Break out the biscuits and lemons, Notre Dame has arrived on the scene.

In the midst of its toughest stretch of the season, the No. 4 Irish are feeling good, and they should be. 

Monday’s practice was the epitome of the team’s success: hardworking, yet lighthearted. The team was preparing to pull its second straight upset in four days, but had time to remember the date. There were gifts to be doled out.

For the goalies, dinner rolls in the warmup bag instead of balls. For coach Christine Halfpenny, lemons for warm-ups. Add in some silly string and this loose bunch of lacrosse players was ready to prepare for its biggest test yet on Wednesday – undefeated No. 1 Boston College.

“I’ve got a fun-loving team that really loves working hard, has really honed their craft and put a lot of effort into each other,” said Halfpenny. “When you’re two days out of playing BC playing great April Fools pranks, there’s something here. [The players] thrive on those opportunities.”

On Sunday, they thrived.

Coming off a stinging loss at Syracuse where the Orange scored the final four goals in a one-goal defeat, the Fighting Irish (10-1, 3-1 ACC) responded by beating North Carolina for the first time in program history. The 9-7 victory was capped off by a 4-1 run that exemplified the team’s resilience.

“I think we were a little better in some areas of our play,” Halfpenny said. “Whether offense or defense, we stuck to our game plan and played our style and were resilient in it. I think it was an awesome game against two top teams. Both teams [were] really playing hard. At the end of the day, we were able to win the draw control battle and win the ground ball game and that gave us a couple extra possessions and we were able to convert those.”

Notre Dame was effective in the ground game, gobbling up the loose balls by a margin of 12 to produce those extra possessions. While the Irish didn’t shoot particularly well (32 percent), its defense held Carolina to its fewest goals of the season with one of the best goaltending performances of Sam Giacolone’s career.

The All-ACC performer had a season-high 14 saves and is currently enjoying her best season to date. She holds the nation’s best goals-against average (6.35) and the second-best save percentage (55.5). 

“Seeing that smile on her face after the game, and having the ball in her stick when the clock ticked down, that’s one of her top performances,” Halfpenny said. “There’s one save that’s the save of the year, by any goalie on any team in any year. She’s an incredible talent. She puts so much time into her craft. I would certainly think if you’d ask her, she’d say it’s one of her best.”

Season-high saves for Sam on Sunday.

Up to a .555 save percentage.

cc: @Tewaaraton

// #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/33KlcakmJe

— Notre Dame W Lax (@NDWomensLax) April 1, 2019

After last season’s disappointment of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time in seven seasons, the Irish have returned fully healthy with a stable of talented players, including 10 starters, that rate among the best. It’s the best-case scenario for Halfpenny.

“That’s what excites us,” Halfpenny added. “We get to play top competition in the ACC with a core of kids who are healthy and wiser. That’s what’s exciting. This collection of student-athletes embraces the opportunity to get better.”

An area in which the Irish have really improved is the draw game. Last season, they ranked 70th (12.26 per game), but this season they’re 9th (16.09). Most importantly, they lead the nation in draw percentage by winning 68.6 percent. It’s a unit that exclusively relies on three contributors – Andie Aldave (86 draws), Savannah Buchanan (41) and Kathleen Roe (21). For McDonogh products Aldave and Buchanan, the connection from high school to college have reaped benefits at Notre Dame.

“They’re just really unique players,” Halfpenny said. “They come from a culture of success at McDonogh where they got to play side-by-side and they brought that work ethic and belief to Notre Dame and transcended it into our culture. They own the three-on-three game defensively and take great pride in getting better. It’s an awesome mindset that they share.”

The competition in the draw circle on Wednesday will be fierce. Notre Dame may boast the best draw percentage, but Boston College is third (66.8). Halfpenny acknowledged that holding possession will be vital to slowing down BC’s potent attack. 

“You see the way they win the draw,” Halfpenny said of BC. “But also how they create quick offense in the transition game. We are clued in that they love their offense – high-flying, high-scoring offense. I feel like we have to get after it. That’s something will be taking a look at. Tons of respect. They have a veteran old group and they like to play fast. We’ll be focused on how our defense matches that because we like slowing people down. We’re just focused on hustle stats and areas where we can gain possession.”

As for what the feeling would be like to follow up one of the program’s biggest wins with arguably its biggest win three days later, the focus is elsewhere.

“In the ACC, we don’t get too caught up on what people are ranked,” Halfpenny said about BC’s top billing. “We’re all really, really good, so it’s exciting no matter what. That’s why [the players] picked Notre Dame. They want to be the best and play against the best.” 

The best is on the line as a win over the Eagles would propel Notre Dame into first place with two ACC games to go. The first draw is 1 p.m. on Wednesday. 

The American Opens Conference Play

Cincinnati, Florida and Vanderbilt. Those are the winners of the inaugural American Athletic Conference games. The six-team conference formed this season when the AAC and the Big East were able to agree on membership. With full AAC member East Carolina joining the varsity ranks last season, it was natural for the conference to add the sport, and thus Vanderbilt and Florida were invited as associate members. Florida’s 15-8 win over Temple was the 33rd straight victory over conference foes dating back to 2015. 

Revamped Big East Kicks Off

The slimmer Big East Conference also got into action this weekend with Denver, Georgetown and Villanova gathering the wins. Denver dominated Old Dominion 20-1, Georgetown took out Butler 21-3, and Villanova beat Marquette for the first time since 2015, 15-13. 

Apuzzo, Kent Set the Pace

BC tops the charts in so many categories that it’s tough to keep track. One area that the duo would make history if the pace holds is being only the third teammates to lead in goals and assists in the same season. If they pull the feat, they would do so while playing in the hardest conference of the three.

The @BCwlax duo of Sam Apuzzo (4.92 goals/gm) & Kenzie Kent (3.67 assists/gm) on pace to be only the 3rd teammates ever to lead #NCAAWLAX in goals & assists in the same season!!

2010: Bergan Foley/Katie Oliverio @LouisvilleLax
1997: Debra Wood/Stacey Reynolds @GUKnights pic.twitter.com/udDzNP8qDn

— NCAA Stats (@NCAAStats) April 1, 2019

Wildcats Pour It On

Northwestern continues to pile up goals. The Wildcats (8-3, 2-0 Big Ten) lead the nation in scoring offense (18.91 goals per game) because of their shot efficiency (54.2 percent). On top of that, they rarely turn the ball over (10th, only 12.91 turnovers per game) and shoot the ball a ton (8th, 34.91 shots per game). Northwestern boasts three scorers in the top 100 nationally and four who shoot over 50 percent from the field. The Wildcats have scored at least 11 goals in every game they’ve played, at least 15 goals on 10 occasions and 20 goals in six games. Imagine how many more goals they would score if they were better at the draw. While in pure numbers they’re fifth nationally (17.36 per game), they “only” win 51 percent of the draws they take, ranking 51st.

USC Sets Sights on Clinching the Pac-12

The Women of Troy came out unscathed after its repeat weekend scheduling quirk in the Pac-12. After eking out a 10-9 win at home on March 25, USC (12-1, 7-0 Pac-12) was able to beat Stanford a second straight time six days later, 11-10, in double overtime. If the Trojans can beat second-place Colorado on Friday, they’ll clinch the Pac-12 regular season title with two games to spare. 

Kent State on the Board

The Golden Flashes secured the program’s first win on Saturday in a 21-6 victory over Delaware State. Four players tallied at least four goals, led by Abby Jones with five. Kent State continues Atlantic Sun play this weekend at Stetson and Jacksonville.