Laxers run to competitive start in 2000 season
By SARAH RYKOWSKI
Sports Writer
The Notre Dame women's lacrosse team went 2-1 over spring break, defeating Ohio University and Richmond at home and losing to 16th-ranked Syracuse on the road.
This brings the Irish to 3-1 overall on the season
"I think the team is doing really well," Tara Durkin, the Irish squad's starting goalie, said. "It's going to be a great year."
Against Syracuse, the attack corps struggled, as the Orangewomen held Notre Dame to just 27 shots on goal for the game. The Irish trailed 5-3 at the half, with goals coming from Lael O'Shaughnessy and Kathryn Perrella, both junior co-captains, along with freshman Danielle Shearer. The Irish were scoreless in the second half.
The three goals against Syracuse are the fewest Notre Dame has scored in a single game this season. The Orangewomen widened their lead to end the game at 9-3. Durkin had 18 saves for the Irish in that match.
"We were the better team," Durkin said. "That should have been our game."
The game against Syracuse marked the last time the two will meet as independents. Next season women's lacrosse will be sponsored by the Big East Conference, and Notre Dame will join Boston College, Connecticut, Georgetown, Rutgers, Virginia Tech, and Syracuse in round-robin play.
Even without any seniors this year's squad set several school records in its 22-3 victory over Ohio University. The game, held March 11 at the Loftus Sports Center, opened the home season for the Irish. Eleven different Irish players scored against the Bobcats, the most players ever to score in an Irish women's lacrosse game. The total of 14 assists and 36 points in the game against Ohio University mark single-game highs for the four-year-old Irish program. Notre Dame also had two scoring streaks, 10 straight goals in the first half, and 8 in the second half.
"The depth [on the team] is a lot better," O'Shaughnessy said. "The juniors have stepped up, and it's a whole group thing."
O'Shaughnessy and sophomore Maureen Whitaker led their team with 4 goals each against Ohio University.
Perrella, Shearer, Natalie Loftus, Tina Fedarcyk, and Katharine Scarola, junior Maura Doyle, and freshmen Anne Riley and Eleanor Weille all contributed goals for the Irish.
"It was really nice to open the season with a confident win like that," O'Shaughnessy said. "Everyone gets in and gets to play."
Durkin allowed just 2 goals in 38 minutes of play. With the help of fellow goalies, junior Carrie Marshall and freshman Jen White, who allowed just one goal between them in 22 minutes, Notre Dame held Ohio University to 12 shots on goal for the entire game.
"The defense has definitely stepped up their aggressiveness," O'Shaughnessy said. "They play more as a unit now. They are very good at causing turnovers."
A day later, the Notre Dame women's lacrosse team managed a 14-13 victory against the Richmond Spiders. Although the Spiders had took the lead early in the first half, the Irish took over, scoring seven goals in a row. The Irish left the half with a 9-4 lead. In the second half the Spiders came back strong, answering Notre Dame's two initial scores to bring the game to 11-6. The Spiders then went on a scoring drive, scoring three goals in the final three minutes of the game, outscoring Notre Dame 9-5 in the second half. With 17 seconds left in the game and the score standing at 14-13, Irish defender Fedarcyk won the final draw to run out the clock and save the victory for the Irish.
"The freshmen are fantastic," O'Shaughnessy said. "They are filling in their spots well."
The team's next game is at Ohio State, on Thursday March 23, at 4 p.m..
All Sports Stories for Thursday, March 23, 2000
