Box Score HIRAM, Ohio – The Notre Dame Falcons were in action for the first time in nearly two weeks on Wednesday night, as they pulled off a road victory, scoring a 14-8 win over Hiram.
The Falcons (4-2) have now won two in a row overall, and two of three away from home, while the loss for the Terriers (3-5) was just their second at home, and their second in their last five overall.
Notre Dame used an incredible start to develop a huge lead in the first 15 minutes of action, and never looked back. The Falcons began the game by scoring the first six goals of the contest, with three different Falcons finding the back of the net during that run.
Brooke Czarnecki scored the game's first goal, and was responsible for three of NDC's first six, while
Ashlee Boyko had a pair of goals during that run, and
Halie Taylor scored as well.
The Terriers didn't score their first goal until the 13:36-mark in the first period, and NDC answered that goal with one from
Bailey Reardon less than a minute later to take a 7-1 advantage.
Czarnecki added another goal, while
Darbie Barkman scored two goals through the last 13 minutes of the first period, as the Falcons took a decisive, 10-4 lead into halftime.
In the second period, the Terriers offered little resistance, as the Falcons scored three of the first four goals, getting one from Czarnecki and two from Barkman, which put them ahead, 13-5, with 15:26 to play, and their lead was never in doubt.
The Falcons fired off 11 more shots (33-22) than the Terriers, and they were a perfect 21-for-21 in clearing chances on the evening as well. They came away with 21 ground balls and capitalized on 25 Hiram turnovers.
Czarnecki had a huge game for Notre Dame, leading the way with six goals to go along with three ground balls and two draw controls. Barkman had four goals on the night with three ground balls and added three draw controls. Boyko had a pair of goals to go along with five ground balls and led NDC with six draw controls. Reardon added a goal and an assist, while Taylor added a goal and caused a pair of turnovers.
Lauren Ragsdale (4-2) earned her fourth win of the season in net, and came away with 10 saves on the evening as well.
The Falcons are in action again on Friday, April 1, when they play host to West Virginia Wesleyan in their Mountain East Conference opener at Normandy Field. The contest is scheduled for a 3 p.m. start.
