Notre Dame goes into Saturday’s noon game at Syracuse with momentum, a top-end attack and a chance to test all of it against one of the sport’s most complete teams. The Irish will meet No. 3 Syracuse on April 11 at 12 PM inside the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York, carrying an 11-3 record and a five-game winning streak.
That run is built on scoring that has overwhelmed opponents and on a defense that has repeatedly kept games from getting loose. Notre Dame has scored 20 or more goals four times this season and held opponents to single-digit goals 11 times. Against Liberty on Monday afternoon, the Irish won 21-7, their fifth straight victory, and did it with another burst from Kate Timarky, who scored six goals and added four assists for a career-high 10 points while shooting 6-for-6. Madison Rassas had six goals and two assists, finishing one point shy of her career-best nine points.
Timarky’s latest outburst pushed her to 52 goals and 68 points this season, while Rassas has 46 goals and 56 points. Both have earned spots on the 2026 Tewaaraton Watch List and were named IL Women Midseason All-Americans, giving Notre Dame two of the most productive players in the country. Timarky has scored a hat trick or more in 11 games this season, and she has 12 goals and 17 points over her last two games combined. She is second in the ACC in goals and third in points. Rassas is third in the league in goals and fifth in points.
The Irish also have balance behind the headline scorers. Ceci Patterson enters the Syracuse game with a 7.78 goals-against average, a.429 save percentage and 5.21 saves per game. Uma Kowalski has 120 draw controls and is averaging 8.57 draws per game, numbers that help explain why Notre Dame has controlled so many of its wins. Grace Maroney scored her first career hat trick in the Feb. 13 win over No. 3 Boston College, one of the season’s early signs that the offense had more than one way to win.
This roster has also been shaped by more than just the players who lead the box score. Notre Dame lists 12 freshmen on this year’s roster and named Julia Carr, Abby Lyons, Franny O’Brien and Kathryn Morrissey as captains for the 2026 campaign. Marina Miller and Mckenna Davis joined the staff as assistant coaches this summer, adding to a program that has kept climbing while trying to hold its edge against the teams at the top of the rankings.
Syracuse will be a different kind of test. The Orange are 11-3, 6-2 in conference play and ranked No. 3/3, which leaves Notre Dame at No. 15/19 with an 11-3 mark and a 5-3 conference record. The numbers point to a game between two teams with similar records but different pressure points: Syracuse at home, Notre Dame trying to turn a strong stretch into something bigger. What happens at the JMA Wireless Dome should show whether the Irish can carry the same pace and precision into one of their toughest remaining matchups.