:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/59523915/10242578.0.jpeg)
The Atlantic Coast Conference bestowed all-conference honors on three outstanding Notre Dame women’s lacrosse players Wednesday, highlighting outstanding effort amid an erratic 9-8 regular season.
Junior goaltender Samantha Giacolone earned first-team honors; junior Hannah Proctor earned second-team distinction for her play on defense and sophomore midfielder Savannah Buchanan earned second-team accolades as well.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10721861/10242611.jpeg)
Giacolone, who has started all 17 games for the Irish, ranks first in the conference in save percentage (.473) and third in saves (130). The Manorville, N.Y. native shares first-team honors with Virginia Tech’s Meagh Graham, one of four Hokies honored by the conference. Graham helped hold Notre Dame to its lowest output of the season — just six goals — in a March 11 loss in Blacksburg.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10721863/10242578.jpeg)
Proctor is a bit of a surprise pick. She’s started all 17 games, during which she scooped 22 ground balls and caused a career-high 14 turnovers. Those statistics are tops among Irish players who purely play defense (Makenna Pearsall has 25 ground balls and 21 caused turnovers, but she’s a hybrid midfielder/defender).
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/10721869/10242577.jpeg)
As for Buchanan, she is third on the team in goals (her 23 is only behind fellow midfielders Maddie Howe and Andie Aldave, both freshmen); second in assists (16, three behind junior attack Nikki Ortega); second in points (39, behind Howe’s 53); first among non-goaltenders in ground balls (36); second in draw controls (58, well behind Aldave’s Irish record 96); and third in caused turnovers (18, behind Kathleen Roe’s 25 and Pearsall’s 21).
MADDIE HOWE OMITTED
Despite Howe’s historic freshman season, the midfielder from Fairport was left off the All-ACC teams.
There’s certainly a case to be made for her, although her lack of draw controls (something she was almost never asked to do) and relative carelessness with the ball (her 38 turnovers would have been most among any midfielder selected) ultimately doomed her, I think.
Among Howe and the group of eight midfielders selected for All-ACC honors, the freshman Irish player would have been:
- Sixth in goals, with 38
- Third in assists, with 15
- Fifth in total points, with 53
- Sixth in total shots, with 90
- Seventh in shot percentage, at .422
- Sixth in shots on goal, with 66
- Fourth in shots on goal percentage, with .733
- Last in ground balls, with 14
- Last in draw controls, with 2
- Worst in turnovers, with 38
- Tied for eighth in caused turnovers, with 11
Maddie Howe vs. All-ACC Midfielders
| All-ACC Designation | Player | Team | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | Shots | Shot % | Shots on Goal | SOG % | Ground Balls | Draw controls | Turnovers | Caused Turnovers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-ACC Designation | Player | Team | Games Played | Goals | Assists | Points | Shots | Shot % | Shots on Goal | SOG % | Ground Balls | Draw controls | Turnovers | Caused Turnovers |
| First | Kasey Behr | Virginia | 17 | 48 | 6 | 52 | 106 | 0.434 | 69 | 0.651 | 31 | 58 | 20 | 23 |
| First | Marie McCool | North Carolina | 15 | 48 | 11 | 59 | 100 | 0.48 | 73 | 0.73 | 25 | 107 | 17 | 16 |
| First | Sammy Mueller | Virginia | 17 | 48 | 14 | 62 | 125 | 0.384 | 88 | 0.704 | 29 | 67 | 24 | 12 |
| First | Dempsey Arsenault | Boston College | 17 | 48 | 24 | 72 | 104 | 0.462 | 78 | 0.75 | 48 | 80 | 26 | 26 |
| Second | Kara Klages | North Carolina | 15 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 44 | 0.455 | 36 | 0.818 | 16 | 25 | 16 | 11 |
| Second | Maggie Crutchfield | Duke | 15 | 23 | 7 | 30 | 54 | 0.426 | 38 | 0.704 | 19 | 44 | 19 | 10 |
| Second | Savannah Buchanan | Notre Dame | 17 | 23 | 16 | 39 | 43 | 0.535 | 36 | 0.837 | 36 | 58 | 30 | 18 |
| Second | Caroline Blalock | Louisville | 16 | 43 | 12 | 55 | 111 | 0.387 | 79 | 0.712 | 41 | 37 | 30 | 24 |
| None | Maddie Howe | Notre Dame | 17 | 38 | 15 | 53 | 90 | 0.422 | 66 | 0.733 | 14 | 2 | 38 | 11 |
The Irish will play the Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC Quarterfinals at 2 p.m. Thursday at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C. The Cavaliers, 9-8 like the Irish, won the first meeting of these two teams, 17-10, on March 17.
The winner of this ACC tournament game will play the winner of No. 1 seed Boston College and No. 8 Louisville at 5 p.m. Friday.
The Irish lost 13-11 to the Eagles on Feb. 10 and beat the Cardinals, 14-9, on March 4. Boston College is 17-0; Louisville is 6-10 and winless in the ACC this year.