SOUTH BEND, Ind. – With the ACC women’s lacrosse tournament due to get underway Wednesday, the conference announced the 2023 All-ACC teams Tuesday, featuring seven individuals from the Notre Dame team. The leading offensive trio of Madison Ahern, Kasey Choma and Jackie Wolak all earned First Team nods while the defensive corp of Lilly Callahan, Kelly Denes and Hannah Dorney were named Second Team honorees. For her performance during her rookie campaign, Abigail Lyons was tabbed one of 12 first-year nominees to the All-Freshman team.
Helping to lead one of the top-scoring offenses in the country, Ahern, Choma and Wolak have combined for 216 of the team’s 351 points this season, or nearly 40 percent of the Irish points.
Wolak leads the team with 81 points this season behind 41 goals and 40 assists, ranking among the top-10 in both assists (40) and assists per game (2.50). The senior attacker also ranks fifth in the country with 81 points, and third among all ACC competitors. Averaging 5.06 points per game, Wolak ranks ninth in the country and top-three in the conference.
In 16 games played, Ahern is tied for most goals this season, tallying 52 over the regular season stretch while adding 19 assists for 71 total points. Her success all season at the eight-meter mark leads the ACC as she averages 1.06 free position goals per game while her conversion rate of 0.708 from the arc puts her ninth nationally. An ILWomen Midseason All-American honorable mention, Ahern was recently named a Tewaaraton nominee, along with teammate Choma. The senior was previously named to the All-ACC second team in 2022 and 2021.
Tied with her classmate for goals, Choma and Ahern each rank among the top-10 in goals (seventh; 52), and top-20 in goals per game (20th; 3.25). Choma’s 52 goals and 12 assists rank third on the team while her 64 points is eighth-best in the ACC. The Manorville, New York native has found success on nearly 80 percent of her shots on goal, firing 81 shots on net in 16 games started. The honor is Choma’s third consecutive All-ACC team recognition, and second First Team accolade.
Defensively, Callahan ranks among the top goalkeepers, owning the fifth-best goals against average (8.03) and is 15th nationally with a 0.492 save percentage, good for second in the ACC. Starting all games for the Irish in the regular season, Callahan owns a 12-4 record and made a career-best 117 saves, including a single-game mark of 15 against Northwestern earlier this year.
A specialist on the draw control, Kelly Denes earned second team honors following a career-best 103 draws through the regular season. The junior helps lead the second-best draw control unit in DI women’s lacrosse, leading the conference in both percentage (0.644) and draw controls per game (18.00). Most recently, Denes was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week following 10 draw controls in the team’s win over Louisville, leading the team to a 24-4 edge in the circle.
In her fifth season with the Irish, Dorney boasts 33 ground balls, 17 caused turnovers and nine goals to earn conference honors. Averaging 2.08 ground balls per game, Dorney ranks third in the conference. Her play on the defensive side of the ball has led the Irish to a nearly 90 percent successful clear rate and conference leading average of 16.25 ground balls per game.
Having joined the Irish at the start of the year, Lyons has appeared in 11 games for the Irish this season ahead of earning her first conference honors as part of the All-Freshman team. A native of Carle Place, New York, Lyons has six career ground balls and has caused two turnovers to help the Irish to a 12-4 overall record and top-10 scoring defense.
The seven All-ACC honorees is a program best for the Irish, topping the previous best of six set in 2021.