Notre Dame: Irish women’s lacrosse program ranked 2nd in the nation

The Notre Dame’s women’s lacrosse program is off to a strong 4-0 start to their season and is currently ranked second in the nation.

The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team is off to a strong 4-0 start and is currently ranked second in the nation. With the exception of a close 17-15 road win against third-ranked Northwestern, the lady Irish have looked dominant so far this season.

In addition to defeating #3 Northwestern, Notre Dame has disposed of Marquette by the score of 18-3, Central Michigan in a lopsided game 24-4 and Ohio State 18-7 in a game where they did not play their starters.

The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team is flush with talent, with three of their players appearing on the Tewaarton Award preseason watchlist. The Tewaarton Award is given to the most dominant college lacrosse player in the nation.

The three players who were nominated were Andie Aldave, Savannah Buchanan, and Maddie Howe. All three have played a prominent role in the dominance of the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team thus far this season.

Baltimore, Maryland native and junior midfielder, Andie Aldave, has scored five goals and added three assists on the season for the lady Irish. Meanwhile, another fellow Baltimore native and midfield teammate of Aldave, Savannah Buchanan has posted five goals and an assist this season. Junior attacker and Fairport, NY native Maddie Howe has scored an insane 12 goals and registered one assist on the season.

What makes these numbers more incredible is that the trio did not play in the game against Ohio State. With the amount of talent that these three bring to the Notre Dame program, it should not come as a surprise that the team is ranked as high nationally as they are.

In addition to the Tewaarton Award watchlist candidates, junior goaltender Bridget Deehan has helped lead the Irish in all of their victories, securing 31 saves throughout all four contests. The low number of saves per game by the goalie from Milton, Georgia is partly due to the fact that she was removed from some of the lopsided wins but is also a testament of how stout the Irish defense has been.

The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team certainly looks like a legitimate contender to challenge for the NCAA National Championship. They have another tough test this Sunday as they take on the 22nd ranked Duke Blue Devils at home.

If the lady Irish can put away the Blue Devils, they do not currently have another ranked opponent on their regular-season schedule. If they can win this game, they are talented enough to have a  chance of going undefeated in the regular season, which would be an incredible feat.