SOUTH BEND, Ind. – For the first time in program history, the No. 8 Fighting Irish women’s lacrosse team knocked off the No. 1 team in the country, defeating top-ranked Northwestern by a score of 14-10 in Loftus Sports Center on Friday evening.
The win over the Wildcats snaps their 22-game winning streak, the longest active streak in the country entering Friday’s contest.
Jackie Wolak was the best player on the field on the night, posting a monster six-point performance with four goals and two assists to lead the attack. Teammates Madison Ahern and Abby Maichin each added hat tricks to help spur the Irish to victory.
Notre Dame completely dominated the draw, finishing with a 20-8 advantage to control possession throughout the contest. Kelly Denes was masterful at the draw, winning eight in the win, while Mary Kelly Doherty added six.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game started off as a defensive affair, with both teams causing turnovers and making life difficult on the opposing attacks.
Northwestern managed to build a 3-0 lead over the first 12 minutes of action but the Irish roared back in the final 90 seconds of play, scoring three goals to end the period and tie the game at 3-3. Wolak accounted for two of the scores and Ahern had the other to level the score.
The Irish carried the momentum into the second quarter, taking their first lead of the night off a beautiful behind-the-back goal from Choma to go on top 4-3 less than a minute into the stanza.
After a Wildcat goal tied the game at 4-4, Abby Maichin fired home a free-position shot before Northwestern once again scored to knot the game up at 5-5 with just under seven minutes left in the half.
Another goal by Maichin was answered by a Wildcat goal to move the score to 6-6 and then the Irish once again finished a quarter strongly, scoring the final two goals to take an 8-6 lead into the halftime break. Ahern and Kelly Denes produced the goals to give the Irish the two-score lead.
Northwestern scored the opening goal of the third quarter to cut the advantage to one and after 10 minutes of scoreless action the Irish pushed it’s lead back to two at 9-7 off a goal from Arden Tierney, which she wrapped around the crease, spun off a defender and fired in her first goal of the night.
The visitors scored the final goal of the period to make the score 9-8 in favor of the Irish heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
The Wildcats scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter to retake the lead for the first time since the first quarter, going on top 10-9 with less than 10 minutes to play.
The Irish roared back, responding immediately with goals from Keelin Schlageter and Wolak in the span of less than 30 seconds to go back on top at 11-10 with seven minutes remaining.
Ahern then stepped up to the line on a free-position attempt and buried her effort for her third goal of the evening to push the lead back up to two at 12-10.
Notre Dame closed the game emphatically, adding two more scores off goals from Wolak and Maichin in the final three minutes to put the exclamation mark on the win at 14-10 to remain unbeaten on the season at 3-0.
UP NEXT
The women continue the homestand Sunday afternoon with a 1 p.m. ET draw set against Butler. The game will air on ACCNX.