No. 12 Notre Dame Uses Big First Half to Upend Liberty 19-8

Liberty fell 19-8 at No. 12 Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon after the Fighting Irish managed a 15-goal first half.

The Lady Flames were in their second game of their Spring Break road trip after topping Pitt 13-7 on Tuesday. Liberty falls to 2-5 on the year and finishes the road trip with a 1-1 mark. Sunday's match was played indoors at the Loftus Sports Center.

Notre Dame improves to 6-2 overall and 5-0 at home. The Fighting Irish got the scoring started in the first minute with a goal from Madison Ahern at the 14:08 mark and did not look back, totaling 15 goals in the half in building a 15-3 advantage at the break. Liberty's Lizzy Ferguson managed four goals in the game.

The Lady Flames are still seeking their first win against Notre Dame, falling to 0-5 against the ACC program. Liberty has faced four ACC schools this year, going 1-3 against the conference. All of the matchups have been on the road.

Scoring Summary

Liberty Goals: Lizzy Ferguson 4, Tori Banks 2, Mackenzie Lehman 1, Olivia Glaze 1

Liberty Assists: Mackenzie Lehman 1

Notre Dame Goals: Madison Ahern 6, Kasey Choma 3, Abby Maichin 3, Mary Kelly Doherty 2, Jackie Wolak 1, Jane McAvoy 1, Kristen Shanahan 1, Alexandra McHugh 1, Anna Kenney 1 Notre Dame Assists: Jackie Wolak 5, Kelly Denes 3, Madison Ahern 2, Kasey Choma 1, Mary Kelly Doherty 1

Goalkeepers

W: Lilly Callahan 6-2, four saves

L: Mara Tellers 1-5, zero saves

Turning Point

After Liberty allowed five goals and a 5-2 deficit in the first five minutes of the game. Notre Dame went on to score 10 of the next 11 goals in the game to boost its lead to 15-3 at intermission.

First Half Summary

• Liberty's 1-1 tie at 13:41 was the closest the Lady Flames would get in the game, as Notre Dame had two players with hat tricks in the half along with five other Fighting Irish players recording a goal.

Second Half Summary

• Facing a 15-3 deficit, the Lady Flames managed to outscore the Irish 5-4 in the second half.

• Notre Dame built up the lead to a difference of 15, 19-4, at the end of the third frame.

• Liberty tallied the last four goals in the game, all in the fourth quarter.

Key Stats & Notes

• Liberty goalkeeper Taylor Gallarello recorded a career-high 10 saves in the contest.

• Notre Dame's Madison Ahern ended the day with a game-high eight points (6 g, 2 a).

• Lizzy Ferguson once again was all over the box score. The senior midfielder totaled four goals on six shots along with two each of draw controls, ground balls and caused turnovers.

• For the first time this season, Mackenzie Lehman led Liberty with four draw controls. The junior also managed two points (1 g, 1 a) while also grabbing a ground ball and a caused turnover. Lehman has 99 career points (71 g, 28 a) and is one point away from becoming the 13th player in program history to record 100 career points.

• Three Lady Flames recorded multiple caused turnovers as Ferguson, Tori Banks and Andrea Colavito all garnered two each.

• Liberty was 5-of-9 from free position, with the last three goals of the game all coming from the eight-meter arc.

• Notre Dame outshot Liberty 36-21 and held edges in clear percentage (.833-.556), draw controls (24-7) and caused turnovers (10-9). The Lady Flames held edges in saves (10-6), free-position goals (5-2) and ground balls (14-13).

• In the first quarter, Liberty was able to successfully clear only 2-of-8 attempts. The Lady Flames cleaned that up the rest of the game, going 8-of-10 across the final three quarters.

• Draw controls were vital in this game, as Notre Dame outdrew Liberty 18-2 in the first half. The second half was more even, but the Irish still had a 5-4 advantage over the Lady Flames.

Up Next

• Liberty is coming back to Lynchburg for two matches this upcoming week. The Lady Flames will face Winthrop (3-3) on Thursday at 1 p.m. and go up against Furman (3-3) on Saturday at noon. Both games will be held at the Liberty Lacrosse Field.

• The Lady Flames are currently 2-1 facing Furman and 4-6 against Winthrop in program history.

• Liberty is 1-1 playing at home this season and will get two straight home matches for the first time this season.

Main Photo at Top of Story: No. 32 Taylor Gallarello