Feb. 20, 2011
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team dropped its second consecutive game to a nationally ranked foe on Saturday evening as the Irish fell to second-ranked Northwestern, 14-11, in front of 703 fans indoors at the Loftus Center.
Junior attack Maggie Tamasitis equaled career highs with five points and four assists to pace the Notre Dame offense. Jenny Granger, Shaylyn Blaney, Kaitlin Keena and Kaitlyn Brosco each had two goals while Kailene Abt and Megan Sullivan joined Tamasitis with one goal each.
Erin Fitzgerald led Northwestern with three goals while Jessica Russo, Brooke Matthews, Ali Cassera and Alex Frank had two goals each. Shannon Smith, Alyssa Leonard and Taylor Thornton each added a single goal for the Wildcats.
The loss dropped 10th-ranked Notre Dame to 1-2 on the season while Northwestern won its season opener to go to 1-0 on the year. The Wildcats now lead the all-time series versus the Irish, 11-2, with Saturday’s game being the 11th consecutive win, dating back to the 2004 season.
While the score was close, Northwestern dominated in the area of possession as they won the battle of the draws, 22-5, versus Notre Dame. This was also a game of runs where each team would take control for periods of time
After sparring for most of the first six minutes, the Wildcats went on the first run, scoring three consecutive goals in a 2:31 span. Russo got her first of two in the game at 24:05 of the first half with Matthews and Thornton scoring over the next two-and-a-half minutes for a 3-0 lead.
Notre Dame would answer back with its first run of the game, getting goals from Keena, Blaney and Abt in a 1:19 span to tie the game at 3-3 with 19:43 left in the opening half.
The Wildcats regained control and ran off the next four goals to make it 7-3 with 10:33 left in the half as Russo, with her second of the game, Frank, Leonard and Smith scored to give Northwestern a four-goal lead.
Just when it looked like the Wildcats might break the game open, the Irish offense would come to life. Granger scored her first of the game with 8:35 left in the half only to see Fitzgerald answer 20 seconds later to make it 8-4.
Blaney got her second of the game with 1:47 left and Brosco closed the first half, scoring with just 43 seconds left in the half to make it 8-6. The Wildcats had a 13-2 edge in the first half in draw controls and out shot the Irish, 15-13.
Northwestern opened a four-goal lead at the 27:34 mark of the second half as Frank picked up her second of the game and Cassera scored on a free-position shot for a 10-6 advantage.
Keena and Tamasitis answered back to cut the lead to 10-8 with 19:54 left in the game.
That signaled the Wildcats that it was time to answer back and Cassera and Fitzgerald scored their second goals of the game to restore a four-goal lead at 12-8 with 16:38 left in the game.
Brosco notched her second of the night at 15:22 on a free-position shot and Granger cut the lead to 12-10 with another free-position shot at 14:11 and again the lead was just two goals for Northwestern.
The teams would play just under five minutes before the Wildcats would get on the board at 9:12 as Fitzgerald wrapped up her hat trick at 9:12 to make it a 13-10 game.
The Irish weren’t done though as Sullivan scored off a Granger assist with 7:27 left to make it 13-11. That would be as close as Notre Dame would get. Brianne LoManto came up with a pair of big saves on Tamasitis and Blaney over the final seven minutes and Matthews got the final goal of the game on a free-position shot with five minutes left to make it 14-11.
As was the case the entire game, the Wildcats controlled the final draw and were able to run out the clock to preserve the win.
Notre Dame out shot Northwestern, 27-26, in the game. LoManto made nine saves in the game while Ellie Hilling had seven stops in the Irish goal.
Next up for Notre Dame is a road trip on Saturday, Feb. 26 to Pittsburgh, Pa., where the Irish will face Duquesne University in noon contest.
GAME SUMMARY 1 2 - F#2 Northwestern (1-0) 8 6 - 14#10 Notre Dame (1-2) 6 5 - 11
ScoringFirst Half:Time Team Score Goal Assist24:05 NU 0-1 Jessica Russo Shannon Smith22:01 NU 0-2 Brooke Matthews Free-position shot21:34 NU 0-3 Taylor Thornton21:02 ND 1-3 Kaitlin Keena Jackie Doherty20:31 ND 2-3 Shaylyn Blaney Maggie Tamasitis19:43 ND 3-3 Kailene Abt18:53 NU 3-4 Jessica Russo (2)17:50 NU 3-5 Alex Frank Shannon Smith (2)16:39 NU 3-6 Alyssa Leonard10:33 NU 3-7 Shannon Smith 8:35 ND 4-7 Jenny Granger Maggie Tamasitis (2) 8:15 NU 4-8 Erin Fitzgerald Jessica Russo 1:47 ND 5-8 Shaylyn Blaney (2) 0:43 ND 6-8 Kaitlyn Brosco Maggie Tamasitis (3)
Second HalfTime Team Score Goal Assist29:12 NU 6-9 Alex Frank (2) Shannon Smith (3)27:34 NU 6-10 Ali Cassera Free-position shot20:25 ND 7-10 Kaitlin Keena (2) Maggie Tamasitis (4)19:54 ND 8-10 Maggie Tamasitis Betsy Mastropieri18:34 NU 8-11 Ali Cassera (2)16:38 NU 8-12 Erin Fitzgerald (2) Free-position shot15:22 ND 9-12 Kaitlyn Brosco (2) Free-position shot14:11 ND 10-12 Jenny Granger (2) Free-position shot 9:12 NU 10-13 Erin Fitzgerald (3) 7:27 ND 11-13 Megan Sullivan Jenny Granger 5:00 NU 11-14 Brooke Matthews (2) Free-position shot
Goalkeepers:Northwestern: Brianne LoManto (60:00 min; 11 goals against, 9 saves)Notre Dame: Ellie Hilling (60:00 min; 14 goals against; 7 saves)
Total Shots: Northwestern: 26, Notre Dame: 27Ground Balls: Northwestern: 8, Notre Dame: 16Draw Controls: Northwestern: 22, Notre Dame: 5Caused Turnovers: Northwestern: 5, Notre Dame: 11