SOUTH BEND, Ind. – A top-10 showdown comes to Loftus Sports Center this weekend as the eighth-ranked Irish host No. 1 Northwestern on Friday night at 7:30pm. The team returns to the field Sunday for a matinee matchup with in-state foe Butler at 1pm.
Friday’s game will be the team’s Together Irish game before they honor Morgan’s Message on Sunday against Butler.
GAME DETAILS
Location: South Bend, Ind. | Loftus Sports Center
Schedule: February 16 vs. No. 1 Northwestern — 7:30 p.m. | February 18 vs. Butler — 1:00 p.m.
TV: ACCNX
Live Stats: UND.com
Twitter Updates: @NDWomensLax
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
FOR STARTERS
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The Irish opened their season with a 21-6 win over Eastern Michigan inside Loftus last Friday, picking up their first win of the season. The team then posted back-to-back 20+ goal performances as they rolled to a 22-3 victory over Central Michigan in game two of opening weekend to finish the opening series with a 2-0-0 record.
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Lilly Callahan picked up both decisions and now owns a 2-0-0 record to start the year. She tallied nine saves and a .692 save percentage over the two-game stretch.
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Jackie Wolak’s 12 points to start the season leads the team following consecutive hat trick outings. She boasted three goals and two assists in game one before tallying four goals and three assists in game two to finish the weekend with 12 points.
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Freshmen Angie Conley, Kathryn Morrissey, Kate Timarky and Meghan O’Hare all scored their first collegiate goals and were joined by veterans Ciara Mazzone and Maeve Dwyer in the accomplishment.
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A graduate transfer and preseason All-American, Arden Tierney leads the two with six assists this season.
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The Irish finished the 2023 campaign with a 15-6 record and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight.
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They were the only non-seeded team to advance out of the NCAA Tournament regionals a season ago, besting Mercer 21-6 before defeating the host Florida Gators in a thrilling 16-15 showdown to keep their season alive.
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The team’s leading scorer in 2023, Jackie Wolak, surpassed 100 points on the season with her third goal of the game (against Florida) to become just the third woman in program history to hit the ellusive century mark.
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In round one of the 2023 postseason NCAA Tournament, Notre Dame rolled out a convincing 21-6 victory over Mercer to advance to the Second Round where they will face Florida. The 21 goals was a program best in the NCAA Tournament, along with their 31 points setting a new record as well.
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Kasey Choma recorded 10 points in the win, leading the team and becoming the only Irish woman to hit double-digit scoring in a single game last season.
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A program-best seven individuals were named to All-ACC teams ahead of the first round of the 2023 conference tournament. The offensive trio of Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma and Jackie Wolak were all named First Team All-ACC while the defensive corp of Lilly Callahan, Kelly Denes and Hannah Dorney were awarded Second Team honors. Abigail Lyons was recognized as a part of the All-Freshman team.
IN THE POLLS
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Notre Dame was ranked No. 8 in the latest ILWomen/IWLCA poll of the season.
- The ACC coaches tabbed the Irish to finish fourth in the preseason rankings.
BALANCED ATTACK
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The Irish return an NCAA best 91-percent of their scoring from a season ago including their six top scorers in Jackie Wolak (105 pts.), Kasey Choma (88 pts.), Madison Ahern (84 pts.), MK Doherty (38 pts.), Kristen Shanahan (29 pts.) and Kelly Denes (25 pts.).
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The trio of Ahern, Wolak and Choma combined for 26 points in the team’s opening weekend to kick off 2024, led by Wolak with a team-best 12 points and 7 goals.
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Arden Tierney, a draw specialist who joined the Irish ahead of the 2024 season, registered 10 draw controls last weekend, including eight in the team’s 22-3 win over Central Michigan in their most recent outing. Kelly Denes, who led the team in the category a year ago boasts 16 draw controls thus far in 2024 and leads the team in the category again.
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In addition to being one of the team’s top contributors offensively, Denes led the team at the draw circle last season, boasting 135 draw controls while MK Doherty’s 111 controls gave the Irish their first season in program history with two individuals eclipsing triple digits.
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Choma, Ahern, and Wolak led the Irish in points combining for 277 points following a 17-point combined performance from the trio against Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. In the opening two rounds of NCAA Tournament play, the senior trio posted a combined 37 of the team’s 51 points to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals.
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With 105 points in 2023, Wolak ranked fourth nationally and second in the ACC. With her performance against Florida to reach the 100+ point mark, she became just the third woman in program history to hit 100 points in a single season.
LEADERSHIP GROUP
- The team named a trio of captains, as voted on by their peers, ahead of the 2024 season. This year’s captains will be Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma and Aine Maseker.