Feb. 18, 2018
By Matt Paras
DELAND, Florida – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team (2-1) finished off their two-game road trip with a stellar all-around performance in a 21-7 win over Stetson (0-2). The Irish spread the wealth offensively with 10 different players scoring for the second-straight game.
How it Happened
The Irish got off to a quick start once again, this time scoring the first three goals in an 80-second span. Andie Aldave got the first goal of the game with Nikki Ortega and Savannah Buchanan scoring right after.
Following the first Stetson goal, the Irish answered in a big way. They went on a 6-0 run over the next five minutes to build their lead to 9-1, just over 10 minutes into the game. Ortega scored her second and third goals in the run while Buchanan added her second and Molly Cobb, Jessi Masinko, and Katherine Enrietto scored their first of the game.
Over the remaining 20 minutes of the first half, the offense slowed down and the Irish took a 12-4 lead into the break. Ortega scored her fourth of the game while Buchanan got her third for the hat trick. Kathleen Roe tallied her first career goal after causing a turnover in the midfield and taking it all the way for the goal.
In the second half, the Irish kept up the pressure offensively and limited the chances for the Hatters. Freshman Bridget Deehan made her first collegiate appearance in the cage to begin the second half for the Irish.
Aldave, who was dominant on the draw all game, scored two-straight goals to claim a hat trick of her own in the opening five minutes. Kelly Donnelly scored for the second-straight game and Haley Schultz tallied her first career goal late in the second half. Enrietto scored two of the last three goals for the Irish which made her the fourth player to record a hat trick on the afternoon.
Stat Leaders
Aldave followed up her strong performance against Jacksonville with an even better game Sunday against the Hatters. She scored three goals for the second-straight game, tallied two assists while winning a game-high 10 draw controls. The 10 draw controls tie the school record for most in a game, which was set by Casey Pearsall last year against Kennesaw State. The Irish as a team won 20 draw controls, one shy of the school record for a road game.
Buchanan joined Aldave with a superb performance in the midfield against Stetson. She tallied three goals and three assists for a career-high six points. She also scooped up two ground balls, won two draw controls and caused a turnover.
Ortega tied a career high with four goals on the afternoon, all coming in the first half. She has scored three goals or more in all three games to begin the season.
Roe scored her first two career goals on the afternoon and led the team with two caused turnovers.
Sophomore Cassie Ford tallied a career-high four draw controls for the Irish and added an assist on the final goal of the game.
Up Next
Notre Dame returns to South Bend for a three-game home stand that starts this coming Friday. The Irish will host the sixth-ranked USC Trojans Friday night starting at 6 p.m. ET at Loftus Sports Center.
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Matt Paras, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since January 2018. In his role, he coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track & field programs. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Paras is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Administration. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, he worked at Vanderbilt University as the sports information contact for the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs.