MEET THE STAFF…
HEAD COACH WOMEN’S LACROSSE, CHRISTINE HALFPENNYChristine Halfpenny enters her seventh season as head coach of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program in 2018 after leading the Irish to their sixth straight NCAA tournament appearance in 2017. The postseason bid marked the third time in school history that Notre Dame’s graduating class has reached the postseason in each of their four seasons with the Irish, all coming under her watch.
Notre Dame made its sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA Championships in 2017. The Irish ultimately finished the season 11-8 with a 4-3 record in ACC play, matching the program’s best record since joining the conference in 2013-14. Notre Dame, which finished third overall in the ACC, led the conference in ground balls and caused turnovers per game. Notre Dame’s season was highlighted by a 16-7 victory over then-No. 4 Syracuse in which the Irish seniors tallied 13 points. The Irish landed three All-ACC selections.
ASSISTANT COACH, KATIE POWELL
Katie Powell enters her fifth year on the Irish coaching staff after reaching the NCAA Championship in each of those seasons. Powell and the Irish finished the 2017 season with an 11-8 overall record and a 4-3 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
During her time at Notre Dame, the Irish have led their conference in caused turnovers each season. The 2017 squad featured two IWLCA All-Americans: Casey Pearsall (first team) and Cortney Fortunato (second team). In 2015, Sullivan became Notre Dame’s first-ever defensive finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy, and Sullivan repeated as a Tewaaraton Trophy finalist in 2016. Among other accolades awarded to Irish players, Margaret Smith was named a Tewaaraton Trophy nominee and the co-Defensive Player of the Year nationally following Powell’s first season.
ASSISTANT COACH, MAGGIE SMITH
A Notre Dame alumna, Maggie Smith joined the Irish coaching staff in the summer of 2016 after spending two years as an assistant coach at Stetson University. Smith and the Irish are coming off of a 2017 season that included the program’s sixth straight trip to the NCAA Championship. Notre Dame finished the season with an 11-8 mark and a 4-3 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Smith assisted an Irish team that closed the season ranked first in the ACC in ground balls and caused turnovers. Notre Dame’s 2017 roster included two IWLCA All-Americans, Casey Pearsall (first team) and Cortney Fortunato (second team). Fortunato also was named a Tewaaraton Award Nominee, while Pearsall was selected to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List.
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS, NOAH WILSON
A familiar face to those around the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse program, Noah Wilson joined the team in a full-time capacity in the summer of 2017 as the director of operations.
In his new role, Wilson is responsible for most of the team’s daily activities, particularly off of the field. He serves as the team’s day-to-day operations director and coordinates activities relative to team travel, practice and game tape management, equipment and apparel, camps, clinics and also management of the team’s national recruiting databases.