The Falcons come home to play Quincy, open up conference play with West Virginia Wesleyan

Scott Swain Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics | Notre Dame College Athletic Department

By Buckeye Reporter reports

Mar 27, 2023

Notre Dame College women's lacrosse will host Quincy University for its 2023 home opener, on March 23. First draw is scheduled for 3 p.m. The Falcons then travel to West Virginia Wesleyan College, on March 26, for a 1 p.m. start.

Records: NDC enters the week with an 0-5 record. Quincy is 2-4 this season, while West Virginia Wesleyan has also started the year 0-5.

Coaches Corner: Ben Morhac enters year number four on the sideline at Notre Dame and has put together a record of 24-17 (16-2 MEC). Kathelene Kim is now in her fourth season at Quincy. Hannah Lively enters her seventh season on W.Va. Wesleyan sideline, with a record of 18-56-1 (3-35 MEC).

Rankings: None of these teams are ranked in the Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) top 25 poll.

Series History: The Falcons have put together an all-time record of 10-4 against WVWC, which included a season sweep of the Bobcats last year. NDC has never played Quincy.

Noting the Falcons: Notre Dame is looking to grab its first win of the season, this week. The Falcons have played a difficult schedule so far with four of their first five opponents ranked in the top 15 in NCAA Division II.

Last week, NDC fell to Walsh University (17-7) and No, 7 Regis University (17-2). Against Walsh, Kendal Johnson, Grace Nickoloff and Charlotte Vari all scored twice. Johnson also collected two assists and totaled four points in the game. Nickoloff scored both goals against Regis to total four goals on the week. She won the Mountain East Conference Offensive Player of the Week award.

Johnson leads the team with eight goals on the season, followed closely by Nickoloff, who has seven. Joselyn Storm still leads the team with four assists. Piper Hammond has been credited with 11 caused turnovers on the year and 15 draw controls, leading the team in both categories. She is currently 21st in the country with an average of 2.2 caused turnovers per contest. Joselyn Storm (14) and Grace Rotter (11) have both reached double-digit draw controls.

Noting the Hawks: Quincy went down to Florida last week and defeated Palm Beach Atlantic University, 13-12, before losing to Florida Tech, 17-6. Florida Tech was receiving votes in the national poll when the two teams met.

Against PBA, the Hawks were trailing 11-9, with 13:15 remaining in the fourth quarter. That's when QU put four consecutive goals on the board and grabbed a two-goal lead. Palm Brach Atlantic scored the final goal of the game, but it was not enough. From the one-minute mark in the third quarter, until the end of the game, the Hawks outscored the Sailfish, 6-2. Danielle Robinson scored six goals in that game and won six draw controls, while Amelia Ham totaled four goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Kelly McClure had 12 saves in the win.

Quincy did have a very impressive win over No. 24 Davenport, 9-7, to begin the year on Feb. 10. QU also trailed late in that game, down 7-5, with 11:49 remaining in the fourth quarter. Between the 11:18-mark in the third quarter and the end of the contest, Quincy went on a 6-2 run to win the game, which included the final four goals of the contest. Danielle Robinson had three goals and Patricia Chavira added three assists. Kelly McClure had nine saves.

Danielle Robinson ranks eighth in D2 with 8.2 shots per game. She leads the team with 14 goals scored. Patricia Chavira has seven goals and five assists and leads the team with 18 draw controls. Amelia Ham has given QU 10 goals and five assists. Kelly McClure is eighth in Division II in saves per game (11.17) and 23rd in total saves (67).

Noting the Bobcats: West Virginia Wesleyan has had trouble on the defensive side of the field this season. Aside from an 11-8 loss to Tiffin, WVWC has allowed at least 17 goals to four of their five opponents already this season. That includes a 21-2 loss at home against the University of Mount Union, on Feb. 25.

The Bobcats have not played since March 5, when they fell by a score of 17-4 to Ohio Northern University. In that game, WVWC goalkeeper Gabriella Gomez saved 17 shots.

W.Va. Wesleyan will battle Quincy University, on March 25, before hosting the Falcons.

Wesleyan ranks fifth, as a team, in Division II in free position percentage (61.1-percent) and Raveena Navalgund is third in the country with a free position percentage of 83.3-percent. Goalkeeper Gabriella Gomez is third in D2 with a saves per game average of 12.6.