SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team embarks on their spring break road trip to the East Coast this week with stops at Brown (Wednesday, March 13) and Boston College (Saturday, March 16). Wednesday’s game against the Bears is set for 5pm on ESPN+ before facing the Eagles Saturday at noon on ACCNX.
March is Daughters 4 Dads month for the Irish. All month long the women will be fundraising for the charity, founded in 2015 to raise awareness and funds to help researchers put an end to cancer. Now in it’s 10th edition, the Irish look to expand on their efforts here in 2024.
GAME DETAILS
Location: Providence, R.I. | Newton, Mass.
Schedule: March 13 @ 5pm – Brown | March 16 @ Noon – Boston College
TV: ESPN+ | ACCNX
Live Stats: UND.com
Twitter Updates: @NDWomensLax
For a more in-depth look at the matchup – Game Notes: Notre Dame
FOR STARTERS
-
The Irish kicked off their 2024 campaign with a five-game homestand in which they went 4-1 and had their best start to a season (4-0) since 2020.
-
The Irish most recently hosted their first outdoor game of the season at Arlotta Stadium, taking on ACC foe Virginia in a battle of the top-15. Despite a strong effort from start to finish, the Irish ultimately fell to the Cavaliers on their home field.
-
The Irish embark on just their second road trip of the season upcoming as they head to Brown and Boston College for a pair of East Coast duels.
-
Their lone road trip so far in 2024 was at No. 7 North Carolina. The Irish left Chapel Hill with the victory, defeating the Tar Heels 7-5 on their home field for the first time in program history.
-
Last season the Irish boasted four regular season road wins, including defeats of Duke, Butler, Pitt and Robert Morris.
-
This weekend’s games will be the fifth and sixth, respectively, consecutive games against opponents ranked among the top-25.
-
Notre Dame opened their season with a 21-6 win over Eastern Michigan.
-
The blue and gold have combined for 20+ goal games three times thus far, most recently tallying a season high 25 goals against in-state foe Butler in mid-February.
-
Lilly Callahan, who has started every game this season, boasts all seven decisions for the Irish in a 5-2 start to their season.
-
Callahan was announced as ACC Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday, March 5, following her performance at UNC.
-
After an eight point weekend, including four goals and two assists against Northwestern, Jackie Wolak was named the USA Lacrosse Magazine, ILWomen and ACC Offensive Player of the Week after boasting four goals and two assists in the team’s win over then-top ranked Northwestern.
-
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 in the opening weekend of the season.
-
Live stats will be available for the contest as well as a the game being aired on the ACCNX.
IN THE POLLS
-
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
-
The Irish returned 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.).
-
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.
-
Arden Tierney, a draw specialist who joined the Irish ahead of the 2024 season, registered 10 draw controls in week 1, including eight in the team’s 22-3 win over Central Michigan. Kelly Denes, who led the team in the category a year ago boasts 29 draw controls thus far in 2024 and leads the team in the category again, more than double any of her teammates.
-
Denes led the team with eight draw controls against Northwestern, tying that of the visitors’s total at the circle as the Irish dominated draws by a 20-8 margin. She now boasts 41 draw controls this season and averages 6.83 controls per game, good for an ACC best and 18th in the country.
-
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.
-
Through six games played, five Irish individuals boast double digit points, led by Wolak with a team-best 30. The graduate also leads the team in goals (20) and assists (11).
-
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.
-
With a scoring margin of 8.29, the Irish rank fifth in the nation while also ranking second in shots per game (37.00) and ninth in shots on goal (25.86).
-
With an average scoring offense of 16.14 goals per game, the Irish attack ranks 12th in the nation and is second in the ACC.
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.