April 3, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – The 11th-ranked Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team got goals from nine different players and goalkeeper Jen White (Jr., Annapolis, Md.) made 12 saves to lead the Irish to a 12-7 win over the seventh-ranked Syracuse Orangewomen Wednesday afternoon at Meyo Field in the Loftus Sports Center.
The win was the first-ever for the Irish at home against a team ranked in the top 10 and their first in five tries against Syracuse. The Irish are now 7-1 on the year – their best start ever- and 3-0 in BIG EAST play. Syracuse is now 6-3 overall and 2-2 in league play.
Danielle Shearer (Jr., Hampstead, Md.) and Alissa Moser (Sr., North Wales, Pa.) paced the Irish attack with two goals and an assist, while Meredith Simon (So., Flemington, N.J.) had her second two-goal game in a row.
The Irish defense came into the game ranked first in the nation giving up just 6.00 goals per game. In the first half, they showed how they got there, slamming the door on Syracuse’s potent offense. With White making seven first-half saves, the Irish went into the first intermission with an 8-2 lead.
Notre Dame jumped out to a 3-0 lead with 19:03 left in the first half. Shearer got the Irish offense clicking when she scored a free-position goal just 47 seconds into the game. Simon got her first of the afternoon 2:23 later and Moser made it 3-0 at 19:03.
Syracuse broke the run with 17:52 left in the first half when top goal scorer Carrie Soults beat White to cut the lead to 3-1.
Shearer made it 4-1 with her team-high 18th goal of the season to start another three-goal Irish run. Lauren Fischer (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored a free-position goal at 12:24 and Kate Marotta (So., Columbus, Ohio) converted a feed from Anne Riley (Jr., Marblehead, Mass.) to give the Irish a 6-1 lead with 7:23 left in the half.
Monica Joines broke through for the Orangewomen at 5:02 to make it 6-2 before Riley (free-position goal) and Maureen Henwood (Sr., Marlton, N.J.) closed out the scoring.
Syracuse came out flying in the second half scoring just 11 seconds into the half as Karen Healy converted a feed from BIG EAST leading scorer Kim Wayne to cut the lead to 8-3.
Moser answered that goal four minutes later off a feed from Shearer to get the six-goal lead back with 24:49 left.
The Orange then made their only run to get back in the game scoring three games in a five-minute span. Leigh-Ann Zimmer got her first of two at 21:33. Danielle Lillis made it 9-5 at 20:02 and Zimmer cut the lead to 9-6 at the 16:27 mark.
The Irish defense tightened and the offense put the game away with three straight goals. Simon collected her second of the game at 11:43 and Natalie Loftus (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) scored just over a minute later to make it 11-5. Eleanor Weille (Jr., Garden City, N.Y.) closed the scoring when she beat Carla Gigon from in front with 9:55 left in the game to give Notre Dame the 12-6 edge.
Lillis closed out the scoring for Syracuse with 3:42 left for the final of 12-7. In the game, the Irish outshot Syracuse 23-20. Gigon made four saves for the Orange while White was making 12 stops in the game.
The Irish are now tied for first with Georgetown for first in the BIG EAST with a 3-0 record. They return to BIG EAST action on Saturday, April 6th at Connecticut for a 1:00 p.m. game.
Game Summary
First-Half Scoring
Team Time Score Goal Assist
ND 29:13 * 1-0 Danielle Shearer
ND 27:36 2-0 Meredith Simon
ND 19:03 3-0 Alissa Moser
SU 17:52 3-1 Carrie Soults
ND 14:47 4-1 Danielle Shearer
ND 12:24 * 5-1 Lauren Fischer
ND 7:23 6-1 Kate Marotta Anne Riley
SU 5:02 6-2 Monica Joines
ND 3:12 * 7-2 Anne Riley
ND 1:36 8-2 Maureen Henwood
Second-Half Scoring
Team Time Score Goal Assist
SU 29:49 8-3 Karen Healy Kim Wayne
ND 24:49 9-3 Alissa Moser Danielle Shearer
SU 21:33 9-4 Leigh-Ann Zimmer
SU 20:02 9-5 Danielle Lillis
SU 16:27 9-6 Leigh-Ann Zimmer
ND 11:43 10-6 Meredith Simon Alissa Moser
ND 10:38 11-6 Natalie Loftus
ND 9:55 12-6 Eleanor Weille
SU 3:42 12-7 Danielle Lillis
* indicates free position goal
Scoring: 1st 2nd Final
Syracuse (6-3, 2-2) 2 5 7
Notre Dame (7-1, 3-0) 8 4 12
Shots on Goal
SU 10 -10 – 20
ND 11 -12 – 23
Goalkeepers
SU: Carla Gigon, (60:00 min., 12 goals, 4 saves)
ND: Jen White, (60:00 min., 7 goals, 12 saves)