Notre Dame roundup: MK Doherty the hero as women's lacrosse pulls off upset

Notre Dame senior midfielder MK Doherty threw her stick off to the side as she ran behind the Boston College net, throwing both hands up in pure joy.

No one could blame her. She had just knocked off the No. 2 women’s lacrosse team in the country.

Doherty fired a shot from the right wing and into the left corner of the net with 15.6 seconds to go in then-No. 8 Notre Dame’s road game against Boston College on Saturday, breaking a 14-14 tie. She then won the ensuing draw and helped the Irish salt away the final moments, sealing the upset win and improving to 7-2 (2-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) this season.

Notre Dame has now beaten the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the nation, raising its own ranking to No. 5 in the newest ILWomen/IWLCA Division I poll.

Earlier in the week, on Wednesday, Doherty scored the game-winning goal against then-No. 23 Brown with 36.6 seconds left to put the Irish on top 16-15. She took a pass on the left side, ran toward the middle and fired a blistering shot between the legs of the Brown goalie.

For her efforts, USA Lacrosse named Doherty the Division I Player of the Week. She scored 7 goals, dished out 3 assists and totaled 14 draw controls in two games.

Doherty and the Irish continue their road trip at 7 p.m. ET ON Friday, traveling to Clemson, S.C. to take on the Tigers.

Taylor dominates as men’s lacrosse blows out Michigan

Aside from one overtime blip against Georgetown, No. 2 Notre Dame men’s lacrosse has performed as advertised in its pursuit of a second-straight national championship. The Irish took care of then-No. 18 Michigan on Saturday at home, winning 19-9 and improving to 5-1.

Graduate attackman Jake Taylor scored a whopping 7 goals, just one short of his own program record. Junior attackman Chris Kavanagh put up 7 points of his own with a goal and 6 assists — good for his career high — while freshman midfielder (and wide receiver on the football team) Jordan Faison notched a hat trick with 3 goals of his own.

Notre Dame has a weekend off before beginning their ACC slate with a tough matchup against No. 6 Syracuse. The Irish and Orange will face off at 2 p.m. ET on March 30 in South Bend.

Notre Dame softball wins key ACC series

Needing a strong showing against a strong opponent, Notre Dame softball got it this past weekend against Georgia Tech. The Irish took two out of three from Georgia Tech, improving to 16-10 (2-4 ACC).

Down 5-4 in the sixth during Sunday’s rubber match, Notre Dame called on senior infielder Mac Vasquez to pinch-hit for junior shortstop Anna Holloway with runners on second and third and nobody out. Vasquez delivered, chopping a single past the Yellow Jackets’ shortstop and bringing both runners home to take the lead. Notre Dame locked it down in the bottom of the sixth and seventh, winning the series.

The Irish are back at home this week, playing a mid-week matchup against Michigan State at 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday before hosting North Carolina State for a three-game series starting at 5 p.m. ET on Friday.

Notre Dame baseball swept by Florida State

ACC play continued to plague Notre Dame baseball this past weekend. The Irish lost three in a row to Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla., dropping them to 11-8 (0-6 ACC).

Notre Dame had a chance in Game 3, taking a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth. However, Florida State came back with 2 runs in the bottom of the fifth to tie it and one more in the bottom of the sixth to take the lead. Redshirt senior Seminoles first baseman Daniel Cantu scored the game-winning run in the sixth on a field error by graduate Irish third baseman Simon Baumgardt.

The Irish have a mid-week home test against Western Michigan at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, and then they’ll look to pick up a league win with a series against Miami. That three-game set will start at 4:30 p.m. ET on Friday in South Bend.