#11 NOTRE DAME vs. #19 Clemson – Saturday, Feb. 22 at 8 PM
Location: South Bend, IN | Loftus Sports Center
ACCNX | LIVE STATS
CONFERENCE PLAY STARTS WITH CLEMSON
The No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish are set to open up ACC play against No.19 Clemson on Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. inside of Loftus Sports Center.
The Irish lead the overall series 3-0 after taking down the Tigers 14-13 in double-overtime on the road in the 2024 regular season and then again in the ACC Tournament just one month later, 14-12. Their first-ever win over the Tigers came in their first year as a program in the 2023 season as Notre Dame won 12-9 at home.
The Irish are 2-1 to start the season as they open up the conference slate. Madison Rassas is leading the offensive charge so far, putting up 10 goals and 13 points in the last two games with back-to-back five goal performances. She put up an impressive eight points in the home opener on Feb. 15 against Central Michigan, the most goals and points scored by an Irish freshman.
She’s followed by Kate Timarky and Kristen Shanahan, who have already recorded two hat tricks this season. Shanahan also leads the Irish with 14 draw controls.
Defensively, Meghan O’Hare is leading the way with nine ground balls and seven caused turnovers for the Irish.
Isabel Pithie has had a strong start in goal for the Irish with a 2-0 record, 17 saves, and a save percentage of .548.
A LOOK AHEAD
The 2025 season features 15 regular season games with eight at home and seven on the road. Nine conference games are set for this upcoming spring season after the additions of Cal and Stanford to the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2024.
“This year’s schedule has us entering a new era of ACC lacrosse with an expanded conference and new scheduling model,” said Notre Dame Women’s Lacrosse Head Coach Christine Halfpenny.
“The ACC will again be one of the strongest conferences in the country. We’re excited to attack the games in front of us this year both in and out of conference beginning with a great season opening regional rivalry with Northwestern.”
IRISH WELCOME 11 FRESHMEN
With a large class of 17 graduating last season, the Irish have welcomed 11 freshmen to the roster.
Five of which were included in the ILWomen’s Class of 2024 Power 100 Incoming Freshmen Rankings:
– Madison Rassas (#2)
– Katie Mallaber (#32)
– Carson Didden (#42)
– Kiki Liebezeit (Watchlist)
– Ellie McClelland (Watchlist)
THE RASSAS FAMILY IS NO STRANGER TO NOTRE DAME
Rassas isn’t just listed as one of the top players in the 2024 class in the country, but she has a chance to continue her family’s legacy at Notre Dame.
She comes from a long line of Notre Dame graduates, including both parents (Todd and Angela Rassas) as well as her grandfather and great-grandfather.
Her father, Todd, was an All-American lacrosse player at Notre Dame (‘98), while her grandfather and great-grandfather were both All-American football players for the Irish.
WATCH OUT FOR WEIGAND
Senior defender Weigand was recently named to 2025 Tewaaraton Watch list and also received USA Lacrosse Magazine Women’s Preseason All-American Honorable Mention honors.
She finished the 2024 season playing in 20 games and recorded 24 ground balls and forced 17 turnovers.
TWO NEW ADDITIONS TO THE COACHING STAFF
Head Coach Christ Halfpenny introduced two new additions to the staff in August 2024 as she welcomed Caroline Curnal and Ellie Masera to the Irish.
Curnal, a 2023 Villanova graduate, started 47 of the 54 games she played in and totaled 94 points and 17 assists for 111 points. In addition to her record 382 draws, she had 34 ground balls and 14 caused turnovers.
She helped guide the program to a 15-5 season, where they advanced all the way to the NCAA quarterfinal round in 2024. Penn ranked as high as fifth during the course of the regular season, boasted one of the strongest defensive units in the country, and saw Niki Miles break program records for draw controls in a game and a season.
Miles was one of four first-team All-Ivy and three All-Americans on the roster, and another of those All-America picks (Izzy Rohr) was the Ivy League Defender of the Year for the second straight season.
She capped off her Wildcat career as the team captain and draw specialist, breaking the program’s career draw record with 382 and the single-single season mark with 155.
She finished with 41 goals and eight assists, scoring in 14 of the 17 games, and earned a spot on the All-BIG EAST first team. That was her second appearance on the first team, as she also garnered the honor in 2022 when she also was first-team IWLCA All-Region.
Masera, a recent 2024 graduate from Stony Brook, joins the Notre Dame program as an assistant coach after an outstanding four-year career with the Seawolves and a rookie season in the professional league with Athletes Unlimited.
Masera was a decorated midfielder in her four year career at Stony Brook.
She was a 2024 Tewaaraton finalist, the second player in program history, alongside former Notre Dame attacker and all-time Irish points leader, Jackie Wolak (2020-2024).
The two-time IWLCA, USA Lacrosse Magazine, and ILWomen All-American was the third pick in the AU Pro Lax Draft in April. Masera was also named the 2023 and 2024 CAA Midfielder of the Year and the 2022 America East Midfielder of the Year.
She finished her senior season as the fifth-best goal scorer in Division I (77) and finished second in points (117), also leading the nation as a senior in shots on goal and shots on goal per game. Masera finished her college career with 232 goals, 317 points, and a program record of 388 draw controls.
THE BIG THREE
The Irish graduated 17 seniors and graduate students a season ago, including three individuals in Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma and Jackie Wolak, who spent five years with the program, shattering numerous records during their tenure.
The trio combined for 964 career points over their five years together, the most of any teammates in program history.
Since their arrival to campus in 2020, Choma, Ahern and Wolak sat atop the team leaderboard in nearly every offensive category. Ahern’s 60 goals in 2024 led the team while Choma had posted the team’s top mark the four years prior.
During her career, Wolak never surrendered her title of assists leader and posted a team-best 100+ points in both 2023 and 2024. Ahern led the team in points during 2020 and 2022 while Wolak took the top spot in 2021.
All three rank among the program’s single season goal leaders with Choma holding two spots at three and eight, Ahern holds the sixth and seventh all time spots and Wolak’s 2024 total holds the 10th place.
Wolak also holds three of the top-10 spots for single season assists while the trio combine for four of the top-10 spots in total points for a given year.
Career leaders include Choma holding the top spot for games played (85) while Ahern and Wolak sit tied for second with 84.
Choma and Ahern sit second and third respectively in all-time goals while Wolak holds the top-spot for assists (153). Ahern’s 89 career assists ranks her fourth all-time.
All three rank in the top-10 for career points: Wolak (1st; 341), Ahern (3rd; 317), Choma (5th; 306). The trio was also the first set of teammates to surpass 300 career points and are three of only five individuals in program history to hit 300+ points.
The three combine for 10 Inside Lacrosse/ILWomen All-American honors, 10 IWLCA All-Region/All-American honors, eight USA Lacrosse Magazine honors, and eight Tewaraaton watchlist candidiasis.
A 2024 Tewaaraton finalist, Wolak set the program record for career points (341) and assists (153). Her 110 points last season was also third-best in program history and set her apart from the rest as the only individual to record multiple 100+ point seasons at Notre Dame.
Her 110 points finished atop the ACC last season and ranked fourth in the country.
In two NCAA Tournament games a season ago, Wolak’s 18 points ranked among the best in the nation.
With six points in the first quarter of the team’s NCAA First Round game vs. Coastal Carolina was a program best while her nine assists through three quarters played that day also set a program best.
The trio of Ahern, Wolak, and Choma scored in nearly every contest during their five years with Wolak’s 78-game streak to end her career being a program record.
Wolak became the program’s first-ever ACC Attacker of the Year honoree when she was named the conference’s top attacker in 2024
As a freshman, Ahern earned National Rookie of the Year honors from Inside Lacrosse.
Ahern was the 2023 ACC Postgraduate scholarship award recipient.
IRISH IN THE PROS
With the start of the WLL in 2025, it didn’t take long for the Irish to get picked up.
Five Notre Dame Women’s Lacrosse alums were all selected to the Boston Guard: Madison Ahern (‘24), Kasey Choma (‘24), Jackie Wolak (‘24), Hannah Dorney (‘23), and Andie Aldave (‘21).
The Boston Guards will open up their season on Feb. 12 in Springfield, VA as they take on the California Palms.