BLACKSBURG, Va. — Notre Dame women’s lacrosse head coach Christine Halfpenny made history Saturday as her Irish team secured their 13th win of the season, rolling out to a 20-9 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies to mark Halfpenny’s 150th win on the Irish bench.
The Irish got on the board first with a turnaround shot by Arden Tierney on a pass from Madison Ahern at 2:13 of the first.
The Hokies answered shortly after with a free position goal to make it a 1-1 game with 12:16 to play in the first quarter.
Notre Dame regained the lead after a series of possession changes between the two teams. Arden Tierney picked up the ground ball after a shot by the Irish sailed just wide before burying her second shot of the day to make it a 2-1 contest.
The Irish extended their lead with a pair of goals from to make it a 4-1 contest late in the opening quarter. Madison Ahern buried a shot from the free position before Jackie Wolak snuck a pass behind the net to Abby Maichin to make it 4-1.
Notre Dame won the following draw to keep possession and capitalize on the play as Wolak net her first of the game to give the Irish the four-goal lead with 3:34 left in the first quarter.
The Hokies snapped the Irish scoring streak with 21 seconds remaining in the opening quarter to cut the lead to 5-2.
Virginia Tech took advantage of the powerplay opportunity to start the second quarter, making it a two-goal game early in the frame.
Wolak got the Irish back in the scoring category with a free position goal to double the Hokies’ score with just 2:13 elapsed in the second quarter. The Hokies answered however with a goal of their own a minute later to make it a 6-4 contest.
Ahern buried her second free position goal of the day to give the Irish the 7-4 lead but the Hokies scored once more on the powerplay to cut the Irish lead back to two-goals with 10:49 to play in the half.
Virginia Tech took advantage of an intercepted pass in the Irish end to make it a one-goal game halfway through the frame.
Tierney lined up at the draw and won the control to give the Irish possession following the Hokies goal.
After a save for the Hokies’ goalkeeper, Ahern picked up an errant pass in the offensive end and walked it in for her third goal of the day and 11th hat trick of the season.
The Irish took the 9-6 lead into the halftime break behind a pair of hat tricks from Ahern and Tierney.
Wolak opened the second half scoring with a shot off the free position, giving the Irish the 10-6 lead with 11:30 to play in the third quarter.
Kasey Choma net her first of the day, floating a shot in off the free position and beating the goalkeeper for the 11-6 tally.
The Irish scored twice more off the free position, behind goals from Kathryn Morrissey and Choma to take the 13-6 lead halfway through the frame.
Choma scored her third of the day with a behind the back shot to give the Irish an eight-goal edge.
The Irish kept the offense on their end of the field after a caused turnover while a player down to create a three-on-two rush where Wolak found Ahern for her fourth of the day to take the 15-6 lead.
Notre Dame drew a foul late in the frame as Choma capitalized on the free position to force the running clock with the 16-6 score.
The Hokies got one back to make it a 16-7 contest early in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of a miscue on the other end of the field.
Wolak reclaimed the 10-goal Irish lead, redirecting a pass from Ahern to make it a 17-7 game with just over 11 minutes to play in regulation.
Virginia Tech took advantage of a card against an Irish defender and scored on the free position to draw within nine of the Irish but a goal from MK Doherty shortly after the ensuing draw gave the Irish the running clock again as they led, 18-8.
Ahern set a season high with her fifth goal of the day to give the Irish the 19-8 lead but the Hokies would answer with a goal of their own late in the contest.
Fran Frieri rounded out the scoring Saturday afternoon in Virginia, giving the Irish their 20th of the game for the 20-9 final as the team improved to 13-2 on the season.
KEY STATS
- The win Saturday against the Hokies marked head coach Christine Halfpenny’s, a Virginia Tech alum, 150th career win at Notre Dame as the team set a program record for goals against the Hokies.
- The Irish opened the game with the first four draw controls of the game and finished the day with the 18-13 edge at the circle.
- With five goals on the day, Madison Ahern led the team while adding two assists for a seven-point game. The five goals for the graduate set a season high.
- With 20 goals against the Hokies, the Irish set a program record for most goals against Virginia Tech. The 20+ goal outing was the team’s sixth of the season.
- With eight draw controls on the day, Kelly Denes led the team in the category and now boasts 109 on the season – her third consecutive season hitting triple digits at the draw control.
- The attacking trio of Ahern, Kasey Choma and Jackie Wolak combined for 18 points in the contest and 13 of the team’s goals.
- Keelin Schlageter’s three caused turnovers was a team best as the Irish forced 11 turnovers on the day.
- In the cage, Lilly Callahan picked up her 13th win of the season and registered nine saves for a .500 save percentage at Virginia Tech.
UP NEXT
The Irish close out the regular season with a trip to Louisville on April 18. The game against the Cardinals is set for noon.