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adison Ahern and Kasey Choma vividly remember the first time they took the field for a game at Notre Dame’s Loftus Sports Center.

“We both looked at each other,” Ahern said, “and we were like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe we’re actually here.’”

Choma and Ahern, ranked Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, in Inside Lacrosse’s Power 100 incoming freshmen, walked out of the locker room and on to the field together and have since made it a pre-game tradition.

“I’ve always been so excited to finally wear the same uniform as her,” Choma said. “Once that moment hit, it was game day, I knew this was something we’d been waiting for. It was a surreal moment, and now we do it every game.”

The stage seemed overwhelming at first, but the dynamic freshmen pairing quickly settled in. Notre Dame, which finished the shortened 2020 season 7-0 and ranked No. 2 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20, couldn’t have rose to new heights without them.

Ahern tallied 16 goals and a team-high 11 assists, and Choma led the Irish with 22 goals. Perhaps they could have been enough to propel the Irish to Championship Weekend. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they won’t get the chance this season. But on Friday, fans can vote for Notre Dame in the Nike / US Lacrosse Magazine Virtual NCAA Tournament championship game against Syracuse.

“What excites me the most — and honestly what hurts the most, too — is just knowing how good we were this year,” Choma said. “We knew. Everyone was so confident that this was our year.”

The Irish could tell they had something special following a wild 17-15 win over Northwestern on Feb. 14. In Evanston at a booming Ryan Fieldhouse, Ahern and Choma each scored three times. Ahern chipped in two assists.

“It was a really high intensity game,” Ahern said. “There were people in the fan section yelling at us. It was everything you could expect from college lacrosse. I really think it was a big statement for us.”

There were three other Power 100 freshmen on the roster, each contributing to varying degrees. Jackie Wolak (two goals, two assists), Ellie Mooney and Jane McAvoy provided assistance to the core of veterans — Andie Aldave, Maddie Howe, Jessi Masinko, Samantha Lynch and others — and helped round out one of deepest rosters in the nation in 2020.

The veteran talent was welcoming of the freshmen from the start, Ahern said. Even though there were nerves in the beginning, they quickly dissipated.

“I think our team culture this year was incredible,” Ahern said. “We had so many meetings, having hard conversation to clear the air and make it more about creating a good foundation for us to just play our game. I think a lot of things can get in the way with teams, but our culture gave us a great foundation to just let go and play free on the field.”

That’s why both Ahern and think Choma had the potential to make a real-life push for a national championship. The on-field talent coupled with the off-field chemistry gave both athletes the feeling that something special was on the horizon.

None of the freshmen got to experience playing ACC rival Syracuse due to the season’s abrupt end. That game was scheduled for March 29. The virtual matchup sparked some forward thinking from Choma.

“Just Syracuse in itself, it’s always one of the top lacrosse schools,” she said. “Going against them would’ve been a real testament to how good we really were this year. I would love to have seen that.”

She’s not the only one.