Women's Lacrosse: Fourth season makes firsts
By ANTHONY BISHOP
Sports Writer
The fourth season of Notre Dame women's lacrosse was a season of firsts. The team achieved its first-ever victory over a ranked team, Delaware, and then proceeded to defeat a top-10 team, Yale. These victories helped the Irish gain national recognition and their first ever ranking — peaking at No. 18 — and first ever 10-win season with an overall 10-5 record.
Head coach Tracy Coyne was very pleased about the results of this season. "We've come a long way," she said. "We accomplished a lot this year and it was exciting to be on the bubble for the playoffs."
On a sad note, the program also saw its first-ever recruiting class graduate. Standing out among the team is senior captain Lael O'Shaughnessy, the first-ever athlete to sign an Irish women's lacrosse letter of intent.
The Irish had a successful spring break, unfazed by the defeat. They went on to earn six-straight victories against Virginia Tech, Boston College, Harvard, Denver, and Ohio University. If there was one turning point of the season, it came against Harvard. For two years, the Irish came close to beating Harvard and thanks mostly to a strong game from senior Maura Doyle, they finally did on their third try.
The sixth victory came against then 17th-ranked Delaware for their first ever victory against a ranked team. That same weekend, Vanderbilt ended the school-record six-game win streak in a heartbreaking upset.
The Irish once again bounced right back against the Huskies of Connecticut. In their second home game, the Irish played its most offensively explosive game. Sparked by three goals from sophomore Danielle Shearer in 41 seconds, the Irish won 19-5.
The rest of the season went up and down for Notre Dame with two bright spots in the middle. Facing three straight ranked teams, the Irish lost to Duke and next defeated then-No. 7 Yale. This marked the second win against a ranked team and first victory against a top 10 team.
They then finished the stretch and opened their next homestand with the season's first home loss to Georgetown. The next two home games were solid victories against rival Ohio State and Rutgers before falling to 11th-ranked Syracuse in New York. The Syracuse loss came despite a six-goal performance by Shearer.
The Irish beat two of the six nationally-ranked teams they faced compared to zero in all previous years. In the inaugural season for Big East women's lacrosse, the Irish finished third with a 4-2 record. The team spent most of the year atop the standings with a 3-0 record before losing to Georgetown and Syracuse, who both finished ahead of the Irish.
Most of this leadership came from O'Shaughnessy, who earned the team's MVP and was voted to the first team all-Big East as well as the all-regional first team. She led the team in assists with 52.
She was joined on the all-Big East team by two juniors — Tina Fedarcyk and Alissa Moser. Fedarcyk, who joined O'Shaughnessy on the first team, led the Irish with 42 ground balls and 30 caused turnovers.
Second team all-Big East honors went to Moser, who finished with record setting 40 draw controls. Junior captain Kathryn Lam joins O'Shaughnessy on the all-regional level, earning second team honors.
"The seniors set a very positive example for the team. They put us on the map. They have a lot to be proud of," Coyne said.
All Sports Stories for Friday, May 18, 2001
