SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 13/13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-3, 4-3) picked up another dominant win as they defeated the Cal Golden Bears (6-8, 1-6) in a 17-4 victory on Saturday afternoon on Notre Dame’s Senior Day. With the 17-4 win today, the Irish have now held their opponents to single-digit scoring nine times and to five goals or fewer five times this season.
The Irish finished with seven players in the scoring column and four with hat trick performances in the win.
Madison Rassas led the way with four goals and an assist for five points on the day. Rassas has now recorded six hat tricks this season and is third in the ACC with 39 goals this year. She was followed by Kate Timarky, Charley Bacigalupo, and Grace Maroney, who each recorded hat tricks in the win.
Maroney finished with three goals and one assist to tie her career-high of four points, while also recording two ground balls and two caused turnovers. Bacigalupo tallied three goals and one assist for four points, along with three ground balls.
Timarky finished with three goals and three ground balls in the win. Timarky is second in the ACC with 40 goals this season as she’s now recorded nine hat tricks this season.
Emma Murphy scored two goals and dished out an assist for three points. Franny O’Brien scored a goal, caused a turnover, and recorded two ground balls. Angie Conley also recorded a goal and an assist.
The Irish won the draw control battle 16-6 with Uma Kowalski winning 10 of Notre Dame’s 16 team draws. Hadley Laughlin also recorded a career-high four draw controls.
Goalkeepers Ceci Patterson and Isabel Pithie each finished with three saves a piece and goalkeeper Avery Gawronski also recorded her first career save.
Rassas got things started for the Irish as she scored back-to-back goals for an early 2-0 lead for the Irish. Cal responded with a free position shot to make it a one-goal game, but goals from Timarky and Maroney gave Notre Dame the 4-1 advantage at the end of the first period.
Back-to-back goals from Murphy started the second period, sparking the Irish offense as Notre Dame would go on to outscore the Golden Bears 8-0 in the quarter. Both Rassas and Bacigalupo recorded first half hat tricks to give Notre Dame a 12-1 lead at the half.
O’Brien, Timarky, and Rassas kept the Irish run alive as they scored three straight goals to open the third period to make it 15-1 for 13 straight Irish goals. Cal finally had an answer at 6:04 in the third quarter to make it 15-2, but Rassas would find Maroney to score one last Notre Dame goal in the period to make it 16-2 heading into the fourth.
The Golden Bears outscored the Irish 2-1 in the final period as the Irish secured their ninth win of the season and sixth win at home in a 17-4 victory at Arlotta.
UP NEXT
The Irish are back on the road for their next three games. They’ll first head to Blacksburg, VA to take on the Hokies on Saturday, April 4 at 1p.m.
After that, the Irish will travel to Liberty on April 6 and then to Syracuse on April 11. Notre Dame will cap off its regular season at home against Louisville on Thursday, April 16 at 5 p.m.