Women's Lacrosse: Irish bounce back to whip Wildcats
By CHRIS COLEMAN
Sports Writer
Maybe all the Notre Dame women's lacrosse team needed was a wake-up call to remind them that they are the 10th best team in country.
The Irish put Saturday's loss to Georgetown behind them in an 11-3 victory over Northwestern Thursday.
The women showed flashes of brilliance, holding a young Northwestern team scoreless for the last 36 minutes of the game and spreading the ball around on the offensive end; however the Irish continue to be plagued by turnovers.
"A win is a win, but we didn't go out and execute as good was we should have," said Danielle Shearer.
Execution may prove to be the difference in Notre Dame's final two games of the year. If 10-4 Notre Dame defeats Rutgers and No.12 Vanderbilt, they are all but guaranteed a spot in the tournament.
"All we need is to win, and we are in the tournament," said captain Tina Fedarcyk. "They are definitely beatable teams, so as long as we come together and play our game, we'll be fine."
The Irish have come out slow in several games, and that's hurt the team. Three of Notre Dame's four losses have been by one goal in games where the Irish had mounted a comeback and had momentum when time expired.
Players know they cannot afford another game like that.
"Approaching the tournament, we need to play our best and up to the level we know we can." Shearer said. "There are only two games left. We need to step up."
Shearer, who led the team in points against Northwestern with three goals and one assist, converted a pass from Eleanor Weille to open up the scoring.
Anne Riley, Alissa Moser and Meredith Simon, who each scored two goals, then gave the Irish a substantial lead. The Irish were up 6-1 when Northwestern scored two free position goals to make the game 6-3 at the half.
Those goals were the last looks Northwestern would get all day.
"We held them scoreless for the whole second half, that's a good thing," said Fedarcyk who is one of the cornerstones on defense.
Kristen Gaudreau and Lisa Lombardi scored their first goals of the year during the second half of play. Shearer and Simon also added in to the all-Irish scoring party in the second half.
The women travel to face Big East opponent Rutgers this Sunday. Rutgers is 7-8 overall and 2-3 in the division.
All Sports Stories for Friday, April 26, 2002
