March 14, 2004
Orlando, Fla. – The 12th-ranked Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team closed out a highly successful spring trip to Florida on Sunday afternoon when the Irish came-from-behind to defeat sixth-ranked James Madison, 9-7, at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex.
The win gives the Irish their first 5-0 start ever and ran their current winning streak to a school-record nine games, including the final four games of the 2003 season. Notre Dame has also now won four-straight games versus ranked opponents (#14 Stanford, #19 Cornell, #2 Duke and #6 James Madison). The loss drops James Madison to 3-1 on the year.
Senior Lauren Fischer (Pittsburgh, Pa.) led Notre Dame with three goals in the game while Abby Owen (Sr., Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.) and Meredith Simon (Sr., Flemington, N.J.) each had two goals and two assists to pace the Irish attack.
Twice in the game, Notre Dame rallied from four-goal deficits and only took their only lead with just 4:30 left in the game.
James Madison jumped out to a 4-0 first-half lead on two goals by Erin Chantler and one each from Monica Buck and Kelly Berger.
Notre Dame broke the four-goal run with 15:01 left in the half when Simon scored her first of the game on a free-position shot.
Jackie Bowers (Jr., Springfield, Pa.) then set up Owen for her first goal of the afternoon with 13:47 left to cut the lead to 4-2. Fischer closed out the first-half scoring off a Simon assist at 11:38 to cut the Dukes’ lead to 4-3.
James Madison opened the second half with three consecutive goals over the first 7:16 to take its second four-goal lead of the day. Berger opened the half with her second goal (25:27) and was followed by Jessica Brownridge (23:21) and Buck (22:44) to make it a 7-3 lead. But that was the last goal the Dukes would put past Notre Dame goalkeeper Carol Dixon (Jr., Pennsauken, N.J.).
The score stayed 7-3 until the 11:47 mark when freshman Meghan Murphy (Centennial, Colo.) put one past JMU goalkeeper Amy Altig. Fischer got her second goal of the game with 9:51 left to make it 7-5 and Kassen Delano (Sr., Alexandria, Va.) made it a one-goal deficit when she scored on a free-position shot with 7:55 left in the game.
Fischer’s third goal of the afternoon tied the game, 7-7, with 5:22 left and Simon’s second goal off Owen’s second assist of the game put the Irish ahead to stay with 4:30 left by an 8-7 margin.
Owen closed out the scoring with her second goal of the afternoon with 1:59 left and the Irish had a 9-7 win.
Notre Dame outshot James Madison, 23-16 in the game. Dixon finished with seven saves for the Irish while Altig had 10 stops in the Dukes’ goal.
The Irish are now off until Friday, March 26 when they return home to face Virginia Tech in their BIG EAST opener. Game time at Moose Krause Stadium (weather permitting) is set for 7:00 p.m.
Game Summary: 1 2 – F
#6 James Madison (3-1) 4 3 – 7
#12 Notre Dame (5-0) 3 6 – 9
First Half Scoring
Team Time Score Goal Assist
JMU 24:21 0-1 Erin Chantler Gail Decker
JMU 22:42 0-2 Erin Chantler – 2
JMU 21:38 0-3 Monica Buck Kelly Berger
JMU 17:10 0-4 Kelly Berger
ND 15:01 * 1-4 Meredith Simon
ND 13:47 2-4 Abby Owen Jackie Bowers
ND 11:38 3-4 Lauren Fischer Meredith Simon
Second Half Scoring
Team Time Score Goal Assist
JMU 25:27 3-5 Kelly Berger – 2
JMU 23:21 3-6 Jessica Brownridge Gail Decker – 2
JMU 22:44 3-7 Monica Buck – 2 Ashlee Dardine
ND 11:47 4-7 Meghan Murphy Meredith Simon – 2
ND 9:51 5-7 Lauren Fischer – 2 Abby Owen
ND 7:55 * 6-7 Kassen Delano
ND 5:22 7-7 Lauren Fischer – 3 Jackie Bowers – 2
ND 4:30 8-7 Meredith Simon – 2 Abby Owen – 2
ND 1:59 9-7 Abby Owen – 2
* denotes free position goal
Goalkeepers
JMU: Amy Altig (60:00; 9 goals against; 10 saves)
ND: Carol Dixon (60:00 min; 7 goals against; 7 saves)