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This is the second weekend of the Division I women’s lacrosse season, and teams in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 are dropping like flies. Another ranked team fell to an unranked squad on Saturday.

Here’s how it all went down.

A NASHVILLE NAIL-BITER

Leading by three goals with 6:22 remaining, Vanderbilt was mere minutes away from taking down No. 12 Notre Dame. But the battle-tested Irish didn’t fold, especially coming off an upset loss to Michigan.

Hannah Dorney and Jackie Wolak scored 58 seconds apart, putting Notre Dame down by one goal with 4:35 remaining. With the pressure on, Vanderbilt stood firm. Ellie Hilsabeck scored with 1:27 remaining for some breathing room, and Paige Gunning made a save with 26 seconds left to ensure Vanderbilt walked away with a 14-12 win.

Hilsabeck scored four goals, and Gabby Fornia had two goals and two assists. Gunning made 11 saves, helping her side overcome an 18-12 deficit on draws.

Notre Dame (1-2) jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and Vanderbilt (2-0) fought back to tie the score at 6. The Commodores took their first lead at 10-9 and didn’t relinquish it, even if Notre Dame kept it close.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Irish, who face Northwestern, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Jacksonville — all either ranked or considered for the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 — in their next five contests.

TRIO OF HAT TRICKS FUEL UNC OVER FLORIDA

Elizabeth Hillman, Jamie Ortega and Scottie Rose Growney each scored three times, and Taylor Moreno made eight saves as No. 2 North Carolina topped No. 9 Florida 15-11. It’s North Carolina’s 30th win in 31 games — the only loss coming to Boston College in May’s national semifinal.

Leading 7-6 after Danielle Pavinelli (six goals) scored for Florida, UNC took control of the game with a 5-0 run spanning the end of the second and beginning of the third quarters. Andie Aldave scored twice in the run, which gave UNC a 12-6 lead.

Ally Mastroianni put the Tar Heels up 15-8 with 5:29 to play before Florida scored the final three goals of the contest.

KELLY CATALYZES COMEBACK

No. 17 Rutgers couldn’t have asked for a better game from Saint Joseph’s transfer Stephanie Kelly on Saturday.

Kelly had three goals and two assists and caused a turnover with under 20 seconds remaining to seal a 17-16 comeback win over a gritty Georgetown team. The Hoyas led 15-12 with 12:43 remaining.

Georgetown (1-1) had a blistering first quarter, leading 7-2 after Annabelle Albert closed the period with three straight goals. Rutgers (3-0) had to repeatedly chip away, leaning on Kelly, Cassidy Spilis and Taralyn Naslonski for offense to overcome Georgetown’s 24-13 advantage on the draw circle.

IVY LEAGUE WOMEN’S TEAMS RETURN

Ivy League women’s teams, many playing their first games since March 2020, went 6-0 on Saturday. No. 13 Princeton and Harvard will both make their 2022 debuts on Sunday.

See everything that happened in the Ivy League right here.

NOTABLE

  • Jenn Medjid scored five times and Belle Smith scored all three of her goals in the first quarter as No. 1 Boston College routed Boston University 22-6. Charlotte North scored four goals, giving her 18 through BC’s 3-0 start.

  • Michele Tumolo earned her first win as Army’s head coach, as the Black Knights used a five-goal run in the fourth quarter to hold off Hofstra 13-12. Jolie Riedell scored to give Army (1-2) a 13-11 lead before Katie Whelan scored with 1:25 left to cut the deficit in half for Hofstra (1-1).

  • It was a slow start, but No. 8 Loyola picked things up in the third quarter of a 14-5 win over Johns Hopkins. Hopkins (1-1) led 3-2 after the first quarter and trailed 5-4 at halftime before Loyola outscored the Blue Jays 9-1 in the second half. Livy Rosenzweig scored four goals in Loyola’s season opener.

  • Having started 0-2 for the first time since 2008, No. 14 James Madison needed a win. No. 20 UConn kicked off the game on a three-goal run, but JMU settled in for a 13-7 win at USA Lacrosse headquarters in Sparks, Md. To read the full game story, head here.

  • Richmond needed overtime after a feverish fourth quarter by Liberty, but the Spiders got it done with a 13-12 win. It was Grace Muldoon who scored the winner off an assist from Kendall Duffy. Liberty stormed back after trailing 12-7 with 8:46 remaining, scoring five straight to force overtime. Ten players scored for Richmond, while Mackenzie Lehman (four goals) and Brooke Bryan (three goals) led Liberty.

HOW THE NIKE/USAL TOP 20 FARED

No. 1 Boston College defeated Boston U 22-6
No. 2 North Carolina defeated No. 9 Florida 15-11
No. 8 Loyola defeated Johns Hopkins 14-5
Vanderbilt defeated No. 12 Notre Dame 14-12
No. 14 James Madison defeated No. 20 UConn 13-7
No. 17 Rutgers defeated Georgetown 17-16

FULL SCOREBOARD

Albany 19, Colgate 2
Army 13, Hofstra 12
No. 1 Boston College 22, Boston U 6
Brown 14, Bryant 11
Canisius 16, Robert Morris 11
Columbia 13, Manhattan 7
Cornell 13, Villanova 10
Dartmouth 11, New Hampshire 3
Davidson 13, Coastal Carolina 8
Fairfield 12, Wagner 10
No. 14 James Madison 14, No. 20 UConn 7
La Salle 10, Mount St. Mary’s 9 (3OT)
Longwood 15, Delaware State 7
No. 8 Loyola 14, Johns Hopkins 5
Navy 16, George Washington 3
No. 2 North Carolina 15, No. 9 Florida 11
Old Dominion 20, Radford 11
Penn 15, Delaware 4
Quinnipiac 9, LIU 8
Richmond 13, Liberty 12 (OT)
No. 17 Rutgers 17, Georgetown 16
Temple 15, Saint Joseph’s 11
UMBC 17, American 9
Vanderbilt 14, No. 12 Notre Dame 12
Virginia Tech 17, VCU 9
Yale 15, Sacred Heart 4

Bucknell at Binghamton, PPD