April 12, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team will look to bounce back from a heartbreaking 12-11 to Ohio State last Tuesday with home games today (April 12) and Saturday, April 14. To get back on the winning track, the Irish will have to do it versus two nationally ranked programs.
On Friday afternoon, the Irish play host to seventh-ranked Duke in a 4:00 p.m. game at Moose Krause Stadium. Sunday, April 14th, the 12th-ranked Yale Bulldogs will face the Irish in a 2:00 p.m. game at Moose Krause Stadium. Yale and Duke will play on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.
The Irish come into the weekend, with an 8-2 overall record and are in first-place in the BIG EAST with a 4-0 record. The Blue Devils are 6-4 overall and 1-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Yale owns an 8-2 record and is 4-1 in the Ivy League.
Duke is led offensively by Kelly Dirks with 20 goals and six assists for 26 points. Lauren Gallagher (18g, 6a) and Katie Laschinger (8g, 6a) follow Dirks on the offensive charts. The Blue Devils top goalkeeper is Kristen Foster who owns an 8.30 goals against average and a .519 save percentage.
Yale features a balanced attack and the Bulldogs are led by Clarissa Clarke, Sarah Queener and Miles Whitman.
The Irish have lost twice this season, with both losses being one-goal losses, to ranked teams. Versus Ohio State, the Irish fell behind 7-2 in the first half, but cut the lead to 7-6 at the intermission. Notre Dame went ahead 8-7 early in the second half, but couldn’t hold the lead. With the score tied 10-10, Ohio State’s Shannon Wilson scored twice in the final five minutes, getting the what would be the winning goal with 56 seconds left. Lauren Fischer (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) scored her third goal of the game with 34 seconds left for the 12-11 final.
Danielle Shearer (Jr., Hampstead, Md.) led the Irish with four goals versus the Buckeyes. Shearer is Notre Dame’s top scorer with 25 goals and 11 assists for 36 points on the year. Junior Anne Riley (Marblehead, Mass.), along with Fischer, each scored three goals versus Ohio State.
Following Shearer on the Notre Dame scoring list are midfielder Natalie Loftus (Sr., Baltimore, Md.) with 15 goals and seven assists for 22 points. Senior Alissa Moser (North Wales, Pa.) is third with 15 goals and four assists for 19 points.
The Irish started the week with the top-ranked defense in the country giving up just 6.44 goals per game. Goalkeeper Jen White (Jr., Annapolis, Md.) has a 7.00 goals against average and a .560 save percentage.
Following this weekend’s action, the Irish take to the road for three consecutive road games. They return to play on Saturday, April 20th with a BIG EAST showdown at Georgetown.