Marquette women’s lacrosse probably did not have the start to 2019 they wanted, losing 19-4 to No. 20 Notre Dame Friday afternoon in the season opener.
From the beginning, Notre Dame seemed to be in total control, scoring eight consecutive goals. Maddie Howe, Andie Aldave, Samantha Lynch and Jessi Masinko all scored before a Marquette player could score. Marquette head coach Meredith Black attributed the run to her team’s defense lack of confidence and failure to play together.
Junior Megan Menzuber was the first Golden Eagle to score with 5:44 remaining in the first half. The Fighting Irish were up 9-1 at the break.
“Our goal is to make them earn every single goal, and we did not do that,” Black said. “We didn’t have each other’s back. We didn’t play as a unit.”
The second half did not go much better. Less than two minutes into the second half, Notre Dame already had two quick unassisted goals.
“The more possession they had, the more success they had,” senior Charlotte McGuire said. “We were turning over the ball too much for our liking because we weren’t taking those aggressive risks and aggressive shots on goal that we wanted to.”
McGuire, Menzuber and freshman Shea Garcia were the only Golden Eagles to score.
Notre Dame double-teamed Marquette’s junior midfielder and Preseason BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Year Grace Gabriel, who ended the afternoon without a goal.
Gabriel led the Golden Eagles in goals last season, but the Fighting Irish pressured both Gabriel and senior Cate Soccodato, which resulted in no goals from either player.
“We were able to really limit Grace Gabriel. That was one of our game plans,” Notre Dame head coach Christine Halfpenny said. “She’s fabulous. She’s going to really do some damage in the BIG EAST.”
Notre Dame had eight unassisted goals and Lynch, who led the Fighting Irish with six goals, scored more than Marquette did in 60 minutes of play.
In the all-time series against Marquette, Notre Dame has yet to lose a game.
“They have gotten better every single year,” Halfpenny said. “We have a ton of respect for their athleticism, how physical and aggressive and how organized they were. We knew it was going to be a dogfight for 60 straight minutes.”
Black said the Golden Eagles (0-1) have multiple aspects of the game to work on prior to facing Louisville Sunday at 2 p.m.
“The way they feel right now should hopefully help build a little bit of emotion in them to drive them to know what they’re capable of,” Black said. “They have to refocus and believe in themselves.”
“We’re not going to go down 8-0,” McGuire said. “Right from the first whistle on Sunday everyone’s going to have a nose to cage.”
