Despite two record performances, the University of Louisville lacrosse team was unable to secure a victory, falling 15-9 to No. 7 Notre Dame on Thursday at the Arlotta Family Lacrosse Stadium. With this loss, Louisville’s record stands at 5-11 overall and 2-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), while Notre Dame improves to 12-4 on the season and 6-3 in the ACC.
Record Performances
Nicole Perroni broke the school record for consecutive games scoring a goal. Perroni’s impressive goal-scoring streak of 35 games has continued for nearly two years, beginning on April 24, 2021. Meanwhile, Sara Addeche tied the program record for single-game saves for the second consecutive game, recording 17 saves with a .531 save percentage.
Slow Start
Head coach Scott Teeter lamented the team’s slow start, saying, “Anytime you spot a team an eight-goal lead, it is tough to come back from, especially against a top ten team. Then, we settled in and played really well for the remaining three quarters.” Notre Dame began the game with eight unanswered goals in the first quarter.
Fighting Back
Hannah Morris got the Cardinals on the board with a goal five minutes into the second quarter, but the Irish responded with two straight goals. Louisville fought back, with Alexa Steffens scoring a goal on an assist from Tiffany Natoli, followed by Kokoro Nakazawa’s first goal of the game on a dish from Morris. Rian Adkins scored her third career goal on a free position. Despite Addeche’s nine saves in the first half, the Cardinals entered the locker room down 10-4 at halftime.
Second Half Battle
Notre Dame scored again in the second half, but Nakazawa responded with her second goal four minutes in. The Irish scored another goal, and the Cardinals responded with three straight goals, putting them down 12-8. Nakazawa earned a hat trick, Morris scored on a free position attempt, and Perroni scored her only goal of the game. Morris then scored her second consecutive hat trick with eight minutes remaining, putting the Cardinals down 12-9. However, the Irish scored three straight goals in the final five minutes to secure their victory.
Morris and Nakazawa led the Cardinals with four points each, with Morris also recording one ground ball. Maggie Foster spearheaded the defense with four ground balls and two caused turnovers, while Addeche contributed four ground balls and one caused turnover.
Up Next
Louisville will return home to host Duke in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET.
