Womens Lacrosse: Irish muzzle Huskies early
By ANDY TROEGER
Sports Writer
After falling behind against No. 8 Syracuse last week, the womens lacrosse team knew it needed to get off to a strong start in their critical game against No. 19 Connecticut.
The Irish got their strong start with a goal in the first minute as they rolled over the Huskies 15-7.
"We knew that we came out a little slow against Syracuse and we needed to turn it around," said McCardell. "It was a big game for us, being a Big East game."
Junior Meredith Simon got No. 15 Notre Dame rolling with a goal 55 seconds into the game. The Irish controlled the first 10 minutes and finally cashed in again when senior defender Kelly McCardell's score began a three-goal spurt for the Irish that gave them a 4-0 lead at the 16:04 mark of the first half. Seniors Anne Riley and Danielle Shearer contributed the third and fourth goals, respectively.
"We got off to a very good start," Irish coach Tracy Coyne said. "I thought our shooting was excellent and we capitalized on a lot of opportunities. We have some objectives that we set in the pre-game and I think we met those pretty well."
The Huskies finally got on the board with 13 minutes left in the half, but the Irish built their lead to 7-1 at halftime on a goal by junior Lauren Fischer sandwiched between two goals from freshman Crysti Foote.
The Irish used a strong defensive game, headed by a strong effort from senior goalkeeper Jen White, to hold the Huskies to one first-half goal while building the big lead.
"I was really pleased with Jen's play," said Coyne. "She created a lot of turnovers; she had some interceptions and ground balls and some key saves. I also thought Kelly McCardell played very well. The defense really just had a solid game."
"We wanted to really come out strong," said McCardell. "We knew if we left it off for the attack that they would finish it off for us."
Notre Dame jumped out to a strong start in the second half as well, as Foote scored her third goal only 18 seconds in to make it 8-1. After a Connecticut score, junior Kristen Gaudreau scored on a free position goal and Simon added another score to push the lead to 10-2. Connecticut rallied to within five at 12-7, but the Irish added three more goals for the comfortable final margin. Angela Dixon, Jackie Bowers, Abby Owen, and Mary McGrath all scored in the second half for the Irish, while Simon scored a third time to provide the final margin.
Eleven players scored goals for the Irish, with Simon and Foote posting three goals each. Shearer and classmate Eleanor Weille each added four assists for the Irish
"I think Danielle is doing a good job," said Coyne. "She obviously draws a lot of attention and has been drawing a double team. She recognizes and finds the open player. I think four assists is great."
The Irish had 31 shots to 19 for the Huskies. Each team collected 19 ground balls, while Connecticut had 13 draw controls and Notre Dame had 11. With the win, the Irish evened their record at 4-4 (3-1 Big East), while Connecticut fell to 5-3 (0-2 Big East).
"We've played a really tough schedule with a lot of ranked opponents," said Coyne. "When you play a tough schedule it really prepares you for a higher level of play and I think how we played today is a benefit of that."
The schedule doesn't get any easier, as the Irish are in the midst of playing five consecutive games against ranked opponents. Next up for the Irish is a game at No. 3 Duke Friday, followed by home games against No. 16 Stanford and No. 6 Georgetown.
All Sports Stories for Monday, April 7, 2003
