Feb. 12, 2011
Berkeley, Calif. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team got the 2011 season off to a fast start as the Irish handed the University of California a 20-6 loss in the opener for both teams at Cal’s Witter Rugby Field.
Twelve different Irish players scored goals in the game with sophomore midfielder Jenny Granger leading the way with a career-high six-point game on four goals and two assists. Five of her teammates – Maggie Tamasitis, Ansley Stewart, Kaitlin Keena, Kailene Abt and Kaitlyn Brosco – had two goals in the game while Megan Sullivan, Shaylyn Blaney, Betsy Mastropieri, Jaimie Morrison, McKenzie Brown and Emily Conner had one goal each in the win.
Tara Arolla led the Bears with three goals while Megan Takacs added two goals and Gina Holslag one in the loss.
The win makes the 10th-ranked Irish 1-0 on the young season while Cal falls to 0-1. Notre Dame continues its season-opening west coast trip on Sunday, Feb. 13, when the Irish visit 13th-ranked Stamford at 11:00 a.m. (PT).
Notre Dame proved to be rude guests on a very happy day for the California women’s lacrosse program. Prior to the start of the game, it was announced that the program would be continued after the University got enough pledges to keep it alive in future years. Earlier this year it had been announced that the program would be dropped for financial reasons and this would be its final season.
California used the momentum from the announcement to score the game’s first goal as Tara Arolla beat sophomore goalkeeper Ellie Hilling just 1:36 into the game for a 1-0 lead for the Golden Bears.
From there, the celebration ended as Notre Dame ran off five consecutive goals in a little over nine minutes to build a 5-1 lead. After Takacs got her first goal of the season at 11:17, the Irish would score six of the final seven goals of the half on the way to an 11-3 lead after 30 minutes of play.
In the second half, Notre Dame scored the first five goals of the stanza, building a 16-3 lead on the way to the win.
Getting their first career goals in the game were several Irish players. Brosco, a freshman playing in her first Division I game, got her first two career goals. Brown, a sophomore, recorded her first career goal after playing in just two games a year ago and Conner, a sophomore defender, lit the lamp early in the game for her first career goal.
The Irish out shot California, 38-21 in the game. Hilling finished the game with a career-high 13 saves. Allie Shropshire played the first 30 minutes, giving up 11 goals while making six saves. Megan McGinnis played the second half, giving up nine goals with five saves.
Senior Shaylyn Blaney, who had one goal in the game, had a career-high three assists in the game for four points and also had a career high seven ground balls in the game.
Notre Dame is now 13-2 all-time in season openers and the win gives the Irish an 8-0 mark all-time against California.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 - F#11 Notre Dame (1-0) 11 9 - 20California (0-1) 3 3 - 6
ScoringFirst Half:Time Team Score Goal Assist28:24 CAL 0-1 Tara Arolla27:58 ND 1-1 Jenny Granger Maggie Tamasitis23:36 ND 2-1 Kailene Abt23:16 ND 3-1 Kaitlin Keena22:29 ND 4-1 Emily Conner Jenny Granger18:50 ND 5-1 Kaitlin Keena (2) Free-position shot11:17 CAL 5-2 Megan Takacs10:26 ND 6-2 Kailene Abt (2) Shaylyn Blaney 9:11 ND 7-2 Ansley Stewart Kailene Abt 9:04 ND 8-2 Betsy Mastropieri 7:01 CAL 8-3 Megan Takacs (2) 3:32 ND 9-3 Jenny Granger (2) Maggie Tamasitis (2) 1:28 ND 10-3 Maggie Tamasitis 1:10 ND 11-3 Kaitlyn Brosco
Second HalfTime Team Score Goal Assist27:19 ND 12-3 Jenny Granger (3) Ansley Stewart25:54 ND 13-3 Megan Sullivan Shaylyn Blaney (2)21:14 ND 14-3 Jenny Granger (4) Ansley Stewart (2)19:38 ND 15-3 Ansley Stewart (2) Jenny Granger (2)18:17 ND 16-3 Shaylyn Blaney17:18 CAL 16-4 Gina Holslag15:30 CAL 16-5 Tara Arolla (2) Vail Horn14:45 ND 17-5 Kaitlyn Brosco (2)10:46 CAL 17-6 Tara Arolla (3) Gina Holslag 7:53 ND 18-6 Maggie Tamasitis (2) Shaylyn Blaney (3) 2:56 ND 19-6 McKenzie Brown 0:46 ND 20-6 Jaimie Morrison
Goalkeepers:Notre Dame: Ellie Hilling (60:00 min; 6 goals against; 13 saves)California: Allie Shropshire (30:00 min; 11 goals against; 6 saves) Megan McGinnis (30:00 min; 9 goals, 5 saves)
Total Shots: Notre Dame: 38, California: 21Ground Balls: Notre Dame: 38, California: 25Draw Controls: Notre Dame: 18, California: 10Caused Turnovers: Notre Dame: 7, California: 3