June 26, 2018
By Matt Paras
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — The Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Tuesday that five Irish women’s lacrosse student-athletes have been named to the 2018 All-ACC Academic Team.
Juniors Samantha Giacolone (Psychology) and Hannah Proctor (Accounting) are joined by sophomore Savannah Buchanan (Neuroscience & Behavior) and freshmen Andie Aldave (Undeclared) and Maddie Howe (Undeclared). Giacolone receives the honor for the second straight season while the other four are first-time recipients. Aldave and Howe are the first freshmen to be named to the All-Academic team since Alex Dalton and Cortney Fortunato in 2014.
Giacolone received preseason All-America Honorable Mention accolades from Inside Lacrosse and was selected to the preseason All-ACC team. The junior goalkeeper recorded 146 saves and led the team with 43 ground balls. She moved into fourth all-time in school history with 467 saves for her career. At the conclusion of the season, Giacolone was named first team All-ACC and IWLCA second team All-Region.
Proctor joined Giacolone on the preseason All-ACC team and started all 19 games this season for the Irish. She tied a career high with five ground balls and three caused turnovers against No. 7 Northwestern. Proctor helped limit opponents to under 10 goals eight times this past season and the Irish were 7-1 in those games. Following the season, Proctor was named to the second team All-ACC and second team IWLCA All-Region.
Buchanan started every game for the Irish for the second consecutive season. She finished the year tied for third all-time in school history for most draw controls in a single season. She scored the game-winning goal with 31.4 seconds left against No. 18 Duke and assisted on the overtime game-winning goal against No. 7 Syracuse. Buchanan earned a midseason honorable mention All-American honor from Inside Lacrosse along with second team All-ACC honors. She was also named to the ACC All-Tournament team and first team IWLCA All-Region.
Aldave also started all 19 games for the Irish at midfield and broke three school records over the course of the season. She tallied 11 draw controls against Stetson to break the single-game record, which was set by Casey Pearsall the season prior. In the final week of the regular season, Aldave recorded her 86th draw control to break Barbara Sullivan’s record for most draws in a single season. Then in the ACC Semifinals, Aldave scored her 30th goal of the season. Combined with Howe, it marked the first time in school history two freshman have scored 30+ goals in a season.
Aldave also had the flair for the dramatic for the Irish this season, contributing on two game-winning goals. The first came in the 11-10 upset win of No. 7 Syracuse when she scored the game-winner two minutes into the first overtime period. Then in the ACC Quarterfinals, Aldave scored the game-tying and game-winning goal to help the Irish overcome a five-goal deficit to beat No. 4 seed Virginia 11-10. Aldave was named to the ACC All-Tournament team after her performance against Virginia and Boston College.
Howe was an instant impact in her first season with the Irish. She started all 19 games and shifted from midfield to attack in the latter half of the season. She led the team in goals with 40 and was the first freshman to score 40+ since 2014. She scored a career high four goals five times this season with three games coming against ranked opponents.
To be eligible for consideration for the All-ACC Academic team, a student-athlete, regardless of classification, must have earned a 3.00 grade point average for the previous semester and maintained a 3.00 cumulative average during her academic career.
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Matt Paras, athletics communications assistant director at the University of Notre Dame, has been part of the Fighting Irish athletics communications team since January 2018. In his role, he coordinates all media efforts for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse and cross country/track & field programs. A native of Warwick, Rhode Island, Paras is a graduate of the University of Louisville where he completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Sport Administration. Prior to arriving at Notre Dame, he worked at Vanderbilt University as the sports information contact for the women’s soccer and lacrosse programs.