NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Maddie Howe and Samantha Lynch each netted four goals as the fourth-ranked Irish moved to 2-0 with a 16-2 victory over Robert Morris on Saturday afternoon at Arlotta Stadium.
Howe netted a hat trick in the first half alone, finishing the day with four goals, two assists and a game-high six points. Lynch matched Howe with four goals while Jessi Masinko also collected four points on a goal and three assists.
Savannah Buchanan (2), Keelin Schlageter (2), Kasey Choma, Jackie Wolak and Ali McHugh rounded out the scoring for Notre Dame.
Buchanan led all players with four caused turnovers and added four ground balls and a pair of draw controls. Kelly Donnelly, Kathleen Roe and Schlageter each caused two turnovers and as a team the Irish caused 14 Robert Morris turnovers over the 60 minutes.
Bridget Deehan made eight saves to earn the victory in goal for Notre Dame before Lilly Callahan made her Irish debut in relief of Deehan and stopped a shot.
Andie Aldave earned a game-high seven draw controls to help the Irish earn a 14-5 advantage in the draw.
Notre Dame also finished 16-16 on clears and outshot Robert Morris, 38-17.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish and Colonials went back and forth for the first 10 minutes of play, with the Irish drawing five RMU fouls in that time. Schlageter opened up the scoring for both teams with a free position goal at the 18:50 mark.
From there, Notre Dame took control, as Howe, Buchanan and Choma notched goals, with Howe scoring twice, before Robert Morris scored its first goal of the afternoon with 6:45 left in the stanza.
Notre Dame responded with five additional goals, with Lynch, Buchanan, Howe, Masinko and Schlageter each scoring to give Notre Dame a 10-1 advantage at the break.
Deehan made four saves in the opening 30 minutes the Irish caused seven Robert Morris turnovers in the half to limit the visitors to just one goal.
In the second half, the Irish came back out strong, with Lynch and Howe scoring goals in the first five minutes. Lynch noted two more scores before Wolak added her goal to make the score 15-1.
After Robert Morris added a second marker, McHugh netted her first goal in an Irish uniform to account for the 16-2 final.
NOTABLE NUMBERS
- Freshman Ali McHugh scored her first career goal in an Irish uniform.
- Bridget Deehan has now stopped 18 of 24 shots on goal in her first two games of the season for a .750%.
- Freshman Lilly Callahan made her Irish debut in relief of Bridget Deehan and recorded her first collegiate save.
- Samantha Lynch has netted nine goals in the first two games of the 2021 season.
- Notre Dame kept Robert Morris off the board over the first 23:15 of play.
UP NEXT
- #4 Notre Dame hits the road for the first time and opens ACC play with a pair of contests at Syracuse this Thursday (March 11) and Sunday (March 14)
- Thursday’s contest is set for 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra while Sunday’s matchup is slated for noon ET and will be televised on the ACC Network.
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