LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Irish closed out the regular season with their ninth consecutive victory and an unblemished road record following a convincing 23-10 victory at Louisville Thursday afternoon.
The Irish got the opening draw, courtesy of Kelly Denes and the visitors went on the attack. Despite opportunity, the Irish were unable to convert on their opening possession and Louisville had a chance. Lilly Callahan came up with a save from point-blank range to keep it scoreless early in the opening quarter.
After successfully carrying the ball through the neutral zone, the Irish attack got set with Wolak capitalizing on a pass from behind the net for the 1-0 tally.
Madison Ahern extended the Irish lead to 2-0 with a bouncing shot from deep that beat the goalkeeper at 3:06 of the first frame.
The Cardinals cut the Irish lead in half with a shot that just beat Callahan before winning the ensuing draw and knotting it up 2-2 with 8:08 to play in the first.
With 3:55 to play in the opening quarter, the Cardinals took the lead as the shot beat Callahan in the top corner for the 3-2 tally.
The Irish tied it up with 1:58 to play in the first quarter off a shot from Abby Maichin before Kasey Choma’s first goal of the day put Notre Dame up by one just 13 seconds later. The Irish would hold the 4-3 lead through the first 15 minutes of play against the Cardinals.
Louisville tied it up just 39 seconds into the second quarter after Callahan came up with the save on the free position attempt but could not control the ball in her stick and a Cardinals’ attacker snatched the loose ball out of the air and quickly shot it into the back of the net.
Choma gave the Irish the lead back after a pass from Ahern through traffic to make it a 5-4 game.
The Irish reclaimed the two-goal lead with just under 10 to play in the half as MK Doherty found Meghan O’Hare out front who buried her shot to give Notre Dame the 6-4 lead.
Ahern found the back of the net for the second time Thursday afternoon with 7:54 to play in the second. The goal marked her third point of the day and 300th career with the Irish.
Louisville got one back with just over seven minutes to play in the half, cutting the Irish lead back to two as the visitors held onto the 7-5 score halfway through the second quarter.
Kathryn Morrissey set up at the free position after drawing a foul, capitalizing on the opportunity to give Notre Dame the 8-5 lead.
The Cardinals capitalized on a free position shot of their own shortly after the Morrissey tally to make it 8-6 with 5:01 to play in the first half.
Choma registered her third of the day with a free position shot late in the half to make it a 9-6 contest. The score would hold through the horn as the Irish took the three-goal lead into the second half.
Louisville got the first goal of the half to cut the Irish lead to 9-7 with 13:21 to play in the third quarter. The Irish broke up a breakaway from the Cardinals but were flagged on the play and were sent to the box for two minutes. A free position attempt by the Cardinals beat Callahan in the crease to make it a 9-8 game and bring the Irish back to even strength.
Ahern got the Irish in the second half scoring column with a shot off the free position. The Irish won the ensuing draw and MK Doherty found herself on the fast break, burying a shot just 10 seconds after Ahern’s to make it 11-8. The senior midfielder then won the next draw and raced in for her second consecutive tally. The second goal from Doherty was the team’s third tally in just 21 seconds and gave the visitors a 12-8 lead with 12:23 to play in the third quarter.
Arden Tierney extended the scoring streak to four with a goal off the free position to give the Irish their largest lead of the day, up 13-8.
Ahern kept her storybook outing rolling with a highlight reel behind-the-back goal with 3:58 to play in the third, her fourth goal of the afternoon. Her classmate Choma then scored her fourth tally of the day less than a minute later to give Notre Dame the 15-8 lead with just over three minutes to play in the frame.
Choma and Maichin added to the Irish tally before the end of the quarter as Notre Dame leapt out to a 17-8 lead behind an eight goal frame.
The Irish returned from the quarter break with Choma scoring her first sock trick of the season to make it an 18-8 game and extend the Notre Dame scoring streak to nine goals.
The Cardinals snapped the streak with 11:25 to play in the fourth, cutting the Irish lead to nine, 18-9.
The Irish answered with five consecutive goals to take the 23-9 lead before Louisville scored its 10th of the game with three seconds left to force the 23-10 final.
After just nine goals forced in the first half, the Irish offense exploded to record 14 goals in the final 30 minutes of play while holding the Cardinals’ attack to just four goals in the final two quarters.
With the win, the Irish closed out the regular season on a nine-game winning streak and were undefeated on the road, boasting an unblemished 8-0 record away from home in 2024.
KEY STATS
- For the first time in program history, the Irish have two individuals with 300+ career points on the roster at once time. Madison Ahern’s third point of the day, and second goal, marked her 300th career point at Notre Dame. She joins fellow attacker Jackie Wolak on the exclusive list and the duo marks the only set of teammates to own 300 points a piece.
- The Irish recorded eight goals in the third quarter to jump out to the 17-8 lead after holding the three-goal lead, 9-6, through the first 30 minutes of play.
- With 10 saves on the day, Lilly Callahan recorded her fourth double-digit save count of the season.
- A seven-goal performance and two additional assists for Kasey Choma led the team on the afternoon while both were season highs for the graduate.
- Kelly Denes’ nine draw controls on the day led the team in the category and now boasts 357 career controls and is within 10 of tying the program record (367).
UP NEXT
With the win, the Irish have secured the second-seed in the ACC tournament and await their opponent, to be determined Sunday following first round games at campus sites. The quarterfinals are set for Wednesday, April 24 in Charlotte, North Carolina.