CRESTVIEW, Ky. – Another year, another win to begin the season for Notre Dame College women's lacrosse. On Sunday, NDC took down Thomas More University by a score of 17-12, and the Falcons have now won six of their last seven season openers.
 
Notre Dame hit the ground running in the first quarter, scoring seven times.
 
Sophomore Joselyn Storm won the first two draw controls of the game and both of those led to a goal. The Falcons sped down the field on the first possession and drew a foul. Junior Lexington Carson had the ball with a free position shot before passing to sophomore Carlie Wilson, who sent the ball into the back of the net. After winning the next draw, Storm sprinted down the field and fired a shot past the Saints' goalkeeper, to put NDC ahead, 2-0, in the first minute.
 
The NDC defense had the chance to shine when Thomas More's Alex Nunn won the draw control and took a shot. NDC goalie Annika Duncan made the stop, the first of her 13 saves on the day, which set a career-high. On the other end, junior Grace Nickoloff sliced around defenders and then passed to Wilson for her second goal.
 
On their next two possessions, Thomas More first turned the ball over and then took a shot that was saved by Duncan. In between those two possessions, sophomore Jovie Noack scored her first goal and freshman Gwen Bogash was credited with the first of her five assists in the game.
 
Thomas More did not score its first goal until the 7:55-mark in the first quarter. But, forty seconds later, Storm scored the ball on a free position shot, to put NDC back up by four.
 
Storm finished the game with four goals and six draw controls.
 
Nickoloff would score the final two goals of the quarter to give Notre Dame a 7-2 lead. In 2023, NDC did not have over five goals in a quarter until their seventh game, on March 26.
 
The Falcons continued to roll into the second quarter, as Bogash found sophomore Grace Rotter for a goal, 34 seconds in, to give NDC an 8-2 lead.
 
TMU then began to tighten up the score by going a 4-2 run to end the first half. Bogash and sophomore Ella Scoville had the final two NDC goals before the halftime break and after 30 minutes of play, the Falcons led, 10-6.
 
The defenses were shining, early in the third quarter, as both offenses struggled to get a clear. There were three caused turnovers on the stat sheet in the first four minutes and during that span, Duncan caused a turnover and saved a shot.
 
Following a TMU yellow card, freshman Sydney Pierce passed to Storm for the man-up goal to make the score 11-6, in favor of the Falcons.
 
Thomas More was still putting up a fight, as they clawed within three goals, 11-8, with 7:45 remaining in the third. Both teams scored one more goal before the third quarter ran out.
 
Early in the fourth quarter, the Saints were peppering NDC's goal, in an attempt to cut the deficit to two. McKenzie Mobley had two shots that went wide and then Sarah Metz sent a ball in that was saved by Duncan.
 
Finally, at the 10:21-mark, Storm scored the first goal of the quarter as NDC went on a 4-0 run to start the final stanza. Bogash, freshman Elizabeth Cline and Rotter all found the net. The Falcons led 17-9, with 4:44 to go in the game.
 
Scoville finished the game with three caused turnovers and five draw controls to go along with two goals, while Rotter had a career-high three goals.
 
The final team stats were nearly even in many categories. Thomas More took 34 shots and NDC took 33. Both teams went 13-for-18 on clear attempts and TMU won three more draws (18-15) than Notre Dame. The Falcons did grab 31 groundballs to Thomas More's 21.

Next up, NDC will travel to Ashland University, on Feb. 23. First draw is scheduled for 5 p.m.