and the Irish let time tick off the clock before setting up their game-winning play. With 36.1 seconds left in regulation, Doherty fired a shot on goal as she fell to the ground, beating the goalkeeper for the eventual game-winning tally.
The Bears got one last push in the Irish defensive end but an errant pass sailed out of bounds and the Irish took over the ball with 14 seconds to play to secure the win.
With the win, Callahan picked up her sixth of the season, owning all decisions for the Irish in 2024 and Notre Dame moved to 6-2 on the season.
KEY STATS
A staple at the circle and one of the nation’s leaders at draw controls, Kelly Denes led the team with nine draws on the night as the team held the edge, 20-12.
With five goals in the contest, Jackie Wolak led the team while registering seven total shots on goal. The graduate student also caused one turnover and picked up a single ground ball in the win Wednesday night.
Four individuals scored multiple goals in the contest in Wolak, Choma (4), Doherty (3) and Ahern (2), while Arden Tierney had three points off a goal and two assists.
MK Doherty led the team in points with three goals and three assists for six points. Her third goal proved to be the game-winner when she scored in the final minute of regulation to break the tie.
With two caused turnovers in the contest, Ali McHugh led the team while also registering three draw controls.
UP NEXT
The Irish continue their East Coast trip Saturday with an ACC battle with Boston College set for 12 p.m.