BERKELEY, Calif. – It was a big road win for the Irish as Notre Dame (4-4, 1-3) took home their first conference win and Head Coach Christine Halfpenny’s 200th career win on Thursday night. The Irish started their weekend in California with a 15-8 victory over the Cal Golden Bears (3-5, 0-4).
It was a career night for Kathryn Morrissey as she set career-bests in goals and points scored; she recorded four goals and two assists for an impressive six points.
She was followed by Madison Rassas, who recorded her fourth hat trick of the season with three goals and a team-best seven draw controls in the win.
Kate Timarky and Angie Conley each tallied two goals, while Franny O’Brien, Ava Kristynik, Emma Murphy, and Katie Mallaber each recorded one goal a piece for the Irish.
Isabel Pithie picked up her fourth win of the season as she finished with seven saves, three ground balls, and a .467 save percentage.
It was a hot start for the Irish as three different Notre Dame players scored a goal in the first minute of play to give the Irish a quick 3-0 start. While Rassas got the scoring frenzy started, she was followed by Morrissey and Kristynik, who scored her first goal of the season to cap off the 3-0 run to start the game.
It may not have been in the first minute, but the Irish run continued as Timarky found the back of the net on a free position shot to put the Irish up 4-0. Morrissey dished it to Rassas shortly after, scoring goal number two on the day as Notre Dame led 5-0 with 4:43 remaining.
The Golden Bears scored their first goal at the four-minute mark, but the Irish responded with another goal as Conley put it away to make it 6-1. Cal scored one last time in the first with 11 seconds left to make it 6-2 heading into the second quarter.
While Cal may have scored first in the next period to make it 6-3, the Irish put away the next two goals as Timarky and Mallaber sent it home for an 8-3 ballgame at the half.
The Notre Dame run continued as the offense came out strong in the third. What started as a 2-0 run at the end of the second quarter turned into a 6-0 run halfway through the third. Conley, Morrissey, and Murphy found the back of the net before the run was finally capped off with Franny O’Brien’s first goal of the season on a free position shot.
Leading 12-3 with 8:28 remaining, the Cal offense started to settle in a bit as they responded with a 3-0 run themselves to make it 12-6 heading into the final period.
Cal netted the first goal in the fourth, but Morrissey scored first for the Irish to keep the Golden Bears within six at 13-7 with 6:43 remaining. Cal responded with another goal to cut the deficit to five, but a Rassas goal with 28 seconds left completed her hat trick to make it 14-8. The Irish weren’t done yet as Morrissey sent home the final goal of the night to cap off the 15-8 victory.
UP NEXT
The Irish are back in action on Saturday, March 15 at UC Davis at 2 p.m. ET (11 a.m. PT).