fighting irish continue to roll in 15-10 win over hokies

Topher Wagner

April 21, 2021

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — In the ultra-competitive ACC, a single slipup can turn the standings upside down, with the top four teams in the conference keeping a stronghold at the front of the national top 20.

However, on Wednesday afternoon that colossal upset was not to be.

No. 5 Notre Dame never trailed in its 15-10 win over Virginia Tech, as a dominant performance by Kasey Choma led the way for the Fighting Irish in their penultimate game of the regular season.

The sophomore was a force to be reckoned with in the ACC battle, as Choma routinely sliced through the Hokies’ defense all game long to the tune of six goals.

For Virginia Tech, it loses another matchup against one of the best teams in the nation, despite a stellar game from star Paige Petty, as her four second half goals led to a late comeback effort from the Hokies.

Unfortunately for Tech, her effort was too little, too late as an 11-minute goal drought to start the second half doomed the Hokies down the stretch.

Wednesday afternoon was all Notre Dame from the get-go, as the Fighting Irish opened the floodgates with three straight goals after nearly nine minutes of scoreless action to open the game.

The Hokies couldn’t catch a break in the opening frame, as two shots hit the post in the first 10 minutes, and capped off a narcoleptic scoring attack that lasted until midway through the first half.

Finally, Emma Crooks ended the drought with her 25^th goal of the year to cut the deficit to two. But then the Fighting Irish went back to work.

Jackie Molak scored back-to-back goals over a seven minute span, as Notre Dame took advantage of several key Hokies’ mistakes to extend its lead. From a Tech shot clock violation, to several costly turnovers forced by the Irish, Notre Dame was in full control, taking a 6-2 lead into the break.

Tech’s paltry first half was only somewhat salvaged by Whitney Liebler’s strike with 25 seconds left to narrow the gap.

After a sloppy 30 minutes of play, the Hokies came out with a vengeance to start the second half as Caroline Allen netted the first goal of the frame just over a minute in.

Then, just as its done all season long, Notre Dame’s offense exploded.

For the next 10 minutes, the Fighting Irish went on a 6-0 run as five different scorers got in on the action with Notre Dame showing its depth on the offensive side. Tech’s strong defensive first half imploded within minutes, as goalie Angie Benson was chased from the game and Morgan Berman took her spot.

Maybe it was the change behind the net or a resurgence to not to go away quietly, but after falling behind 12-3, Virginia Tech flipped a major switch.

Following Crooks’ second goal of the game to end the Hokies’ drought, Petty took over. The Hokies’ star scored four goals in a span of 10 minutes to bring her season total to 35 and Tech within striking distance.

Unfortunately for VT, that was as close as it got, as two extra strikes from Choma and a suffocating defense by the Irish to close out the game led to Notre Dame’s five goal victory.

In defeat, the Hokies fall to 4-10 on the year and a disappointing 0-8 record in the ACC. They’ll have one last chance to avoid going winless in the conference on Saturday in the regular season finale in a rematch against archrival No. 8 Virginia.

For Notre Dame, it improves to 7-5 on the year while looking to close out the regular season strong versus No. 19 Louisville on senior day.