March 17, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team got three goals and an assist from top scorer Danielle Shearer (Sr., Hampstead, Md.) and two-goal performances from Natalie Loftus (Sr., Baltimore, Md.), Lauren Fischer (So., Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Kassen Delano (So., Alexandria, Va.) on the way to a 14-5 win over the Boston College Eagles in the BIG EAST opener for both teams on Sunday afternoon at Meyo Field in the Loftus Sports Center.
The win improves the 15th-ranked Irish to 4-0 on the year and 1-0 in the BIG EAST while Boston College falls to 2-2 overall and 0-1 in league play. The victory also marks the first time in the program’s six-year history that Notre Dame has started the season with a 4-0 record.
The Irish jumped out to a 4-0 first half lead on goals by Loftus, Shearer, Maureen Henwood (Sr., Marlton, N.J.) and Fischer by the 17:46 mark. Loftus and Fischer’s scores came on free position goals.
The Eagles broke through on the Irish defense to cut the lead to 4-2 on goals by Susan Breaznell (14:58) and Carly St. Lucia (12:23, free position goal). Shearer, who had three goals and four assists earlier in the week versus George Mason, traded goals with BC’s Margaret O’Neill to make it 5-3 with 8:27 left in the half before the Irish broke the game open.
Kate Scarola (Sr., Windsor, Conn.) opened a four-goal run by the Irish with 6:26 left in the half to make it 6-3. Loftus scored a free position goal 44 seconds later and Shearer closed out her three-goal game with 5:25 left to give Notre Dame an 8-3 edge. Meredith Simon (So., Flemington, N.J.) closed out Notre Dame’s scoring for the half with 3:00 minutes left in the half. St. Lucia got her second goal of the game for Boston College on a free position goal (1:37) to close out the half with the Irish on top 9-4.
Notre Dame’s defense put the clamps on Boston College in the second half allowing just one goal. The Irish ran the score to 13-4 by scoring the first four goals of the second stanza. Delano scored at 29:05 and 22:54, Maureen Whitaker (Sr., Doylestown, Pa.) made it 12-4 on a free position goal at 6:35 and Jess Mikula (Fr., Chester, Md.) got her first collegiate goal at 5:02.
Breaznell got the Eagles’ lone goal of the half at 4:18, her second of the game and Fischer closed out the scoring for Notre Dame with her second of the game at 1:01 for the 14-5 final.
The Irish outshot the Eagles in the game 31-13 in the game. Notre Dame goalkeeper Jen White (Jr., Annapolis, Md.) made five saves in the game for the Irish. Rachel Zeller played the first 45 minutes for the Eagles, giving up 11 goals while making eight saves. Michelle Lawson played the final 15 minutes giving up three goals and made five saves.
Notre Dame returns to action on Tuesday, March 19 when the Irish play host to the 10th-ranked Cornell Big Red. Game time is 4:00 p.m. at Moose Krause Stadium weather permitting. In case of inclement weather, the game will be played at the Loftus Center.
Game Summary
First-Half Scoring Team Time Score Goal Assist
ND 28:11 * 1-0 Natalie Loftus
ND 26:20 2-0 Danielle Shearer
ND 22:03 3-0 Maureen Henwood Kassen Delano
ND 17:46 * 4-0 Lauren Fischer
BC 14:58 4-1 Susan Breaznell
BC 12:23 * 4-2 Carly St. Lucia
ND 11:11 5-2 Danielle Shearer
BC 8:27 5-3 Margaret O’Neill
ND 6:26 6-3 Kate Scarola
ND 5:42 * 7-3 Natalie Loftus
ND 5:25 8-3 Danielle Shearer
ND 3:00 9-3 Meredith Simon
BC 1:37 * 9-4 Carly St. Lucia
Second-Half Scoring
Team Time Score Goal Assist
ND 29:05 10-4 Kassen Delano Danielle Shearer
ND 22:54 11-4 Kassen Delano
ND 6:35 * 12-4 Maureen Whitaker
ND 5:02 13-4 Jess Mikula Eleanor Weille
BC 4:18 13-5 Susan Breaznell
ND 1:01 14-5 Lauren Fischer Maureen Whitaker
* indicates free position goal
Scoring: 1st 2nd Final
Boston College (2-2, 0-1) 4 1 5
Notre Dame (4-0, 1-0) 9 5 14
Shots on Goal
BC 6 – 7 -13
ND 18 – 13 -31
Goalkeepers
BC: Rachel Zeller, 45:00 min., 11 goals, 8 saves
Michelle Lawson, 15:00 min., 3 goals, 5 saves
ND: Jen White, 60:00 min., 5 goals, 5 saves