notre dame lacrosse is set to host the Cal Golden Bears on Saturday, March 28, 2026, at 1: 00 PM ET at Arlotta Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. The matchup doubles as Senior Day for the Fighting Irish, with a pregame recognition planned for seniors, graduate students, and senior managers. Cal arrives to close out a three-game road trip, with its athletics preview noting a Saturday start time of 10: 00 AM PT.
Game details and Senior Day recognition for Notre Dame Lacrosse
Notre Dame enters Saturday listed as the #13/13 Notre Dame Fighting Irish with an 8-3 overall record and a 3-3 mark in ACC play. The program has framed the afternoon as Senior Day, with pregame recognition scheduled for eight seniors, two graduate students, and three senior managers.
The individuals set to be recognized are: Abby Lyons, Fran Frieri, Maeve Dwyer, Emma Murphy, Franny O’Brien, Ellie Noto, Anna Kenney, Avery Gawronski, Julia Carr (Graduate), Isabel Pithie (Graduate), Amina Tursalieva (Manager), Eva Williams (Manager), and Katy Simpson (Manager).
Latest form: Irish come in off 20-2 home win
Notre Dame’s Senior Day arrives immediately after a dominant Tuesday night performance at Arlotta Stadium, where the Irish defeated the Robert Morris Colonials 20-2. The result pushed Notre Dame to 5-1 at home this season, with two regular-season home games remaining.
The Irish have now scored 20 goals three times this season, coming after a 22-3 win over Florida State on Saturday, March 21. The two goals allowed against Robert Morris represented the fewest conceded since Notre Dame’s 25-0 shutout of Central Michigan, which the program described as the third regular-season shutout in program history.
Individually, junior Kate Timarky led the way Tuesday with four goals and a career-high four assists, tying her career-high with eight points. She added two ground balls in the win and recorded her eighth hat trick of the season, extending her streak to five straight games with three or more goals. Timarky is listed as second in the ACC with 37 goals this season and second with an average of 3. 36 goals per game.
Series notes, watch list recognition, and roster snapshot
Notre Dame leads the overall series against Cal 11-0, and won the most recent matchup 15-8 at Cal on March 13, 2025.
On the national awards front, Notre Dame stated that Kate Timarky and Maura Irish were added to the 2026 Tewaaraton watch list as additions were announced Thursday afternoon, joining Madison Rassas, who was on the first watch list announced mid-February. The program also noted five Irish players mentioned in ILWomen Impact Frehman Early Season Rankings: Grace Maroney, Maura Irish, Charley Bacigalupo (considered), Uma Kowalski (considered), and Ceci Patterson (considered).
Additional team notes from Notre Dame include: the Irish welcomed 12 freshmen to this year’s squad; named four captains for the 2026 campaign (Julia Carr, Abby Lyons, Franny O’Brien, and Kathryn Morrissey); and added two new assistant coaches this season, Marina Miller and Mckenna Davis. Head Coach Christine Halfpenny is in her 15th year leading the program.
What’s next at Arlotta Stadium
Saturday’s meeting is the immediate next stop in a busy weekend of Notre Dame and Cal athletics in South Bend, with weather also impacting scheduling on the softball side. For the lacrosse matchup, all eyes turn to the 1: 00 PM ET opening draw and the pregame Senior Day ceremony as notre dame lacrosse looks to carry its recent home form into the final stretch of the regular season.
