SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The No. 22/25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0) defeated the No. 12/15 Michigan Wolverines (0-1) in their season opener in Loftus Sports Center on Friday, Feb. 6. The Irish secured the win in a 12-10 victory over the Big Ten foe.
Sophomore preseason All-American Madison Rassas wasted no time, recording a hat trick in her first game of the season. Junior Kate Timarky recorded her sixth career hat trick in the win as well. Junior Meghan O’Hare followed with two goals, three ground balls, and six draw controls.
The freshmen trio of Maura Irish, Grace Maroney, and Mackenzie Conley each scored their first career goals in the win with M. Irish netting two goals in her Notre Dame debut.
It was also a big night for freshmen Uma Kowalski and Ceci Patterson in their first game in an Irish uniform. Kowalski led the Irish with nine draw controls and Patterson recorded her first win in goal and finished the night with eight saves.
Despite trailing 3-1 at the end of the first period, the Irish came out with authority in the second, outsourcing the Wolverines 5-2 in the quarter.
M. Irish scored the first goal of the period, but Michigan responded right away to make it a two-goal game yet again. O’Hare’s goal at the 12:32 mark sparked a 3-0 run for Notre Dame with goals from Timarky and Rassas to take their first lead of the game at 5-4.
Michigan would net one last goal in the half to tie it up, but Maroney responded with her first career goal as she put the Irish in front 6-5 at halftime.
Just like the second period, the Irish outscored the Wolverines 5-2 in the third period. Opening the quarter with three straight goals (O’Hare, Rassas, Conley), the Irish extended their lead to 9-5.
Michigan cut the deficit to three goals at 9-6 at the 6:00 mark, but back-to-back goals from Rassas and Timarky in the span of just 22 seconds furthered the Irish lead yet again. Michigan scored one last goal to close the period, making it an 11-7 ballgame heading into the fourth.
The top-15 Wolverines weren’t going anywhere as they continued to battle back. Michigan scored three straight goals to cut it to one at 11-10 with 5:52 remaining. M. Irish scored her second goal of the night to make it 12-10, where Notre Dame closed it out and held the Wolverines scoreless in the final 4:49 to secure the 12-10 season-opening win.
UP NEXT
The No. 22/25 Fighting Irish will host Central Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 1:00 p.m. at Loftus Sports Center.