The 2026 season has certainly been a promising one for the Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team, which is returning to NCAA tournament play after missing both the NCAA tournament and ACC tournament last year.
The Irish finished the regular season with a 12-5 record and 6-4 against conference opponents. They defeated two teams in the NCAA tournament field — Michigan, who is now ranked No. 7, and perennial powerhouse Boston College — and two other ranked wins over Harvard and Pittsburgh. Their losses were against Virginia, Clemson, Stanford, Syracuse and to Clemson again in the first round of the ACC tournament. All except the 11-17 loss at Stanford were by four goals or fewer. On top of that, the Irish won seven of eight games in Arlotta Stadium this season.
The Irish’s defense has been a critical strength this year. Notre Dame plays a tough, aggressive zone that stifles opposing offenses and allows just 7.59 goals per game, a statistic that ranks seventh nationally and first in the ACC. Notre Dame also ranks seventh in the NCAA for caused turnovers per game. Graduate defender Julia Carr, who served as a captain for the second consecutive year, earned third-team All-ACC recognition for her efforts on the defensive end of the field. She caused 26 turnovers and secured 25 ground balls this season. Her speed and poise in transition also made her a huge contributor to the team’s fifth national ranking in clear percentage.
Carr was joined on the All-ACC teams by junior attacker Kate Timarky (first team), sophomore midfielder Madison Rassas (first team), freshman draw specialist Uma Kowalski (second team) and freshman midfielder Maura Irish (third team). Additionally, Timarky, Rassas and Maura Irish earned Inside Lacrosse Mid-Season All-American recognition.
Timarky was also nominated for the Tewaaraton Award. She was the team’s leader in both goals and total points this season. Though she contributed 25 points last year, this year was truly Timarky’s breakout as she jumped from not earning any conference-level recognition to the national conversation. Unfortunately, she missed the last regular season game this year against Louisville and the ACC tournament game against Clemson.
Rassas has been the team’s headliner for the past two years, having led the team in goals and earned second-team All-ACC honors last year as a freshman. This year, she has tallied another 51 goals and 11 assists as part of the dangerous offensive duo that leads the Irish.
Kowalski ranks in the top 20 in the country and third in the ACC in total draw controls and draw controls per game. Despite the tough quadruple overtime loss, Kowalski’s talent was especially on display as she helped Notre Dame win all four overtime draws against No. 3 Syracuse.
Maura Irish is the team’s Swiss army knife, tallying 17 goals and 22 caused turnovers so far this season as a true two-way midfielder. She proved her ability to shine at the college level early in the season, earning ACC offensive player of the week in just the second week of her career for her performance at Boston College.
In addition to all-conference honorees Maura Irish and Kowalski, other freshmen made huge contributions this season. Attackers Grace Moroney and Charley Bacigalupo were third and fourth on the team, respectively, in goals and points, and goalkeeper Ceci Patterson played a remarkable season. Considering how heavily the team relied on its youngest players in critical roles, Notre Dame women’s lacrosse should be feeling confident about its future. Overall, the team is returning almost all of its top scoring talent next season, and although top defenders Carr and Franny O’Brien are graduating, the tough team defense in front of a more experienced Patterson in goal will remain a gauntlet for opposing teams.
