CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — For the first time in program history, the Irish women’s lacrosse team is leaving Chapel Hill with a win after a tout defensive effort gives the Notre Dame squad the 7-5 victory over the University of North Carolina.
A strong opening possession for the Irish held the ball in the offensive zone as the Irish ate away at the shot clock before Madison Ahern found Arden Tierney out front but it hit the post and ricocheted out to keep it scoreless.
Tierney then forced a turnover on the following clear attempt but Kasey Choma’s shot was saved and both teams looked for the opening goal.
On the opposite end of the field, Lilly Callahan made a big save on the Tar Heels attack to give the Irish the ball back.
After another handful of possession changes kept the game knotted 0-0 over 10 minutes into the contest. Madison Ahern finally opened the scoring on the morning with a free position shot 11:34 into the contest to give the Irish the 1-0 lead.
The Irish took the 1-0 lead into the second quarter after a late possession by the Irish wound down the clock in the first frame.
Ahern found Choma on a breakaway after Grace Weigand tracked down a loose ball in the neutral zone and scooped up the ground ball, getting it up to Ahern. After review it was determined the Irish had called for a timeout before the shot was released and the goal was waved off.
When the teams returned from the break, the Irish maintained possession and Jackie Wolak fed a pass up to Ahern after mere seconds to officially make it 2-0.
Awarded a free position attempt on the ensuing possession, Wolak capitalized with her team-leading 19th goal of the season to give the Irish the 3-0 lead.
The Tar Heels eventually got on the board with just over seven minutes to play in the half, cutting the Irish lead to 3-1.
A free position goal for the Tar Heels further cut into the Irish lead with 4:25 remaining in the opening half.
The Tar Heels tied it up with 2:31 to play in the half as a shot low from a UNC attacker beat Lilly Callahan in the crease to take the 3-3 score into the halftime break.
Starting a woman-down for the second half, the Irish forced a turnover on the opening possession for the Tar Heels but the bleu and gold were unable to capitalize on their first try of the second half as the score remained deadlocked.
Ahern registered her third goal of the game to reclaim the Irish lead, 4-3, just over 4:30 into the third quarter. A pair of big saves on the opposite end of the field kept the Irish up by one.
After picking up a groundball outside the 8-meter mark, Olivia Dooley found Kelly Denes who tossed a quick pass off to Ahern racing up field with Kate Timarky in tow. The duo created a 2-on-1 clear before Ahern buried a shot for her fourth goal of the day, giving the Irish the 5-3 lead.
With just 1:09 left in the third quarter, the Tar Heels scored their first of the second half to cut the Irish lead to just one goal as the visitors clung to the 5-4 lead through 45 minutes played.
MK Doherty and Wolak each scored partway through the final quarter to give the Irish the 7-4 lead with under 11 minutes left before the Tar Heels capitalized on a free position to cut the ND lead to two goals.
While an Irish midfielder sat in the box, Callahan came up huge with a save in the cage to keep the Irish lead in tact and give her team possession back before the team returned to even strength.
A save on the free position with under four minutes to play gave the Irish possession back. Despite not being able to capitalize the Irish wound the clock down to 1:15 remaining. On the clear, Aine Maseker forced the Tar Heels hand to give the Irish the ball back with 56.4 seconds left in regulation.
The Irish managed to hold the possession through the final horn as they picked up their first-ever road win over the Tar Heels in program history.
KEY STATS
- Lilly Callahan finished the day with nine saves in the crease, including six in the second half to hold the Tar Heels to just two goals in the final 30 minutes of play.
- The Irish held the Tar Heels scoreless through the opening quarter in a defensive 15 minutes of play. Madison Ahern tallied the lone goal in the first quarter as the Irish held the 1-0 lead after 15 minutes of play.
- Notre Dame held the edge at the circle, winning 10 draws and holding UNC to just five on the day. With four a piece, Kelly Denes and MK Doherty led the team in the category.
- Ahern’s four goals led all players Saturday, including two from the free position.
- With four caused turnovers, Grace Weigand led the team in the category as the Irish boasted nine caused turnovers in the win.
UP NEXT
The Irish continue ACC play next weekend when they host Virginia for a noon matchup on Saturday, March 9. The game marks the team’s first of two Daughters 4 Dads dedication games in the month of March.