DURHAM, N.C. – The No. 17 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-3, 0-2) fell 11-9 to the Duke Blue Devils (3-2, 1-1) on Friday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.
Kristen Shanahan led the Irish with a hat trick, her third of the season so far, as she finished the day with three goals, one assist, and one draw control.
She was followed by Kathryn Morrissey and Madison Rassas who each recorded two goals a piece. Emma Murphy and Angie Conley each scored one goal for the Irish.
Meghan O’Hare led Notre Dame with eight draw controls, while also finishing with two ground balls and a caused turnover. Goalie Isabel Pithie recorded six saves and a team-best four ground balls.
The Irish won the draw 14-10 and outperformed the Blue Devils in the ground ball and turnover category as Notre Dame recorded 12 and 11 in comparison to Duke’s 11 and 13.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish were on the board at 12:52, as Shanahan found the back of the net for the first goal of the day. It was tied up shortly after as Notre Dame turnover led to a Duke fast break to make it an even 1-all.
The Blue Devils took their first lead of the game at 8:35 and followed with another goal just 40 seconds later to take a 3-1 lead.
Shanahan scored her second goal of the day at 1:41 to bring Notre Dame within one heading into the second quarter.
The Blue Devils opened the quarter with their fourth goal of the day at 12:23, knocking down their fifth at 9:17 to take a 5-2 lead over the Irish.
Shanahan broke up the run with her third goal of the day to complete the hat trick and bring the Irish within two at 5-3 with 7:45 remaining in the half.
Duke would send home one last goal of the quarter before Morrissey closed it out with another Irish goal to make it 6-4 at halftime.
Morrissey opened the second half with her second goal of the day just 45 seconds into the period as she brought the Irish within one 6-5 at 14:15.
Duke would extend their lead back to two at 7-5 with 10:28 on the clock, but the Irish weren’t going anywhere as they responded with a pair of goals to tie it up. Rassas sent one home at 8:44 on a pass from Shanahan and Murphy found the back of the net at 5:45 to make it a tied ball game.
At a level 8-8 heading into the fourth period, Duke scored back-to-back goals to take a 10-8 edge with 13:17 remaining.
Rassas knocked down the free position shot for her second goal of the day to bring Notre Dame back within one at 5:59.
Duke, however, responded with a free position goal of their own to make it a two goal game again at 11-9 with 4:31 remaining. Both squads would remain scoreless through the final minutes as Duke would take it home, 11-9.
UP NEXT
The Irish are back in action on Sunday, March 2, as they continue their stint in North Carolina with a game against Elon at 11 a.m. The game is available on LacrosseTV and FloSports.