No. 16 Notre Dame secured a 10-7 victory over No. 25 Harvard in women’s lacrosse on Saturday at Jordan Field in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The Fighting Irish remain unbeaten this season after a strong second-half performance.
Harvard started the game with momentum, scoring the first six goals by midway through the second quarter. Natalie Marvin opened the scoring less than three minutes into her collegiate debut, assisted by Charlotte Hodgson. Hannah Shiels and Grace Mullahy followed with goals, with Mullahy adding another to cap a four-goal first quarter for Harvard.
The Crimson extended their lead early in the second quarter when Hodgson scored off a pass from Callie Batchelder, making it 5-0. Mullahy completed her hat-trick soon after to give Harvard a 6-0 advantage.
Notre Dame responded late in the half, scoring two quick goals and then adding a woman-up goal with two minutes left before halftime to reduce Harvard’s lead to 6-3 at the break.
In the third quarter, Notre Dame continued its offensive push, opening with another woman-up goal and quickly narrowing the gap. Grace Maroney tied the game at 6-6 midway through the period before Notre Dame took its first lead at 7-6. Charley Bacigalupo added another goal just before the end of the third quarter to extend Notre Dame’s lead to 8-6.
Harvard ended its scoring drought in the fourth quarter when Emerson Midura scored off an assist from Hodgson, but could not overcome Notre Dame’s defense as time expired.
Grace Mullahy led Harvard with three goals. Natalie Marvin scored her first collegiate goal and Emerson Midura also recorded a point in her debut game. Charlotte Hodgson contributed one goal and three assists for four points total. In goal, Rebecca Arpano made 13 saves for Harvard, including seven during the first half.
Harvard will next face Bryant on Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.
