STANFORD, Calif. – The #11/12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (6-3, 2-3) fell 11-17 to the undefeated #2/2 Stanford Cardinal (9-0, 6-0) on the road late Saturday evening.

As the Irish have proved all season, it doesn’t matter if they trail early – they always battle their way back into games. Despite trailing 0-7, the Irish continued to chip away at the deficit as they brought it within as few as three goals at 7-10 in the third period. While the Irish continued to battle, the Cardinal were persistent in their second half efforts as well as they would ultimately take home the win.

Kate Timarky recorded her sixth hat trick of the season as she led the Irish with three goals on the night. She was followed by Maura Irish, Madison Rassas, and Grace Maroney with two goals each. Charley Bacigalupo and Emma Murphy chipped in one goal a piece for the Irish. Murphy also dished out a team-best two assists for three points on the night. Meghan O’Hare finished with a game-high four ground balls for the Irish and caused two turnovers.

The Cardinal offense struck quickly as they posted an early 3-0 lead over the Irish in the first four minutes of play. Stanford would go on to score two more goals in the period as they led 6-0 going into the second quarter.

The Stanford run continued as they found the back of the net to start the second period, making it a 0-7 deficit for Notre Dame. The Irish weren’t going anywhere though as Rassas responded with a caused turnover, picking off the pass on a Stanford clear attempt. She dished it to Timarky who was able to score in transition and put the Irish on the board.

It was followed by a goal from Maura Irish to cut the deficit to five goals with 9:22 remaining in the half, but the Cardinal had an answer shortly after to make it a six-goal game yet again at 2-8. Rassas got in on the scoring action as Maura Irish found her on the left wing where Rassas played the bounce to find the back of the net for her first goal of the day.

The Notre Dame run continued as a Patterson save on a free position shot was followed by a made free position goal from Maura Irish for her second goal of the day. The Irish closed out the half on a 4-2 run to make it a five-goal ballgame with a score of 4-9 heading into the second half.

The Irish offense struck early to start the third quarter. In less than a three minute stretch, a 3-0 Irish run on goals from Bacigalupo, Maroney, and Rassas made it 7-10 with 10:55 left in the period.

The Cardinal answered with a run of their own as they responded with five straight goals to extend their lead to 7-15 heading into the fourth.

However, the Irish weren’t going anywhere in the final period. Their offensive efforts persisted as a Maroney goal sparked a 4-0 Notre Dame run with two more goals from Timarky and a goal from Murphy to bring Notre Dame within four at 11-15.

Despite Notre Dame’s late efforts, the Cardinal would score two more goals in the final 1:49 for a final score of 11-17 at Stanford.

UP NEXT

The Irish are back in action on Saturday, March 21 as they host Florida State at 1:00 p.m. for their Daughters For Dads game. The homestand continues as they will then host Robert Morris and Cal to cap off their three-game homestand.