CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals with a 15-13 victory over fourth-seed Virginia, Wednesday afternoon.
Five individuals scored in the win, including Kasey Choma and Jackie Wolak with four goals each.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish jumped out to a 2-0 lead early, with the team’s leading scorer opening the scoring just 40 seconds in. The senior then assisted on Notre Dame’s second of the day, feeding a pass from behind the net to Hannah Dorney for the two-goal lead.
Virginia would get one back on the free position at 7:33 of the first quarter before Madison Ahern fired her 53rd goal of the season into the net to make it 3-1.
The Cavaliers scored to draw within one halfway through the first but Wolak’s two unanswered goals gave the senior the opening quarter hat trick and the Irish a 5-2 lead.
Another free position goal for the Cavaliers gave the Irish the 5-3 lead through 15 minutes of play.
The Irish went on a 4-0 run to start the second quarter, courtesy of Ahern, Kasey Choma and Kristen Shanahan to take a 9-3 lead with 8:05 to go in the second.
Ahern’s two goals to start the second gave her the first half hat trick and her 11th three-plus goal performance of the season.
Virginia cut into the Irish lead halfway through the second, scoring twice in 12 seconds to make it 9-5.
The two teams would trade possession multiple times through the remainder of the quarter before both sides added one more tally for the 10-6 halftime score.
Wolak’s fourth goal of the day opened the second half from the impossible angle before Choma extended the lead to six with her third point and second goal of the afternoon.
UVA scored four unanswered to close out the third quarter with the Irish clinging to their 12-10 lead.
The Cavaliers drew within one early to start the fourth quarter but Choma’s hat trick goal with 11:30 to play snapped the UVA streak and put the Irish back up by two.
Virginia scored twice more to knot things up late in the fourth, 13-13.
Choma broke the stalemate 46 seconds later with her fourth goal of the game. Her team-leading 56th goal of the season was the eventual game winner and marked her fifth game of the season with four-plus goals.
On the ensuing possession, the Cavaliers won the draw and held the ball in the Irish zone, attempting to tie it back up with under three minutes to play but Callahan made the save and the Irish rushed up the field.
Following a successful clear, Wolak found Shanahan outside the arch who fired the final tally into the back of the net with 2:03 left in regulation.
Virginia had one more try at the Irish end with under 60 seconds to play but Callahan and the Irish defense buckled down to hold the two-goal lead through the final horn.
Including three saves in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter, Callahan closed out the day with eight saves, improving to 13-4 in the crease this season.
STAT OF THE GAME
All five goal-scorers Wednesday afternoon recorded multiple tallies in the victory, including Choma and Wolak with four goals each. Ahern’s three goals was her 11th hat trick of the season while Dorney’s two goals tied a season best along with Shanahan’s two.
ND NOTES
- The Irish improved to 13-4 on the season with Callahan owning every decision of 2023.
- The junior goalkeeper now boasts 125 saves on the season and 146 in her career.
- Jackie Wolak’s seven points off four goals and three assists led the Irish as the senior now averages 5.18 points per game.
- Kelly Denes and MK Doherty combined for 10 draw controls against Virginia, each winning five battles in the circle.
- The Irish were perfect from the eight-meter mark as Ahern and Shanahan each scored once off the free position, while the team held the Cavaliers to a 50 percent success rate on the free position.
UP NEXT
The Irish will face top-seed Boston College with a spot in the ACC Championship on the line Friday at 1 p.m.
The game will be broadcast on ACC Network.