Vol. 7: Notre Dame Almost Does the Unthinkable, and the Big Ten Stays Weird
Notre Dame was a free-position shot away from a chance at overtime with the top-ranked Tar Heels. And, besides Northwestern, the Big Ten remains a mystery.
Notre Dame sophomore attacker Jackie Wolak attempts a shot on goal amid the Irish’s 11-10 loss to No. 1 UNC on April 10. Photo courtesy: Notre Dame Athletics.
NOTE: National stats included are correct through April 13.
Before last weekend, No. 1 North Carolina hadn’t trailed at halftime all season.
Before last weekend, the Tar Heels had yet to give up more than nine goals.
Then Notre Dame came along.
Head coach Christine Halfpenny’s team played UNC the same way it did when it beat the Tar Heels at Arlotta Stadium in 2019: with suffocating defense.
There might not be another way to knock off UNC, which leads the nation in scoring margin (10.8 goals per game). At first, however, Notre Dame looked like it could be the next victim of a Tar Heel blowout.
UNC sprinted out to a 5-1 lead.
The Tar Heels controlled the circle throughout the entire game but especially the first half when they won 10-of-13 bouts. The reason why Notre Dame hung around?
Bridget Deehan.
The senior goalie showed out, making 11 first-half saves. She created a brick wall that allowed Notre Dame the opportunity to score six of the half’s final seven goals and take a 7-6 lead into the break.
Deehan finished with 14 stops, the same number Samantha Giacolone registered when the Irish held off UNC in the teams’ 2019 meeting.
This time, though, it wasn’t enough. Jamie Ortega logged four goals in the second half, including what would be the game-winner on a free-position shot. Notre Dame didn’t get an attempt on net in the final seven-plus minutes of regulation, during which the Irish turned the ball over three times. UNC prevailed, 11-10. Still undefeated.
The Big Ten was almost just as crazy last weekend.
After about a month off, Johns Hopkins got back to work and recorded a pair of wins against No. 20 Penn State and Rutgers.
Senior Aurora Cordingley got things started with a career-high six-goal outburst against the Nittany Lions, en route to a 13-10 victory, which snapped a five-game losing streak to Penn State. Then the Blue Jays’ veterans powered the program to a 17-10 win over Rutgers. Johns Hopkins’ seniors and graduate students piled up 11 goals and 11 assists in the victory. Cordingley reached the 100-goal milestone, and the Blue Jays defense didn’t concede a Rutgers goal in the last eight minutes of play.
Senior attacker Aurora Cordingley cradles the ball against No. 20 Penn State on April 7. She scored six goals in the win. Photo courtesy: Johns Hopkins Athletics.
Penn State rebounded from its loss to Johns Hopkins with a resounding 16-9 win over then-No. 11 Maryland to move to 4-6 on the year. The Senior Day victory capped a season sweep of the Terrapins. Kristin O’Neill and Mary Muldoon led the way with five goals apiece, and Penn State never lost control of the game after staking itself to a 7-1 lead in the first half.
And then, Maryland, losers of three of its previous four, beat Johns Hopkins in a thriller Wednesday afternoon—the second 9-8 nail-biter between the teams this season. Grace Griffin iced the game with 39 seconds to go.
Before that, fellow senior (but no relation) Brindi Griffin knotted up the game at 8-8 with under three minutes to play. It was a much-needed win for Maryland (now 7-4).
After a roller coaster few months, here’s a look at the Big Ten standings:
Northwestern (10-0)
Maryland (7-4)
Johns Hopkins (4-5)
Michigan (3-4)
Penn State (4-6)
Rutgers (3-7)
Ohio State (3-8)
Other Notable Storylines:
1) No. 4 BC kept following the North Star. Charlotte North broke single-game program and ACC records with 10 goals in the Eagles’ 21-11 win over Virginia Tech on Saturday. BC assisted on 12 of its 21 scoring plays while outshooting the Hokies, 41-21. Head coach Acacia Walker-Weinstein’s team dominated the draw, 23-10. Belle Smith showcased her sharpshooting skills, netting a career-high five goals on just six shots. Smith currently clocks in at third in the country in shot percentage (69.4%). As a team, the Eagles also rank third nationally in scoring offense with 17.3 goals per game.
2) Back to second-half comebacks, Syracuse downed No. 6 Virginia. The Orange used scoring surges in the final period of play to beat Notre Dame on March 14 and then Virginia Tech on March 27. It pulled out another last weekend versus UVA. The Orange trailed the Cavaliers, 11-9, with under nine minutes left and then strung together a 6-0 run to take the lead, in large part thanks to Emma and Meaghan Tyrrell, who accounted for three goals in that span. Maggie Bostain got one back for UVA, but the damage had already been done, and Syracuse, which caused nine turnovers in the win, picked up another ACC victory. The Orange proceeded to secure its third straight win on Tuesday at Albany.
Syracuse attacker Megan Carney screams in jubilation during the Orange’s 15-12 come-from-behind victory against Virginia on April 10. Photo courtesy: Syracuse Athletics.
3) Lehigh ended its 10-year losing streak against Navy. The Midshipmen have hit a major speed bump. After exiting the Inside Lacrosse poll for the first time in six weeks, Navy lost its second and third games in a row, first falling to a high-powered Drexel team and then suffering a defeat to Lehigh on Saturday. The Mountain Hawks hadn’t beaten Navy since 2011, and it took a heroic finish for them to accomplish the feat. Once Nicole Victory lifted the Midshipmen to a 7-6 lead, the Mountain Hawks flipped a switch. Lehigh scored the game’s final six goals. Sondra Dickey was behind half of them. And Hannah Cermack made one of the best plays of the game on the defensive end of the field. Samantha Sagi finished with nine saves, and the Mountain Hawks rounded out a 12-7 win to lock up a spot in the Patriot League Tournament.
Numbers to Know:
65.2 - percentage of draw controls won by Stanford, the highest percentage in the country. The Cardinal has claimed 107 bouts in the circle this season.
39.6 - shots per game registered by Wagner, tops in Division I. That said, the Seahawks are fifth in shots on goal per game (27.1) and just 18th in scoring offense (14.62 goals per game). The shot volume is there, though.
2.80 - free-position goals per game scored by Siena Gore, the most in the nation. Half of her scoring output—28 of her 56 goals—has come from the eight-meter arc.
Kennesaw State senior midfielder Siena Gore drives toward net against Mercer on April 6. Gore ranks second nationally in goals. Photo courtesy: Kennesaw State Athletics.
Tewaaraton Watch:
NOTE: As the season progresses, I’ll also track draw control, ground ball, and caused turnover leaders. Because of COVID-19 and the various postponements (and game totals), I’ve also broken down scoring categories in game averages. Qualifying players for the tables below must have played at least three games this season. Stats are correct through April 13.
POINTS LEADERS
POINTS PER GAME LEADERS
GOALS LEADERS
GOALS PER GAME LEADERS
Latest Inside Lacrosse Poll
NOTE: screenshots pulled from insidelacrosse.com (not all records fully updated).
Notre Dame is back in the top four, despite having two more losses than UNC, Northwestern, and Syracuse combined. It’s not unwarranted. After all, the Irish’s performance against UNC on Saturday was herculean. Notre Dame’s promotion abruptly ended BC’s one-week stay at the No. 4 spot. Jacksonville dipped into the single digits, moving up to No. 9 even though it didn’t play last week. Drexel climbed two rungs to No. 12 following a 17-8 win at Navy. The Dragons continued their five-game win streak with a victory over now-No. 16 Towson on Tuesday. Maryland fell to No. 20 Penn State, 16-9, and dropped three spots to No. 14. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions rose to No. 17 in the wake of the upset. Michigan still hasn’t played a game since March 21 because of COVID-19 complications, and the time off has pushed the Wolverines back to No. 18. Vanderbilt sat pretty at 11-2 last week without a game but made its way into the poll on Monday, while Richmond, previously No. 19, bowed out.
What’s Ahead?
NOTE: all times listed in EST.
No. 4 Notre Dame @ No. 5 BC, April 15, 5 p.m., and April 17, 11 a.m.
Michigan @ No. 2 Northwestern, April 18, 11:30 a.m.
No. 6 UVA @ No. 1 UNC, April 16, 5 p.m., and April 18, 1 p.m.
No. 20 Vanderbilt @ No. 10 Florida, April 16, 3 p.m.
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