Louisville Opens ACC Play at No. 19 Notre Dame on Saturday

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Louisville women's lacrosse opens Atlantic Coast Conference play at No. 19 Notre Dame at Saturday at 2 p.m.

"We're heading into a tough stretch and we have to take it one game at a time," said head coach Scott Teeter. "Notre Dame is a very talented, multi-dimensional team. They come at you from every angle."

The Cardinals are coming off of a tough 9-8 overtime loss to Vanderbilt on Sunday.

Trailing 7-3 at halftime and 8-3 early in the second half, Louisville rallied for five straight goals, including Shayla Scanlan's goal with 29 seconds remaining to force overtime.

After each team failed to score on their first offensive possession, Vanderbilt scored with four seconds remaining in the first overtime to seal the victory.

Scanlan finished with a team-high three goals in the overtime defeat. It marks her second straight game with a hat trick, as she finished with five goals in the win over Mercer. With two hat tricks on the year, she is second behind Tessa Chad's three for the team lead. She has 10 goals on the year, which ranks second behind Chad's 12.

Rachel Florek recorded a career-high 13 saves against Vandy. After trailing 7-3 at half, she helped limit the Commodores to just two goals in the second half and overtime combined. She played all 63 minutes, which marked the first time she has played an entire game in a Cardinal uniform.

Louisville is seeking its first ACC win since defeating Syracuse 9-8 at UofL Lacrosse Stadium on April 22, 2017. They are seeking their first road ACC win since winning at Virginia Tech 13-12 in overtime on April 1, 2017.

ABOUT THE IRISH

Notre Dame (5-0) is off to its best start since the 2016 season and most recently defeated Kent State 27-0 to set the program record for the most amount of goals scored and largest margin of victory in school history. The Irish have averaged 20 goals per game through five contests and own an average margin of victory of 14.4 goals.

Senior Samantha Lynch and sophomore Maddie Howe lead the Notre Dame attack with 19 and 15 goals respectively. Howe has also tallied assists for a team-high 24 points on the season. In goal, Samantha Giacolone has collected 22 saves and a team-high 12 ground balls through five games.

Notre Dame was tabbed at No. 6 in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll and boasts a pair of Preseason All-ACC honorees in Howe and Savannah Buchanan. Senior defender Hannah Proctor was also named a Preseason Honorable Mention All-American by Inside Lacrosse.

Series History - UofL trails Notre Dame 9-2 all-time and 1-4 at Notre Dame. The last meeting was a 14-9 win for Notre Dame at UofL Lacrosse Stadium on March 4, 2018.

Last season against Notre Dame, the Cardinals gained an early 2-1 lead, but the Irish rattled off six unanswered goals and took an 8-3 lead into the break. The Cardinals rallied with a 5-0 run midway through the second half, but were unable to hold off the Irish who finished the second half with a five-goal run of their own to seal the 14-9 victory. Caroline Blalock was the Cards' leading scorer with three goals and one assist.

Date: Saturday, March 2
Time: 2:00 p.m. ET
Site: South Bend, Ind.
Video: ACCNE
Last Meeting: Notre Dame 14, Louisville 9 (3/4/19 at UofL)
Series History: Louisville trails 9-2 (1-4 at home, 1-4 on the road, 0-1 neutral)
UofL National Ranking: --

For the latest information on Louisville lacrosse, visit GoCards.com, or follow the team's Twitter account at @LouisvilleLax or on Facebook at facebook.com/UofLLacrosse.

Louisville Opens ACC Play at No. 19 Notre Dame on Saturday

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Caroline Blalock

Tessa Chad

Rachel Florek

Shayla Scanlan

University of Louisville Athletics