GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team survived a late push by the sixth-seeded Gators of Florida Sunday afternoon, 16-15, to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals next week.
Kasey Choma scored the game-winning goal with 10.1 seconds left on the clock to keep Notre Dame’s season alive. As time wound down and overtime loomed, Jane McAvoy made the head’s up play from left of the cage, getting the pass over to Choma out front who buried as she was taken down by multiple Gators defenders.
With the win, the Irish improve to 15-5 on the season and have earned a berth in the quarterfinals for the second time in three years.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish won the opening draw and capitalized on their first possession to take the 1-0 lead. Jackie Wolak found Madison Ahern’s stick high in front of the cage who settled the ball before firing a shot into the back of the net.
Florida evened the tally shortly after, as the Gators attacker put a shot over the shoulder of Callahan in net to make it 1-1.
The Gators claimed their first lead of the day 16 seconds later as they beat the Irish defenders for the 2-1 score.
After the Gators made it 3-1 and regained possession, Grace Weigand intercepted a pass in front of the Irish cage to set up the Irish offense again. Wolak took advantage on the other end of the field, finding the open lane to cut the Gators’ lead in half.
The Irish held possession at the end of the first quarter as Keelin Schlageter rang a last second shot off the crossbar as the horn sounded. Through 15 minutes of play the Irish trailed, 3-2.
The two teams traded goals back-and-forth, eventually evening the tally at 5-5 before the Irish scored three unanswered to hold an 8-5 lead and force Florida to burn a timeout.
Notre Dame and Florida remained scoreless in the final 3:57 of the second quarter thanks to a big save in the Irish zone by Callahan to keep it a three-goal lead heading into the halftime break.
Florida opened the second half scoring off a free position shot with the Irish down two defenders but Kasey Choma scored her first of the afternoon to put the Irish back up by three with just under 12 minutes to go in the third quarter.
Shanahan and Ahern each added tallies to keep the Irish out in front but the Gators held tight to keep it a three-goal game halfway through the third stanza.
The Gators scored again with 5:31 left in the quarter to cut the Irish lead to two, 11-9, but the Irish won the ensuing draw and Wolak beat the goalkeeper out front to make it 12-9.
Florida scored once more before the end of the third to make it 12-10 heading into the final quarter of regulation.
With the Gators down a defender due to a double foul off the draw, Wolak scored her fifth of the day to make it 13-10 early in the fourth quarter.
The Gators once again cut the lead to two but a pair of Irish goals put the visitors up 15-11 with 6:55 to play.
The two teams continued to battle but the Gators chipped away at the Irish lead, eventually making it 15-14 with 2:12 to play in the fourth quarter after a controversial timeout was called by the home team.
Florida eventually found the equalizer with under 90 seconds to play Sunday. The Gators then won possession once more and fought hard in the Irish zone but Ahern forced a turnover with 54 ticks left on the clock to give Notre Dame one last shot at the opposite end of the field.
STAT OF THE GAME
Jackie Wolak scored her 100th point of the season in the second quarter Sunday afternoon on her fourth point of the day. The Ridgewood, New Jersey, native went on to score seven points in the contest, including five goals and two assists.
She now boasts 103 points on the season off 56 goals and 47 assists.
ND NOTES
- The team’s leading scorer surpassed 100 points this season in the opening half against the Gators and went on to lead the team with seven on the day. She now owns 103 points in 2023, including 56 goals and 47 assists.
- The senior’s five goals was also a team best, followed closely behind by Choma who had four, including the game-winning tally with 10.1 seconds left in regulation.
- Posting a hat trick for the 15th time this season, Choma now boasts a team-best 68 goals this season.
- Kelly Denes led the team at the circle, recording half of the team’s 20 draws to move to second all-time in Irish history for draw control wins in a single season.
- The Irish started the game 5-0 at the circle, ultimately winning the battle at the circle 20-15 Sunday afternoon.
- A team known for their defensive strength, the Irish caused 10 turnovers in the contest and picked up 16 ground balls en route to the victory. Grace Weigand and Aine Maseker each forced three turnovers a piece, a team-high.
- Lily Callahan made four saves in goal for the Irish in the win and now ranks second in single-season wins in program history with 15. Owning every decision for the Irish this season, Callahan’s 20 games played ranks third in Irish records for a single season as she boasts a 15-5 record in the crease.
UP NEXT
The Irish will head to the NCAA Quarterfinals for the second time in the past three seasons as they face three-seed Boston College on Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. The teams will meet for the third time this season with first draw set for 2:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPNU.