:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/12380801/baasattack.0.jpg)
So, the good news is that Marquette won the draw control on the opening face off, ran straight down the field, and Hayley Baas found the back of the net just 48 seconds into the game.
The bad news is that Notre Dame won the next draw control and did the exact same thing with the first of Betsy Mastropieri's four goals on the day. The really bad news is that the Irish won the next draw control and did the exact same thing again, this time with the first of two straight goals from Caitlin Gargin. 111 seconds elapsed, three goals scored. Quite the game, but definitely not the kind of game that would end up favoring Marquette.
Things slowed down from there, but the stream of goals from Notre Dame didn't stop. The Irish would end up rattling off six straight tallies before Baas scored again to break their run. 6-2 with 3:48 seems like a pretty good way to spend a half of lacrosse against #10 in the country, but ND added two more, including one as time expired from Mastropieri to finish off her hat trick, and the halftime margin was 8-2.
Three more Irish goals to open the second half put any thoughts of a crazy comeback and upset out of Marquette's mind. The Golden Eagles would get three more goals in the second half, one more from Baas for her fourth hat trick of the season and two in a row from Kenzie Brown.
Marquette would end up with more draw controls than the Irish, but turnovers and ground balls doomed the Golden Eagles. ND had 17 more ground balls than Marquette and 14 fewer turnovers.
Up Next: An offseason filled with questions. Not so much with where this team is going, as they only lose three seniors and start mostly freshmen anyway, but instead regarding the membership of their conference for next season. Marquette was an independent this season and will be joining the Big East next season. But as of right now, we can only be sure that Big East women's lacrosse will have Marquette, Georgetown, and Villanova as members next year. We'll be back later this week to highlight the brand new program records that have been set by this team.