EVANSTON, Ill. – The No.14 Notre Dame Fighting Irish took on the No.5 Northwestern Wildcats in a midweek matchup but ultimately fell 18-14 in the matchup.
The Irish had impressive performances from Kasey Choma who tallied herself a hat trick in the first half of the game. Lilly Callahan also recorded a new career high of 15 saves.
The attacking end of Choma, Jackie Wolak and Madison Ahern combined for 15 points on the night.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish put themselves on top with a 1-0 lead after Jackie Wolak found Kasey Choma to put it in the back of the net. Northwestern immediately responded with two goals of their own from free position shots. The Irish couldn’t find their way back on top despite pulling off eleven shots in the quarter. The quarter ended with the Irish down 3-1.
Notre Dame once again struck first in the quarter thanks to Hannah Dorney quickly hitting the back of the net to cut the deficit 3-2. The Irish evened the score at 3-3 when Choma quickly fired on a shot again off a pass from Wolak. Northwestern scored three of their own but the Irish couldn’t end the quarter as Choma scored off an assist from Madison Ahern to cut the score to 6-4 at the half.
Choma came out of the half firing and continued to cut the Irish deficit when she scored on a free position shot making it 6-5. She continued to do her thing and fired past the Northwestern goalkeeper to cut the score to 8-6. Northwestern extended their lead with two goals making it 10-6. Wolak took it herself and scored for her fourth point of the night, to cut the score 12-7.
Wolak continued firing on all cylinders when she dodged a defender at the top of the eight and fired past the goalie for a 12-8 tally. Ahern added to the Notre Dame tally on a free-position shot, and shortly after Kristen Shanahan hit a dodge perfectly to give the Irish their tenth goal. Wolak continued to close the scoring gap when she tallied her third goal of the game. Choma, Mary Kelly Doherty, and Keelin Schlageter added to the Irish tally in the final minutes of the game but the Irish ultimately fell to the Wildcats 18-14.
NOTRE DAME NOTES
- Choma scored her 25th hat trick of her career with her three goals coming in the first half of the contest. It is also the first time in her career that she has started the season with two hat tricks.
- Callahan made her first double-digit save performance of her career, finishing with 15 saves.
- Wolak’s three assist performance gives her seven in her career with three or more assists.
- Choma matched her career high for goals with six on the night.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame doesn’t have much time to rest as they return home to host the Central Michigan Chippewas on Sunday, February 19 at 3:00 pm. The game will have live stats available and the contest will be streamed on ACCNX.