NOTRE DAME, Ind. — For the second straight year, No. 7 Notre Dame will open its season against Marquette. Opening draw is set for noon ET inside Loftus Sports Center in Notre Dame, Indiana. The contest will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
NOTRE DAME vs. MARQUETTE
Date/Time: Sunday, February 9 — Noon ET
Location: Loftus Sports Center — Notre Dame, Ind.
Live Stream: ACC Network Extra
Live Stats: Click Here
Twitter Updates: @NDWomensLax
Game Notes (PDF)
OPENING DAY
- Notre Dame owns a 6-2 mark in season openers under head coach Christine Halfpenny and is 19-4 all-time in its first game of the season.
- In season openers at home, the Irish hold a 4-2 record.
HISTORY AGAINST MARQUETTE
- The Irish and Golden Eagles will be meeting for the eighth time on Sunday.
- Notre Dame holds a perfect 7-0 mark against Marquette.
- The last meeting between the two schools came on February 8, 2019 when the Irish opened the 2019 season with a 19-4 victory over the Golden Eagles in Milwaukee.
- In that victory, Samantha Lynch recorded career-highs with six goals, seven points and five ground balls.
- Jessi Masinko also collected a career-high six points (4G, 2A) while Andie Aldave added three goals and two assists.
IN THE POLLS
- Notre Dame opens the season ranked #7 in both the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) and the Inside Lacrosse Media poll.
- The ACC leads all conferences with seven programs ranked in the IWLCA Preseason Top 25.
- Five of the seven ACC programs are currently ranked in the top 10 of the IWLCA poll, including North Carolina (#2), Syracuse (#4), Boston College (#5), Notre Dame (#7) and Virginia (#8).
- Including third-ranked Northwestern, Notre Dame’s 2020 schedule includes contests against five teams currently ranked in the top 10 of the IWLCA poll.
IRISH TRIO COLLECT PRESEASON HONORS
- Junior midfielder Andie Aldave, senior midfielder Savannah Buchanan and junior attacker Maddie Howe were all heavily recognized before the 2020 season.
- All three players were named Inside Lacrosse Preseason All-Americans on January 22. Aldave was named to the First Team while Howe was a Third Team selection and Buchanan received Honorable Mention recognition.
- Aldave, Buchanan and Howe were all also named to the Preseason All-ACC Team on February 4.
POWER IN NUMBERS
- Notre Dame is returning 25 monogram winners this season, including a large percentage of offensive and defensive production from 2019.
- The Irish return 90.8% of their total points from a season ago, including 267-of-285 goals (93.6%) and 111-of-131 assists (84.7%).
- Five of Notre Dame’s top six point getters from 2019 return in 2020, including it’s top three scorers in Maddie Howe (59G, 19A), Andie Aldave (47G, 20A) and Samantha Lynch (53G, 9A).
- The Irish also return 99.3% of draw controls from 2019, including Andie Aldave’s program-record 152 from last season. • Notre Dame brings back 85% of its caused turnovers from 2019, including Makenna Pearsall’s team-high 25.
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