LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Player of the Game Olivia Sanders made 10 saves as Midwest Division Champion/No. 8-ranked the University of Notre Dame built a 5-4 halftime lead and outscored Southeast Division Champion/No. 15 Florida State University 5-2 in the second half to garner a 10-6 victory in the opening round of the 2023 Women’s National Collegiate Club Championship.
Competing at the University of California-Los Angeles’ Park Pool at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, the Irish – who are guaranteed a Top Eight finish at the championship – will dance into the quarterfinals as Notre Dame returns to the water at 11:20 a.m. on Saturday, May 6, against Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 4 the University of California-Santa Barbara. UC-Santa Barbara earned its spot in the quarterfinals by dispatching Southwest Division runner-up/No. 7 San Diego State University in overtime, 7-6, earlier in the day.
Florida State falls into the consolation side of the bracket and will face San Diego State at 9:55 p.m. this evening in the 11th and final game of the day. Due to the loss, the Seminoles can not finish higher than ninth place in the final 16-team tournament standings.
FSU opened the scoring with 5:30 left in the first quarter as Khloe Riordan swished a man-up opportunity. The Irish answered at 1:47 via a tally by Grace Kellerman, but Lindsey Chessman returned the Seminoles to the lead with 49 seconds on the clock. However, Notre Dame’s Lauren Rodenberg squared the teams at two-all prior to the close of the opening frame by uncorking a shot which drew nothing but twine with six seconds to play.
The Irish acquired the lead for the first time with 5:58 left in the second quarter as Kellerman canned a shot to stake the Midwest Division Champions to a 3-2 advantage on the scoreboard. Jackie Klupchak responded for Florida State at 5:44 to make the score three-all, but Rodenberg (4:25) and Kellerman (3:57) delivered for Notre Dame to make the score 5-3. River Hastings chipped a goal off the Seminoles’ deficit by putting away a shot with 2:43 left in the first half to inch Florida State within one at 5-4.
Florida State equaled Notre Dame 19 seconds into the third quarter as Riordan delivered her second goal to balance the scoreboard at five-all.
However, the Irish went to work to pull away as Kellerman (5:47) and Rory Kilmer (5:27; 4:07) concluded the third quarter with back-to-back-to-back markers before Kilmer (5:21) and Emily Shank (4;55, man-up) opened the fourth quarter with consecutive tallies to double-up the Seminoles, 10-5.
Klupchak capped off the offense 18 seconds later by swishing a shot with 4:37 on the clock to establish the final score.
For Florida State, Klupchak and Riordan both scored twice with Hastings and Chessman chipping in solo points. Tessa Waterman made six saves in taking the loss for the Seminoles.
Across the tank, Kellerman (three), Kilmer (three) and Rodenberg (three) all netted hat-tricks to combine for nine of Notre Dame’s 10 goals. Shank tacked on one score in support of Sanders’ 10 saves.
| 1st Q | 2nd Q | 3rd Q | 4th Q | – | FINAL | |
| No. 8 University of Notre Dame |
2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | – | 10 |
| No. 15 Florida State University | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | – | 6 |
| FSU Goals: | Jackie Klupchak (2); Khloe Riordan (2); River Hastings; Lindsey Chessman | |||||
| Notre Dame Goals: | Grace Kellerman (3); Rory Kilmer (3); Lauren Rodenberg (2); Emily Shank |
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| Saves: | FSU – Tessa Waterman (6) ; Notre Dame – Olivia Sanders (10) | |||||
| Exclusions: | FSU – 2 ; Notre Dame – 7 | |||||
| Advantage Opportunities: | FSU – 2-for-7 ; Notre Dame – 1-for-2 | |||||
| Cards/Misconducts: | FSU – None ; Notre Dame – None | |||||
| Officials: | Aaron Springer, Mike McMahon | |||||
Florida State University field blocks a shot by the University of Notre Dame’s Charlotte Welsh (#3)
Florida State University’s River Hastings (#12) tries to lob a shot over University of Notre Dame goalie Olivia Sanders (#1)
Florida State University’s Medley Bohn (#14) defends the University of Notre Dame’s Rory Kilmer (#6)
