Buckeyes drop Irish record to 3-2 with 10-9 victory
By SARAH RYKOWSKI
Sports Writer
The Ohio State Buckeyes handed women's lacrosse their second consecutive defeat Thursday, sliding past Notre Dame 10-9.
The Irish fall to 3-2 on the season, after starting off at 3-0 before suffering a defeat at the hands of No. 16 Syracuse University.
The Irish matched the Buckeyes in scoring during the first half 4-4. After pulling ahead 9-7 in the second half, the Buckeyes held the Irish scoreless for the remainder of the game. The Buckeyes then scored 3 goals in a row to take the lead for good. Ohio State's Lauren Cochran scored the winning goal in the close match with just over a minute remaining in the game.
Team co-captain Lael O'Shaughnessy continued to lead her team, scoring twice in the match. With her tallies against Ohio State, O'Shaugh-nessy increased her season total to 12 goals and 3 assists in just five games. She finished with 50 goals and 19 assists last season, and her total of 69 points made her the team's leading scorer.
Sophomore Natalie Loftus also scored twice for the Irish, continuing her aggressive play against the Buckeyes from the 1999 season. Loftus also scored in Notre Dame's home loss to Ohio State.
Co-captain Kathryn Perrella, Tina Fedarcyk, Angela Dixon, and Danielle Shearer also tallied for the Irish. Perrella, Kelly McCardell, and Anne Riley each notched an assist against Ohio State.
Dixon, Shearer, McCardell, and Riley, all freshmen, and members of a class that is making its presence at Notre Dame known. Shearer leads the freshmen laxers with 7 goals and 5 assists.
Ohio State outshot Notre Dame 44-31, but the Irish took control of the draws, taking 14 out of 21. Irish goalie Tara Durkin made 19 saves, improving her save percentage to .612. Megan Barnett had 9 saves for the Buckeyes.
Notre Dame returns to action with an away game against Johns Hopkins on Saturday, March 25 at 7:00 p.m. This will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.
The Blue Jays enter Saturday's game with a 4-2 record, after a smashing 16-6 victory against Stanford March 22.
The Johns Hopkins women's lacrosse team is led by sophomore Jamie Larrimore, who has 23 goals and 5 assists so far this season. She finished the 1999 season with 48 goals and 10 assists.
Sara Love is the starting goalie for the Blue Jays. The senior has posted a .515 save percentage and a 9.55 GAA in 308 minutes of play.
The Blue Jays are coached by Janine Tucker, who has headed the Johns Hopkins program since 1993. In her seven-year tenure as head coach, Tucker has posted 82 wins against 22 losses.
All Sports Stories for Friday, March 24, 2000
