SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Entering the day, Notre Dame College and the University of Charleston were tied for second in the Mountain East Conference women's lacrosse standings. NDC made a statement, on Thursday, with a 20-5 victory over the Golden Eagles, with six players scoring multiple goals.
 
The Falcons looked very crisp in the first quarter, scoring seven goals on seven shots on target, while going 7-for-7 on clear attempts. After 15 minutes of play, Notre Dame led Charleston 7-0.
 
Charleston won nine draw controls to Notre Dame's five in the first half and the Golden Eagles started strong by winning the first draw of the game. NDC's ophomore Joselyn Storm caused a turnover on the defensive end, and then senior Megan Dano passed to senior Kendal Johnson on the offensive side for the first goal of the game.
 
Johnson had a couple more opportunities around the goal over the next four minutes, but one shot hit the post and another went wide. Senior Jamira Mashore found Dano for a goal, at the 9:13-mark, following a UC yellow card. Sophomore Piper Hammond won the next draw control and Mashore was credited with another assist as sophomore Grace Nickoloff scored her first of the game.
 
Sophomore Lexington Carson scored twice in the final seven minutes of the first quarter, while junior Charlotte Vari and Johnson each scored one more time by the end of the quarter.
 
The Notre Dame defense was ready to play, as they collected five caused turnovers in the first stanza.
 
"You were able to see us starting to click a little bit, especially in the first," said head coach Ben Morhac. "We played against a defense that we hadn't really seen yet, so it was nice to see the team make the adjustments that they needed to."
 
The Falcons picked right back up in the second quarter as Dano caused a turnover to regain possession. Johnson to Vari was the formula for NDC's eighth goal of the contest.
 
UC scored its first goal of the game with 12:39 to go in the second quarter. Two minutes later, Charleston goalie Megan Liston saved back-to-back Notre Dame shots, but the Falcons were persistent as Nickoloff picked up the groundball and finally found the net.
 
Johnson scored on a free position shot, with 7:34 remaining before the half, and scored, again, with about a minute left to put NDC up by 10, 11-1, at halftime.
 
NDC caused four more turnovers in the second quarter, and by the end of the game, Notre Dame had totaled 14, tied for second in a game this season.
 
Within the first four minutes of the third quarter, Johnson and freshman Grace Rotter each had scored a goal. Storm won a draw control and caused turnover in that span, as well. However, Charleston fought back and scored three of the final four goals in the third. From the 9:26-mark of the third quarter, until the 14:21-mark in the fourth quarter, UC went on a 4-1 run to close within single digits, 14-5.
 
The Falcons then responded with a major run to end the game. Dano passed to Mashore for two goals on back-to-back possessions. NDC goalkeeper Annika Duncan made a save and NDC was back on the run, as Mashore was credited with an assist on Nickoloff's fourth goal of the contest.
 
Hammond, Rotter and freshman Carlie Wilson had the final three goals as Notre Dame scored the final six goals of the game.
 
Duncan finished with five saves, with three in the second quarter and two in the fourth. Johnson had a season-high five goals to go along with two assists. Nickoloff also posted a season-high four goals. Mashore and Dano each totaled four assists. Hammond had five draw controls, Rotter added four and Storm won three. Griffith led the team with three caused turnovers.
 
"Kendal [Johnson] has been out for two seasons with a knee injury and today was the Kendal that we all know. She was willing to drive, she was dishing the ball, she was facilitating," Morhac said.
 
Notre Dame will celebrate Senior Day when they play West Virginia Wesleyan College, on April 16, at 1 p.m.