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Samantha Lynch missed all but one game last year due to injury, and the senior attack had never scored more than twice in any game during her Notre Dame career.
Today, the Huntington, N.Y. native announced her re-arrival in a big way, scoring six goals in helping the Irish women’s lacrosse team trounce Marquette, 19-4, in the season opener for both squads.
“It feels really good to get a win today,” the senior attack told UND.com. “This is something we’ve been working for since August. This is such a tight-knit group, and you can see that on the field. You play each game with great confidence because you know every play someone has your back.”
While Lynch and her teammates undoubtedly played well enough to win, the Golden Eagles helped the Irish considerably by committing 13 first-half turnovers en route to a 9-1 halftime deficit. When Marquette managed to held onto the ball, their offensive attack was impotent. The Eagles had just three shots on goal before halftime, and only junior attack Megan Menzuber was able to slip a shot past Irish senior goaltender Samantha Giacolone.
Sophomore midfielder Maddie Howe was a first half standout for the Irish, scoring a hat trick and assisting on a goal scored by Andie Aldave. Mollie Carr, a freshman attack, had a three-goal second half in her first collegiate game.
Notre Dame bested Marquette in every statistical category except saves. Perhaps the most telling stat? The Golden Eagles has just nine shots on goal the entire game.
“Our biggest keys to the game were to take care of the 50/50 balls and contest every play, and I think we were relentless in our effort to do both,” said Coach Christine Halfpenny told UND.com. “You always love starting the season with a victory and the credit for today’s performance goes to how hard this team has worked in the offseason.”
Anonymous Eagle, which covers Marquette athletics for SB Nation, offered their own game recap: “WELP.” The Golden Eagles are now winless in seven tries against the Irish all-time.
The Irish will begin their home slate at 1 p.m. Sunday against Canisius. (Bonus points if you can tell us which state Canisius is located in and what their mascot is without looking it up.) The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra. Notre Dame’s ACC conference slate starts March 2.