#16 NOTRE DAME vs. #22 James Madison – Friday, May 8 at 4 PM ET (3 PM CT)
Location: Evanston, Ill. | Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium
LIVE STATS | ESPN+ | Tickets
The No. 14/16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-4, 6-4) will take on the No. 10/10 Clemson Tigers (13-4, 7-3) in the ACC Quarterfinals on Wednesday, April 22 at 8 PM.
This will be the second time these two teams face one another this season as the Irish fell 9-13 at Clemson in the regular season on March 8, 2026. The Irish lead the overall series 3-2.
The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team is dancing this May as they earned a spot in the 2026 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championship. The Fighting Irish (12-5, 6-4) will head to Evanston, Ill. to take on James Madison (13-6, 6-1) in the NCAA Tournament First Round on Friday, May 8 at Northwestern Medicine Field at Martin Stadium.
This is the seventh time that the Dukes and Irish will face one another as Notre Dame leads the overall series 4-2 with a perfect 3-0 record against JMU at neutral sites. The last time the Irish and Dukes played one another was on March 10, 2009, where the Irish won 16-12. This is the first time they will face each other in a postseason match up.
The Irish will face the JMU on Friday, May 8 at 4 PM ET (3 PM CT), while No. 1 Northwestern will have a bye and play their first game of the tournament in the second round on Sunday, May 10.
This is Notre Dame’s 18th NCAA tournament appearance since qualifying for the first time since 2002. The last tournament appearance was in 2024 as this is now Head Coach Chris Halfpenny’s 12th NCAA tournament appearance in her 15th season with the Irish.
| BY THE NUMBERS | |
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3 |
Kate Timarky, Maura Irish, and Madison Rassas all earned their way onto the 2026 Tewaaraton Watch List with Timarky being named a Tewaaraton Nomiee. Most recently, the trio was named USA Lacrosse All-Americans. All three were also named IL Women Midseason All-Americans and were named to the All-ACC Team. |
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5 |
The Irish landed five on the All-ACC list this season announced by the league office Tuesday evening: Madison Rassas (First Team), Kate Timarky (First Team), Uma Kowalski (Second Team), Julia Carr (Third Team), and Maura Irish (Third Team). |
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TOP 10 |
The Irish are ninth nationally in scoring margin (6.71), sixth for shots on goal per game (24.71), seventh for their scoring defense (7.59), fifth for clearing percentage (0.934), tenth for assists per game (8.12), ninth for shots per game (33.24), and seventh for caused turnovers per game (11.76). |
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27 |
Rassas (#27) is third in the conference with 51 goals and is eighth in the ACC with 62 points. |
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38 |
Freshman goalkeeper Ceci Patterson (#38) is fifth in the country/first in the ACC with a goals against average of 7.75, is sixth in the ACC with a save percentage of .426, and is tenth in the ACC with 5.12 saves per game. |
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20 |
Freshman Uma Kowalski (#20) is third in the ACC (21st nationally) with 138 draw controls and is third in the ACC (20th nationally) with 8.12 draws per game. |
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100 |
Kate Timarky surpassed the 100 career points mark after a career-high 10 points in the win at Liberty. Uma Kowalski and Meghan O’Hare each surpassed the 100 career draws milestone in the win over Virginia Tech. |
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6 |
Grace Maroney recorded her first career hat trick in the win over No. 3 Boston College on Feb 13, with her behind the back landing at #6 in SportsCenter Top 10. |
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7 |
Timarky and Rassas each recorded career-bests 7 goals a piece in the win over FSU on Saturday (3/21). |
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22 |
Timarky (#22) has scored a hat trick or more in 11 games so far this season and is 14th nationally/second in the ACC with 54 goals. She is third in the ACC with 70 points so far this season. |
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4 |
The Irish named four captains for the 2026 campaign: Julia Carr, Abby Lyons, Franny O’Brien, and Kathryn Morrissey. |
Three Irish Named USA Lacrosse All-Americans
The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse trio of junior Kate Timarky, sophomore Madison Rassas, and freshman Maura Irish earned another honor this season as they were named USA Lacrosse All-Americans on Thursday afternoon.
Timarky and Rassas were named to the USA Lacrosse All-American Second Team and Irish was USA Lacrosse All-American Honorable Mention.
The three standouts were also named IL Women Midseason All-Americans, named to the All-ACC Team, and were all Tewaaraton Watch List honorees. Most recently, Timarky was named a Tewaaraton Nominee.
Junior Kate Timarky leads the Irish with 54 goals and 70 points so far this season. The attacker surpassed the 100 career-points milestone earlier this season after recording a career-high 10 points in the win over Liberty. Timarky has been one of the top offensive players in the ACC this season as she is second in the conference, and 24th nationally in goals (54). She is second in the ACC in goals per game and 10th nationally (3.60). She is also fourth in the conference in points (70) and third in points per game (4.67). She has also recorded 19 ground balls so far this season and has scored a hat trick or more in 11 games.
Sophomore Madison Rassas has received several honors already this season, including being named to the 2026 Preseason All-ACC Team and has also received USA Lacrosse Preseason All-American honors. The midfielder is second on the team with 51 goals and 62 points, while also recording 23 ground balls, 9 caused turnovers, and 7 draw controls. Rassas is third in the ACC in goals (51), third in goals per game (3.00), eighth in points (62) and ninth in points per game (3.65).
Freshman Maura Irish has scored 17 goals and dished out 17 assists for a total of 34 points so far in her rookie season. The midfielder has also recorded 27 draw controls, 28 ground balls, and 20 caused turnovers. Irish earned her first ACC weekly honor of her career as she was named ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week after helping guide Notre Dame to wins over No. 3 Boston College and No. 25 Harvard.
Irish Take On Clemson In ACC Quarterfinals
The No. 14/16 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-5, 6-4) fell 9-12 to the No. 10/10 Clemson Tigers (14-4, 7-3) in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday evening.
Emma Murphy and Meghan O’Hare each recorded a hat trick in the win, scoring Notre Dame’s first six goals of the night. O’Hare also recorded two ground balls, two caused turnovers, and two draw controls.
No other player finished with more points or assists than Charley Bacigalupo. The freshman tied her career-high of five points and dished out a career-high four assists, while also chipping in a goal for the Irish.
Madison Rassas finished the night with two goals and an assist for three points and also recorded three ground balls and two draw controls.
Defensively, Franny O’Brien finished the night tying her career-high of five caused turnovers and grabbed three ground balls. Lila O’Brien recorded two ground balls and two caused turnovers.
Irish Land Five On The All-ACC Team
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had five players receive All-ACC honors, announced by the league office on Tuesday evening.
Madison Rassas (First Team)
Kate Timarky (First Team)
Uma Kowalski (Second Team)
Julia Carr (Third Team)
Maura Irish (Third Team)
The trio of Timarky, Rassas, and Irish were also on the Tewaaraton Watch List this season and were named IL Women Midseason All-Americans. Most recently, Timarky was named a Top-25 Tewaaraton Nominee.
Lila O’Brien Named ACC Co-Defensive Player Of The Week
Sophomore Lila O’Brien helped guide the Irish to an 18-3 win over Louisville, holding the Cardinals to a season-low three goals, tying their lowest output of the year (vs. No. 1 North Carolina).
O’Brien wreaked havoc on the defensive end, tying her career-high six caused turnovers while also grabbing three ground balls. The sophomore midfielder has now recorded back-to-back six caused turnover performances, tallying an impressive 12 caused turnovers across the final two games of the season. She is tied for second on the team with 24 caused turnovers and has recorded 13 ground balls for the Irish.
O’Brien’s defensive efforts have been a big piece of the Irish defense this season as Notre Dame held their opponents to single-digit scoring 12 times and to five goals or fewer six times this season. Notre Dame’s scoring defense (7.31) is second in the ACC and fifth-best in the country.
Kate Timarky Named 2026 Tewaaraton Nominee
After being named to the Tewaaraton Watch List earlier this spring, Kate Timarky was named a Top-25 Tewaaraton Nominee on Thursday evening. The junior attacker was also named to the IL Women Midseason All-American Third Team in early April.
Timarky leads the Irish with 54 goals and 70 points so far this season. She surpassed the 100 career-points milestone earlier this season after recording a career-high 10 points in the win over Liberty.
Timarky has been one of the top offensive players in the ACC this season as she is second in the conference, and 14th nationally, in goals (54). She is second in the ACC in goals per game and 10th nationally (3.60).
She is also third in the conference in points (70) and third in points per game (4.67). She has also recorded 19 ground balls so far this season and has scored a hat trick or more in 11 games.
Notre Dame Dominates Louisville In Final Regular Season Game Of The Year
The #14/15 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (12-4, 6-4) defeated the Louisville Cardinals (6-9, 2-8) in a dominant 18-3 victory in their final regular season game of the year.
The Irish were led by freshman Grace Maroney with a career-high six goals and six points in the win. She was followed by senior Emma Murphy, who tied her career-high four goals, while also dishing out two assists, to tie her career-best six points.
Freshman Charley Bacigalupo recorded a hat trick in the win to finish with four points on the night and was followed by sophomore Madison Rassas, who scored two goals in the win.
Freshman Maura Irish recorded a goal, a draw control, and two ground balls. Junior Meghan O’Hare finished with one goal, two ground balls, three draw controls, and three caused turnovers (tying her career-high).
Senior defender Abby Lyons also got in on the scoring action as she scored a goal going coast-to-coast, while also causing two turnovers and grabbing four ground balls.
Sophomore Lila O’Brien also tied her career-best with six caused turnovers and three ground balls on the night. Fellow defenders Julia Carr and Franny O’Brien recorded four ground balls a piece, while causing one and two turnovers, respectively.
#15/19 Irish Fall In Quadruple Overtime At #3/3 Syracuse
The No. 15/19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-4, 5-4) fell in a heartbreaking 9-10 loss in quadruple overtime on the road at No. 3/3 Syracuse (12-3, 7-2).
This is the first overtime game of the season and is just the second quadruple overtime game in program history, with the only other one also happening against Syracuse nearly 16 years ago (May 6, 2010).
The Irish dominated the draw circle 18-6 with Uma Kowalski finishing with 12 draw controls, while also grabbing one ground ball and causing a turnover. The freshman draw specialist now has 132 draw controls so far this season.
Notre Dame finished with seven goal scorers on the day. Emma Murphy and Kate Timarky lead the Irish with two goals apiece as Murphy finished with a team-best three points.
Maura Irish finished with one goal, two caused turnovers, two ground balls, and five draw controls. The rest of Notre Dame’s scoring came from Madison Rassas, Charley Bacigalupo, Grace Maroney, and Mackenzie Conley, who each finished with one goal apiece.
Meghan O’Hare dished out a team-best two assists and recorded two ground balls, one draw control, and caused one turnover.
Defensively, the O’Brien sisters were wreaking havoc as they finished with a combined seven caused turnovers. Lila O’Brien finished with four caused turnovers and a ground ball while Franny O’Brien finished with three caused turnovers and tied her career-high of five ground balls. Defender Abby Lyons also recorded a pair of ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers.
Goalkeeper Isabel Pithie finished with four saves on the day, three of which were big-time stops in overtime for the Irish.
Irish Dominate Liberty Flames, 21-7
The No. 15/19 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-3, 5-3) defeated the Liberty Flames (4-9, 2-2) in a dominant 21-7 victory on Monday afternoon as the Irish have now won five games in a row. This is the fourth time the Irish have scored 20 or more goals this season and the 11th time that they’ve held their opponent to single-digit goals.
Junior Kate Timarky has been playing exceptionally well the last couple of games and continued to have the hot hand in the win over the Flames. Timarky scored six goals and dished out four assists for a career-high 10 points. She finished the day shooting a perfect 6-6.
After scoring six goals and seven points in the win over Virginia Tech on Saturday, she has now recorded 12 goals and 17 points in the last two games. Timarky is second in the ACC and top-15 nationally with 52 goals this season. The junior attacker is also second in the conference in goals per game (3.71), third in points (68), and is third in points per game (4.85).
She was followed by sophomore Madison Rassas, who also recorded six goals and two assists in the win. With eight points on the day, Rassas was one point shy of her career-high nine points she scored earlier this season against Central Michigan. Rassas now has 46 goals and 56 points on the year. She’s third in the ACC in goals (46), third in goals per game (3.28), fifth in points (56), and fifth in points per game (4.00).
Meghan O’Hare recorded her first career hat trick in the win as she finished with an impressive stat line of three goals, two assists, five points, two draw controls, one ground ball, and one caused turnover.
The Irish won the draw control battle 23-6 with Uma Kowalski winning 15 draws. The freshman draw control specialist was just one shy from tying her career-high and program record of 16 draw controls. She is second in the ACC with 120 draw controls so far this season.
The Irish also saw goals from Maura Irish, Charley Bacigalupo, Emma Murphy, Grace Maroney, and Angie Conley, who all scored one goal apiece in the win.
Defensively, the Irish had several key performances. Defenders Abby Lyons and Julia Carr each finished with the same stat line of two ground balls and four caused turnovers. Sloane Ginevan recorded two caused turnovers and three ground balls and Lila O’Brien finished with a team-best four ground balls, two caused turnovers, and one draw control.
Irish Take Down Virginia Tech In 13-9 Road Win
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (10-3, 5-3) extended their winning streak to four straight wins on Saturday afternoon as they defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies (8-7, 2-6) in a 13-9 victory in Blacksburg.
Junior Kate Timarky had herself a day as she scored six of Notre Dame’s 13 goals, just one goal shy of her career-high seven goals. Timarky’s six goals led all players today as she’s second in the ACC with 46 goals and fourth with 58 points so far this season. She was followed by freshman Charley Bacigalupo who finished with two goals and two assists for four points on the day, along with two ground balls.
Sophomore Madison Rassas scored a goal, dished out an assist, and recorded one ground ball as she’s now third in the ACC with 40 goals so far this year.
Freshmen Maura Irish and Grace Maroney each recorded a goal in the win, as well. Irish also recorded an assist, a draw control, and three ground balls, while Maroney dished out two assists, grabbed one ground ball, and forced a turnover.
Junior Meghan O’Hare recorded a goal and four draw controls in the win, surpassing the 100 career draw control milestone as the midfielder now has 102 career draws.
Senior Emma Murphy also scored in the win, finding the back of the net on a free position shot.
Freshman Uma Kowalski finished with a team-best seven draw controls, as the draw control specialist has also surpassed the 100 career draw control milestone with 106 draw controls in her first Irish season.
Freshman goalkeeper Ceci Patterson finished with seven saves on the day. She’s third in the conference with a goals against average of 7.78, fourth with a save percentage of .445, and is eighth in the ACC with 73 saves so far this season.
Timarky, Rassas, and Irish Named IL Women Midseason All-Americans
Junior Kate Timarky, sophomore Madison Rassas, and Freshman Maura Irish were named to the IL Women Midseason All-American list. The trio is no stranger to accolades this season as all three are also on the Tewaaraton Watch List.
Irish Defeat Cal 17-4 on Senior Day
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.
Irish Defeat Robert Morris
The #13/13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-3, 3-3) defeated the Robert Morris Colonials (3-7, 1-1) in dominant fashion with a 20-2 victory on Tuesday night at Arlotta Stadium. The Irish are now 5-1 on their home turf this season with two regular season home games remaining.
It was another strong performance from the Irish as Notre Dame scored 20 goals for the third time this season, following a 22-goal performance on Saturday with a 22-3 win over Florida State.
The two goals allowed against Robert Morris
is the fewest goals allowed this season since the 25-0 shutout against Central Michigan.The Irish have now held their opponents to single-digit scoring eight times and to five goals or fewer four times this season.
Junior Kate Timarky led the way with four goals and a career-high four assists to tie her career-high eight points. She also recorded two ground balls in the win. This is her eighth hat trick of the season and fifth straight game with three or more goals. She’s now second in the ACC with 37 goals this season and is also second with an average of 3.36 goals per game.
Sophomore Madison Rassas also finished with four goals, four points, and three ground balls in the win. She’s recorded five hat tricks this season and is fifth in the ACC with 31 goals so far this year.
Freshman Charley Bacigalupo recorded her second career hat trick and caused a career-high two turnovers. Freshman Grace Maroney also scored her second career hat trick in the win.