EVANSTON, Ill. — Just minutes after the final whistle blew and the handshake lines ended, Notre Dame assistant coach Kerry Stoothoff sprinted to the opposite sideline, where her players were already posing for pictures and celebrating with their traveling supporters. With a wide grin and a series of emphatic claps, Stoothoff spoke a very simple message to the crowd of waiting fans:

“How ‘bout them Irish?”

How ‘bout them Irish indeed.

Backed by a strong defensive effort, No. 9 Notre Dame pulled off a 17-15 upset of No. 4 Northwestern at a packed Ryan Fieldhouse on Friday, picking up the program’s fifth-ever win over the Wildcats and the first on the road in Evanston since the two programs first met in 2002.

“We put ourselves in a position that Northwestern typically finds themselves in: We had them playing catch-up, instead of us playing catch-up,” Notre Dame coach Christine Halfpenny said. “And that’s a different way to play. When you’re playing from behind, it takes a lot out of you. And we didn’t put ourselves in that position tonight.”

Love thee.

Thanks for making the trip, #NDFamily! #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/yd0ICEBVyh

— Notre Dame Women’s Lacrosse (@NDWomensLax) February 15, 2020

Northwestern became the third top-five ranked team to suffer a defeat in the first week of the season. No. 2 Syracuse lost to No. 12 Stony Brook on Monday, while UMass stunned then-No. 5 Boston College last Saturday.

Junior attacker Maddie Howe led the Fighting Irish with four goals on eight shots, while freshmen Kasey Choma and Madison Ahern and graduate student Samantha Lynch each added three.

It was Notre Dame’s defense that sealed the win. Junior goalie Bridget Deehan finished with 12 saves, and the Wildcats struggled to convert on offensive opportunities down the stretch, turning the ball three times within the game’s final three minutes.

“Our defense came up with stop after stop today,” Halfpenny said. “We just had a top-to-bottom effort. Our midfield was awesome, and when we needed ground balls the most, the ones that we really needed, we got to seal the game, so that was really great.”

We got this W the way we always do.

Together.#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/0mzjb91fSZ

— Notre Dame Women’s Lacrosse (@NDWomensLax) February 15, 2020

Northwestern started the scoring less than a minute in with a goal from sophomore attacker Izzy Scane, who led her team with four goals and four assists. But the Fighting Irish quickly turned the Wildcats’ lead on its head, winning a number of free-position shots to hop out to a 6-4 advantage midway through the first half.

Though not much was working for their usually high-octane offense early — more than half of their 17 turnovers came before the halftime break — the Wildcats kept clawing back.

When sophomore attacker Brennan Dwyer was struggling on the draw against Notre Dame specialist Andie Aldave, they switched in senior midfielder Lindsey McKone and won five draws in a row. When Notre Dame took an 11-8 lead into halftime, Northwestern put sophomore Madison Doucette into the cage for the second half and allowed only six more goals.

But for every move the Wildcats made, the Fighting Irish had a counter-move. Northwestern had its chances late in the second half, picking up back-to-back goals and threatening to swing the momentum back in its favor, but Notre Dame was there and waiting to shut it down.

“We just beat a very, very good team. We’ve been here before with Northwestern, and that’s a tough way to play them,” Halfpenny said. “We weathered storms when we had to, but we put ourselves in a position where we didn’t have to chase.”

IRISH EYES ARE SMILING
Kathleen Roe goes coast-to-coast, punctuating @NDWomensLax’s 17-15 win over Northwestern. Wild one in Evanston. Story to come via @ellabrockway pic.twitter.com/5bKCoypCUi

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) February 15, 2020

Cavaliers take down Stanford with second-half rally

Less than a week after its overtime victory against No. 17 Navy, No. 5 Virginia took it down to the wire again and ended with a similar result.

The Cavaliers (2-0) rallied from a first-half deficit and scored seven goals in the second half to beat Stanford 12-11 on the road Friday afternoon. Sophomore midfielder Courtlynne McKaskin scored the game-winner with just over three minutes to play, while senior midfielder Sammy Mueller led Virginia with a career-high six goals.

The Cardinal (0-2) built up an early lead in the first half, scoring five straight before the break and holding a 9-5 advantage. Senior midfielder Mikaela Watson led Stanford with four goals, three of which came in the first.

But the Cavaliers responded out of the break, holding the Cardinal without a goal for the game’s final 18 minutes and 51 seconds as they made their own comeback. Stanford won the game’s last draw with just over three minutes to play, but Virginia goalie Charlie Campbell caused a huge turnover that allowed the Cavs to run out the clock.

No. 1 Tar Heels dominate No. 20 High Point

North Carolina made a statement that its No. 1 ranking in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 was well-deserved Friday afternoon with a 24-3 thrashing of No. 20 High Point.

Eleven different Tar Heels scored, and junior attacker and Nike/US Lacrosse Preseason Player of the Year Jamie Ortega finished with six goals, nearly reaching her career high of eight.

Junior midfielder Ally Mastroianni kicked off the scoring for North Carolina less than a minute into the game, and the Tar Heels jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead. The Panthers (0-2) managed only one goal in the first half against North Carolina goalie Taylor Moreno.

The Tar Heels dominated nearly every category: They had 11 assists to High Point’s 0; 32 shots to the Panthers’ 12; and won the battle in the draw circle 17-11.

SCOREBOARD

Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20

No. 1 North Carolina 24, No. 20 High Point 3
No. 9 Notre Dame 17, No. 4 Northwestern 15
No. 5 Virginia 12, Stanford 11

Other Scores

Jacksonville 17, Oregon 10
Boston University 17, Niagara 12
Arizona State 24, Detroit Mercy 6
Marquette 17, Cincinnati 6
St. Bonaventure 16, Hartford 8
Mercer 20, Gardner-Webb 6