SOUTH BEND, Ind. — With the 2024 season behind them, the University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team has six representatives on All-Region Teams as announced by the IWLCA Thursday. Part of the West/Midwest region, the First Team selections include the team’s three highest scorers on the season in Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma, and Jackie Wolak, as well as the program’s all-time leader at the draw, Kelly Denes as the region’s draw specialist. MK Doherty and Olivia Dooley represent the Irish as members of the Second Team.
Graduate attacker, Ahern finished second on the team in overall points (80) while boasting the most goals on the season with 60 in 20 games played. Averaging 3.00 goals per game in her final collegiate season, the team’s leader at the free position she ranked second in the ACC and 20th nationally with a .900/game. In 2024, Ahern had a minimum of one goal per game and started all 20 games for the team this season. She was previously recognized this season as a First Team All-ACC honoree and USA Lacrosse Honorable Mention All-American while being named to the Tewaaraton Watchlist at the start of the season.
Choma led the midfield position with 56 goals and 22 assists, ranking third on the team in both categories. With 56 goals on the season, Choma became just the second individual in program history to surpass 250 career goals when she scored her second of the day against Michigan to cap off her stories career. Previously this season, Choma was named a Tewaaraton nominee along with First Team All-ACC, USA Lacrosse First Team All-American and an ILWomen Midseason First Team honoree. Choma’s performance on the free position (.714) ranked fifth nationally at the end of the season and led all ACC opponents.
Wolak’s historic Irish career came to an end last weekend as the all-time leading scorer and holds the program record for most assists and points in NCAA postseason play. A 2024 Tewaaraton finalist and the ACC Attacker of the Year, Wolak finished second nationally in points with 110 and became the first individual in program history to boast triple-digit points in multiple seasons. Her 5.50 points per game average also ranked top-10 nationally while she was 11th overall in total assists (52). In her final weekend in an Irish uniform, the graduate attacker set a single-game record for assists (9), assists in a half (5) and points in a quarter (6). She closed out the weekend as the team’s all-time points leader (341) after adding seven points against Michigan for an 18-point NCAA Tournament stretch, which led all Division I players.
A senior draw specialist for the Irish, Denes capped off her Irish career as the program’s leader in draw controls and is the only individual to boast multiple 100+ draw control seasons in her Irish career (Denes had three). A 2024 Second Team All-ACC honoree and Tewaaraton Watchlist name, Denes tied a single-game draw controls record with 16 controls against Pitt on March 30. With 149 draw controls this season, the senior ranked 12th nationally in the category with an average of 7.45 draw controls per game while her total was good for ninth in the country.
Doherty earned numerous recognition throughout the 2024 season, picking up Second Team honors by the IWLCA in addition to her honors on the Tewaaraton Watchlist, Second Team All-ACC and USA Lacrosse Second Team All-American nod. With seven game-winners in her senior season, Doherty led the team in the category while appearing in 17 games for the Irish. In addition to her play on the offensive side of the ball, Doherty made a mark at the midfield with 77 draw controls on the year which ranked second on the team. She finished fourth on the team in points with 47 while adding 19 ground balls and nine caused turnovers to the mix.
An addition to the team in 2024, Dooley quickly made an impact on the Irish defense, leading the team in caused turnovers (37) while finishing second in ground balls with 37. The graduate set a career best five ground balls and six caused turnovers against Liberty on April 11. In the opening round of the ACC Tournament, Dooley tallied four caused turnovers and five ground balls for the Irish to lift them to a win over Clemson and fourth consecutive appearance in the ACC Semifinals. Earlier this season, Dooley was named to the All-ACC Tournament Team and was a Midseason All-American Honorable Mention by ILWomen.