#4 NOTRE DAME vs. VIRGINIA – Sunday, Feb. 22 at 4 PM
Location: South Bend, IN | Loftus Sports Center
LIVE STATS
The #4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-0, 1-0) are back at home as they resume league play against the Virginia Cavaliers (1-3, 0-0) on Sunday, Feb. 22 at the Loftus Sports Center at 4 p.m. This is the first ACC match up at home so far this season.
The Irish lead the overall series 9-5 and 3-2 at home in South Bend. The two teams did not meet last season, but the Cavaliers won the last meeting in 2024, 12-10 in South Bend.
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BY THE NUMBERS |
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Kate Timarky leads the ACC with 15 goals so far this season and is fourth in the nation. |
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The freshmen duo of Maura Irish (offensive) and Ceci Patterson (defensive) earned Co-ACC Player of the Week honors last week following the wins over #3 Boston College and #25 Harvard. |
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Two new assistant coaches join this season as Marina Miller and Mckenna Davis joined the staff this summer. |
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The Irish named four captains for the 2026 campaign: Julia Carr, Abby Lyons, Franny O’Brien, and Kathryn Morrissey. |
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After recording a hat trick in the season-opening win over No. 15 Michigan, Timarky scored a career-high five goals in the win over Central Michigan. |
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Freshman goalkeeper Ceci Patterson finished last weekend with 15 saves, holding two ranked opponents to an average of just eight goals a game. |
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Patterson is ninth in the nation with a goals against average of 6.71. |
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Rassas recorded a career-best 6 goals and 9 points in the win over Central Michigan. |
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Freshman Uma Kowalski finished the weekend with an impressive 20 draw contols, earning ACC Defensive POTW honors. She won nine in the win over No. 15 Michigan and won 11 in the win over Central Michigan. |
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The Irish welcome 12 freshman to this year’s squad. |
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The 25-0 win over Central Michigan was the third regular season shutout in program history. |
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Ten different players landing in the scoring column in the win over Central Michigan. |
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Head Coach Christine Halfpenny heads into her 15th year at the helm of the program. |
THE IRISH SHIPPED UP TO BOSTON
The Irish picked up two more ranked wins last weekend with a win over No. 3 Boston College on Friday (12-9) and No. 25 Harvard on Sunday (10-7) as the Irish advanced to 4-0 on the season with three ranked wins under their belt. In both games, a powerful second half helped guide the Irish to an undefeated weekend.
In the win over the Eagles, a huge fourth quarter surge powered the Irish to the three-goal road win, shutting out the Eagles 6-0 in the fourth. The Irish were led by freshman Grace Maroney, recording her first career hat trick in the win. She was followed by Meghan O’Hare, Kate Timarky, and Madison Rassas with two goals apiece. Timarky also led the team with three ground balls. Freshman Maura Irish scored two goals as well, while also leading the team with five draw controls. Freshman Uma Kowalski finished with four draw controls and graduate student Julia Carr finished with a team-best two caused turnovers. Freshman goal keeper Ceci Patterson recorded 11 saves and her third win of the season.
On Sunday at Harvard, the Irish battled back to overcome a 0-6 deficit as they scored 10 straight goals to take down the Crimson in their second road win. Timarky had herself a day, matching her career-high of five goals in the win. Timarky had a hat trick in the second quarter alone, scoring three straight goals for the Irish.
Maura Irish, Charley Bacigalupo, Franny O’Brien, Grace Maroney, and Madison Rassas all scored a goal in the win, as well. M. Irish also dished out three assists, recording a career-high four points, career-high four caused turnovers, and a career-high four ground balls. She was followed by Maroney with two assists, tying her career-high.
Abby Lyons and Franny O’Brien each caused three turnovers apiece, with O’Brien also recording a career-high five ground balls. Goalkeeper Ceci Patterson finished the day with four saves and picked up her fourth win of the season.
OPENING WEEKEND FOR THE IRISH
The No. 16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish opened their 2026 season with a 2-0 start at home. After defeating No. 15 Michigan in 12-10 victory, the Irish defeated Central Michigan 25-0. The win is the third regular season shutout in program history.
Sophomore preseason All-American Madison Rassas wasted no time, recording a hat trick in her first game of the season. Junior Kate Timarky recorded her sixth career hat trick in the win over Michigan as well. Junior Meghan O’Hare followed with two goals, three ground balls, and six draw controls.
The freshmen trio of Maura Irish, Grace Maroney, and Mackenzie Conley each scored their first career goals in the win with M. Irish netting two goals in her Notre Dame debut.
It was also a big night for freshmen Uma Kowalski and Ceci Patterson in their first game in an Irish uniform. Kowalski led the Irish with nine draw controls and Patterson recorded her first win in goal and finished the night with eight saves.
In the win over Central Michigan, Rassas led the offensive charge for the Irish with a career-high six goals, three assists, and nine points. She posted an impressive stat line of nine goals, three assists, five ground balls, and three caused turnovers for the weekend.
She was followed by another career-high performance from Kate Timarky who recorded a career-best five goals, two assists, and seven points. Timarky also recorded a hat trick in the season-opening win over Michigan for a total of eight goals, three assists, and 11 points on the weekend.
Freshman Charley Bacigalupo not only scored her first career goal, but went on to score her first career hat trick. The rookie midfielder finished with two assists for five points on the day.
Kowalski also scored her first career goal and absolutely dominated the draw. She recorded 11 draw controls after recording nine in the season-opening win over Michigan for an impressive total of 20 draws on the weekend.
M. rish finished with a full stat line in the win as well as the freshman recorded one goal, one assist, two points, two ground balls, two draw controls, and four caused turnovers.
Shannon Earley, Grace Maroney, Katie Mallaber, and Wynter Jock each recorded two goals a piece for the Irish. Mackenzie Conely also scored a goal in the shutout win.
O’Hare won four draw controls and caused three turnovers, followed by Abby Lyons who caused two turnovers. Sloane Ginevan grabbed four ground balls, followed by Franny O’Brien with three ground balls.