March 17, 2012
ORLANDO, Fla. – Using a potent 12-goal explosion in the first half, the seventh-ranked University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team defeated No. 16 Cornell, 17-13, Saturday at the Disney Wide World of Sports Complex.
Nine players scored for the Irish (6-0) on the day, leading to the squad’s third 17-goal outburst on the early season. Cornell (5-1) outscored the Irish 7-5 in the second stanza, but it was not enough to crawl back from the six-goal, first-half deficit that Notre Dame secured in the first 30 minutes.
Jaimie Morrison, Lindsay Powell and Megan Sullivan led the way in the goal scoring column for the Irish, recording matching hat tricks. Jenny Granger and Grace Dooley both chipped in two goals, while Kate Newall, Margaret Smith, Kaitlyn Brosco and McKenzie Brown each scored once. Junior Ellie Hilling improved to 6-0 in net for Notre Dame, recording 10 saves and allowing 13 goals. It is the third time Hilling has recorded double-digit saves this year.
Olivia Knotts led the way for Cornell, scoring five times. Jessi Steinberg paced the Big Red in points after scoring four goals and assisting on two more and Caroline Salisbury and Shannon McHugh each posted two goals of their own to round out the scoring. Kyla Dambach got the start for Cornell, falling to 3-1 on the year after allowing nine goals with only three saves.
With Notre Dame holding a 5-3 lead in the contest, the Irish used a pair of runs to close out the first half and widen the margin heading into the locker room. Sullivan completed her first-half hat trick off a feed from Granger at 13:53 before Powell pushed the lead to 7-3 with an unassisted marker at 11:54.
After Knotts scored the fourth goal for Cornell, Dooley scored her second of the afternoon and Powell recorded her second to make the score 9-4 with 9:04 left in the half. Looking to change the momentum, Cornell switched goalies to Courtney Gallagher after the Powell tally, but Powell came back undeterred, scoring her third of the contest off a feed from Tamasitis at the 4:34 mark. The two teams then posted two goals apiece, sending Notre Dame to the 12-6 halftime lead.
The Irish picked up the second half right where they left off the first, scoring the first three tallies to broaden the score to 15-6. After a timeout by Cornell, the Big Red made the game interesting, scoring four unanswered goals from the stick of Steinberg. Granger scored her second of the game to stop the run and make the score 16-10, but a goal by Knotts cut the lead to 16-11 with 10:51 left in the contest.
Notre Dame’s defense clamped down over the final stretch, keeping Cornell off the scoresheet for the next seven minutes before Knotts beat Hilling to make the score 16-12 with only 3:25 remaining. The game came to a close with the two teams exchanging free position goals and the Irish holding on for their sixth-straight win to start the year.
Notre Dame returns to the field next Saturday as it opens up BIG EAST play against Louisville. The contest is scheduled to get underway at 1:00 p.m. (ET) at Arlotta Stadium.
**IRISH NOTES**
**Notre Dame improved to 6-0 on the year and currently is one of only five undefeated teams remaining in Division I
**Maggie Tamasitis extended her point scoring streak to 43 consecutive games with her assist at the 25:26 mark of the first half. She finished the game with four helpers on the day
**Lindsay Powell has now recorded a hat trick or better in five of the first six games of the year
**Megan Sullivan posted her third hat trick of the season and first since the victory at Ohio State
**Grace Dooley got her first goals of the season and set a new career high in goals with two
**Jaimie Morrison matched her career high in points (5) with her three-goal, two-assist performance
**Jenny Granger set season-bests in both assists (2) and points (4)