April 27, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – On senior day at Arlotta Stadium, the No. 9/10 University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team took down Marquette, 14-5, behind four goals from senior Betsy Mastropieri, five points from senior Jenny Granger (1G, 4A) and three goals from senior Jaimie Morrison.
Marquette (2-15) had a tough season as it maneuvered through its first season of lacrosse, but the Golden Eagles performed admirably against the Irish, trailing by just two (3-1) for the first 20 minutes of the opening period. However, the speed and depth of the Irish eventually took over as six student-athletes found the back of the net and all 31 players earned playing time.
“Marquette gave us everything they had and they really showed up today ready to play, so credit to them,” said head coach Christine Halfpenny. “They played hard and fought to the end. But for our team to come out and play so hard for the seniors was a special thing. Our seniors got us off on the right foot by putting the ball in the back of the net right out of the gate. We were really happy to see that excitement and energy we were looking for on senior day.”
Notre Dame forced 35 Marquette turnovers and scooped up 32 ground balls to just 15 for the Golden Eagles to help set up the squad to shoot 20 more shots (33-13) than its visitor.
The Golden Eagles appeared on the scoreboard first as Hayley Baas scored just 48 seconds into the game on a nifty move from behind the net. The Irish quickly went down and scored twice in just 22 seconds to take a 2-1 lead as Mastropieri and Caitlin Gargan tallied goals off passes from Granger.
From there the Irish methodically scored five more goals over the next 12 minutes to take a 6-1 lead. After Baas scored her second goal of the game, Notre Dame scored two more goals, including one from Mastropieri as time expired, to take an 8-2 lead into the locker room.
Notre Dame outscored the Golden Eagles 6-3 in the second half on the strength of two goals from Lindsay Powell and goals from Mastropieri, Morrison and Granger.
In addition to the strong performances from the seniors on offense, Powell scored three times, Gargan twice, and junior Kaitlyn Brosco had three assists.
On defense junior All-American Margaret Smith had a game-high five ground balls and caused turnovers, while freshman standout Stephanie Peragallo and Granger each had three ground balls and three caused turnovers. In all nine student-athletes tallied two or more ground balls and five recorded two or more caused turnovers.
In a losing effort Baas notched a hat trick and Kenzie Brown scored a pair of goals. Goalie Sarah Priem went all 60 minutes in the cage for the Golden Eagles.
Senior goalie Ellie Hilling picked up the 44th win of her career as she played 30 minutes and notched one save. Fellow senior goalie Adele Bruggeman logged 16:45 of action in the net, before sophomore Allie Murray closed out the final 13:15 of the contest.
Before the game seven senior student-athletes and two senior managers were recognized for their contributions to the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program. Honored were student-athletes McKenzie Brown, Adele Bruggeman, Emily Conner, Jenny Granger, Ellie Hilling, Betsy Mastropieri and Jaimie Morrison and senior managers Alex Clemente and Michelle Tremblay.
The Irish (12-4) missed out on qualifying for the BIG EAST Championship, but still have a strong resume for the NCAA Championship. The 26-team bracket will be unveiled next Sunday. Stay tuned to UND.com for more information on the 2013 NCAA Championship.
–ND–