Feb. 26, 2013
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – The No. 7/9 University of Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team returns home for the first time in 2013 as the Irish welcome in the No. 13/18 Ohio State Buckeyes for a 6 p.m. game Wednesday inside Loftus Sports Center.
The Irish (1-0) have had a week and a half off since their comeback win at Stanford. In that game Notre Dame trailed 7-2 at the half before exploding for 10 goals in the second period to claim the 12-10 win.
For her efforts in helping the Irish defense limit the Cardinal to just three goals in the second half, freshman defender Stephanie Peragallo earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors.
On the offensive end the Irish displayed impressive balance, as nine players scored goals, including two each from Grace Dooley, Lindsay Powell and Lauren Sullivan. Six dished out assists led by two each from Kaitlyn Brosco and Powell.
In goal senior Ellie Hilling had five big saves as she played all 60 minutes against the Cardinal.
Ohio State (2-1) earned a pair of wins over William and Mary (21-8) and #20 Boston College (15-8) after losing to Louisville (12-11) to open the season.
Sophomore Jackie Cifarelli begins the offensive attack as she has four goals and 11 assists for a team-high 15 points. Junior Katie Chase paces the Buckeyes in both goals (10) and draw controls (17).
On defense junior Tayler Kuzma has six ground balls, six draw controls and five caused turnovers, while sophomore midfielder Taylor Donague has nine ground balls, three draw controls and eight caused turnovers.
In goal sophomore Torii DeScenza has 11 saves, a .314 save percentage and a 9.19 goals against average in 156:42 minutes of action to start the season. She has played all but 22:28 of the team’s total minutes.
Notre Dame moved up to No. 7 in the deBeer Media Poll after not playing this past weekend. Ohio State sits 18th in the same poll. In the IWLCA Coaches Poll, both the Irish and Buckeyes held steady at ninth and 13th, respectively.
THE OPENING DRAW
Another Season-Opening Win
Notre Dame improved to 15-2 all-time in season openers with its 12-10 win over Stanford Feb. 16.
Peragallo Honored
For her efforts on the defensive end in Notre Dame’s win over Stanford, freshman Stephanie Peragallo earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week honors … she is the first Irish player to earn defensive player of the week accolades since goalie Ellie Hilling in 2012 after a monster 13-save, six-ground ball and two-caused turnover performance at Ohio State.
Senior Leader In The Cage
Senior goalie Ellie Hilling brings a wealth of experience to the Notre Dame defense as she begins her fourth year as starter … heading into the 2013 season, Hilling is second in school history in wins (34) and minutes played (3,265:23), third in games played (55) and fourth in saves (412) … Hilling in on pace to break all four of those records by midseason … last year the Rochester, N.Y., native had seven games with 10-plus saves, including a career-high 16 in wins over Ohio State and Georgetown.
Records Watch
Senior Jenny Granger has 58 career goals … to break into the top 10 she needs 25 … junior Kaitlyn Brosco has 55 career goals … to break into the top 10 she needs 28 … senior Jaimie Morrison (47 career goals) and junior Lindsay Powell (46 career goals) aren’t far behind … Granger is also knocking on the door for career assists … she currently has 28, just 15 behind 10th place … senior Ellie Hilling (118) is just two ground balls behind 10th place … if she reaches her career single-season average, she would move into the top four … Margaret Smith has 70 draw controls through two years and would break into the top 10 with 21 more this season … Smith is also on pace to break into the top 10 in caused turnovers … she has 47 through two years and needs just 14 to tie assistant coach Jill Byers for 10th all-time … sophomore Barbara Sullivan (34) would also move into the top 10 in caused turnovers if she has 27 or more this season after causing 32 as a freshman and two so far this season.
Captains Named
Head coach Christine Halfpenny named senior Jenny Granger and junior Margaret Smith as co-captains of this year’s squad … Granger, a three-time monogram winner, scored 20 goals, dished out 12 assists, scooped up 14 ground balls and 10 draw controls and caused eight turnovers last season … Smith, a preseason all-BIG EAST selection, is coming off a sophomore campaign where she was named third team IWLCA All-American and first team all-BIG EAST and IWLCA West/Midwest all-region after collecting 37 ground balls and 47 draw controls and causing 31 turnovers.
Trio Honored By BIG EAST
Juniors Lindsay Powell and Margaret Smith and sophomore Barbara Sullivan were named to the preseason all-BIG EAST team … Smith and Sullivan were unanimous selections … Powell was a second team all-BIG EAST and IWLCA West/Midwest all-region performer last year … Smith was an IWLCA third team All-American and a first team all-BIG EAST and IWLCA West/Midwest all-region honoree … Sullivan was a first team IWLCA West/Midwest all-region and second team all-BIG EAST performer.
Tough Schedule
The matchup at Stanford was just one of many tough challenges for ND during the regular season … the Irish are playing five teams that ended 2012 ranked (Ohio State, Loyola, Georgetown, Northwestern and Syracuse) and three NCAA Championship teams (Loyola, Syracuse, Northwestern) … Northwestern won the title, Syracuse was runner up and Loyola made the quarterfinals … fortunately all but the Syracuse game will be in the friendly confines of Arlotta Stadium.
Talented Freshmen
Among the 10 freshmen that will see their first action for Notre Dame in the spring, are a pair of standouts that were named to Lacrosse Magazine’s “Freshman 15” … the two Stephanies, Stephanie Toy and Stephanie Peragallo, were each honored by the magazine back in September.
Team USA
Junior Margaret Smith, sophomore Barbara Sullivan and assistant coach Jill Byers all reached the final round of qualifying for the US National Team this summer … Byers played for four years on Team USA, while Sullivan was on the 2011 U.S. women’s national under-19 team that won a gold medal at the U-19 Women’s Lacrosse World Championship in Hanover, Germany.
Second Year For Halfpenny
The transition year from William & Mary to Notre Dame is over for second-year head coach Christine Halfpenny … Halfpenny didn’t seem to have too much trouble transitioning in her first season, as the Irish jumped out to an 8-0 start on their way to a 13-5 season in which they qualified for the BIG EAST and NCAA Championships … the 13 regular-season wins tied for first in school history, while the 13 wins overall tied for third in school history.
Replacing An Impressive Senior Class
When eight student-athletes concluded their eligibility last season, the Irish lost some talented performers … among the most notable losses were IWLCA second team All-American Maggie Tamasitis and IWLCA second team West/Midwest all-region performer Megan Sullivan … Tamasitis ended her career as the school’s all-time leader in assists in a half, game, season and career and finished fourth in points … last year Tamasitis had 82 of Notre Dame’s 348 points or almost 24% … Sullivan had a breakout senior year by doing a little bit of everything in the middle of the field … she scored 24 goals, collected 23 ground balls and 27 draw controls and caused 15 turnovers … Sullivan earned second team all-BIG EAST in addition to all-region accolades, while Tamasitis was named first team in both categories.
Homecoming For A Pair Of ND Lacrosse Alums
With the addition of new assistants Jill Byers and Jake Marmul, head coach Christine
Halfpenny brought in two new coaches with deep Notre Dame roots. Byers, a four-time All-American, is a 2009 graduate that still holds a plethora of school records including goals and points in a career … Marmul, a 2011 graduate, played for the men’s team and specialized in the opening draw.
Follow The Irish
Fans can follow the Irish in a multitude of ways through social media … ND WLAX is on Facebook at facebook.com/NDWLAX … on Twitter (@NDWomensLax) … coach Halfpenny is also on Twitter (@NDcoachPenny) … on the web at UND.com/sports/w-lacros/nd-wlacros-body.html … on the blogs at ndlacrosse.wordpress.com … speaking of the blogs, senior Emily Conner will piggy back her summer series “Lax In The City” with a season-long blog entitled “No Time To ReLAX.”
–ND–