This article appears in the February edition of US Lacrosse Magazine, available exclusively to US Lacrosse members. Join or renew today! Thank you for your support.

The saying “don’t poke the bear” is a simple one to understand.

You’re walking through the woods, and you notice a bear sleeping just off the path. You could walk past the bear, recognizing the potential danger of getting too close, or poke and antagonize the bear.

Do that, and you’ll have to deal with the consequences. Let it be, and the bear remains harmless. It should be a no-brainer.\

Midway through a Zoom interview, with five of her veteran players listening intently, Notre Dame women’s lacrosse coach Chris Halfpenny responded to the notion that some still don’t consider her team a title contender, even after a successful 2019 season and an undefeated (albeit, shortened) 2020 campaign.

“We all came to Notre Dame to be the best, to be excellent in all facets of what we do. We’re driven every day by that,” Halfpenny said. “People who like to make noise around you, they have no idea, but they’re just poking the bear. You don’t believe in us? That’s your problem, because we believe in ourselves.”

Maddie Howe agreed.

“We know our worth, and we don’t need that external validation to affirm that,” she said.

In 2020, it appeared as if all the pieces had finally come together for the Irish. A standout group of upperclassmen was performing well on the field and setting the standard in team culture for perhaps the most impactful freshman class in the country.

The Irish were 7-0, ranked No. 2 in the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Top 20 and fresh off a 16-6 win over Vanderbilt in Nashville on March 11, the same day the NESCAC and Ivy League canceled spring sports because of growing COVID-19 concerns. The next day, the NCAA canceled its winter and spring championship events.

They had already begun ACC play, besting both Duke and Boston College by four goals, but had yet to begin their rigorous journey through the conference’s best teams — namely No. 1 North Carolina, the next up on their schedule, and Syracuse, a team that fluctuated spots in the top five all season but had cemented itself as a national contender.

Building off a 2019 season during which they went 14-5 but lost to Northwestern in the second round of the NCAA tournament, the Irish could have quelled many of their doubters with strong showings against those teams in 2020. They never got the chance.

So now the lacrosse world waits until the upcoming spring to see if Notre Dame is for real. It’s not a bother to the players. They have no problems being patient, quietly putting in the work while no one’s watching to ensure that the 2021 season is the most successful in program history.

“We do feel like this is what we’ve been building towards,” Halfpenny said. “Last year was no one-hit wonder, nor will 2021 be. There’s been a lot of groundwork done for this team to be in the conversation of a national contender.”

Andie Aldave, Savannah Buchanan and Maddie Howe had grown accustomed to doing nearly all of the heavy lifting. Prior to last season, game after game, that trio was responsible for most of the difference-making plays on the offensive side of the ball.

“It was like, ‘Savannah, Maddie and Andie, if you guys don’t score today, we don’t win.’ That is basically what 2018 and 2019 were like,” Halfpenny said. “We never had to say that to them. It was no pressure. But we needed them.”

Each of the three boasts the mentality to thrive while staring down those expectations. Buchanan is soft-spoken, but she’s the glue player who will do whatever it takes to win. Aldave is one of the most talented midfielders in the country and welcomes the pressure of big moments. Howe operates with a confident swagger indicative of a player who’s scored 115 career goals, 10th in program history.

But that made the offense an easy scout, and savvy teams could find ways to limit one or two of said stars. They received much-needed reinforcements in 2020.

The Irish welcomed in a highly touted freshman class headlined by Madison Ahern and Kasey Choma, players who were green but came in with a confidence and comfortability that took their new teammates by surprise.

They were intense, charismatic and fun all at once. The nerves of a new challenge were never apparent. “Coolness” was the word Halfpenny used.

Ahern went on to lead the Irish in points (27). Choma led the team in goals (22) and tied Aldave for second in points (23). They added a layer to the offense and took immeasurable pressure of the established stars, setting them up to contribute in other ways and making it extremely difficult to lock off just one player.

“I don’t think my body could’ve taken another year of college lacrosse,” Aldave said. “It’s incredible when you can have such young people come in and have an immediate impact. You can focus on some other parts of your game instead of trying to do everything at once.”

It’s rare for freshmen to be plug-and-play types, but Halfpenny and Aldave credit the culture built by the team’s veterans as why this new crop of talent was able to succeed right away. The early building blocks were laid when Kelly Donnelly, Jessi Masinko, Kathleen Roe, Erin McBride, Katie Enrietto, Samantha Lynch and Buchanan, now graduate students, were first-years in 2017.

Then came Howe and Aldave in 2018, a season which stands out as the arguable low point of Halfpenny’s run in South Bend. Outside of the 2012 season — her first with the program that ended with a trip to the Big East semifinals — Halfpenny has led her team to the NCAA tournament in every year but 2018 (not counting the shortened 2020 season, of course).

Notre Dame went 10-9 that year with a 3-4 mark in the ACC. The Irish dropped non-conference games to High Point and Albany and lost to Boston College twice.

It was time for a new group of players to take changing the culture upon themselves. They’re reaping the benefits years later.

“Last year, something that really changed within our culture was just the sense of belief of what we could do, both as a team and individually,” Buchanan said. “Once we realized that everyone could contribute, that just helped us see that everyone can play collectively and have a sense of calm about us.

“Now that our culture is so strong, everyone knows that we have everything we need.” 

They used the pandemic to grow even closer from miles apart. Aldave said her final days in South Bend last season, although melancholy because her season was lost, were some of her favorite days in college. She said she’s never laughed so hard. The players propped each other up and made the most of a situation they knew was beyond their control.

“There are some programs where one girl is synonymous with the program, but it’s a whole team effort,” goalie Bridget Deehan said. “That’s where we shine. There aren’t any egos on our team. There isn’t a superstar who outshines the rest.”

While Notre Dame certainly possesses headline-making talent — Deehan herself is the US Lacrosse Magazine Division I Women’s Preseason Goalie of the Year, and Aldave is a Preseason All-American midfielder — there is a sense that Notre Dame flies a bit under the radar because of its perceived lack of star power. 

Maybe that’s why the lacrosse world at large continues to underestimate what this group is capable of.

“You mean ‘haters?’” Halfpenny jokingly asked. “Our stars, they don’t walk around like stars. And we love that about them.”

The bar is set high for 2021, at least internally.

Over the course of an hourlong group interview, a relaxed confidence emanated from everyone who spoke. While the expectation is for their season to stretch to Memorial Day weekend, they’re steadfast in trusting both each other and the work that’s going on behind the scenes.

Plus, they’re still riding the momentum from last year.

If there was a singular turning point in 2020, it was probably a 17-15 triumph in a slugfest against Northwestern on Feb. 14.

Ahern completed her second five-point game to start her college career. Howe scored four goals for the second consecutive game. Lynch netted her 100th career goal. Choma tallied a hat trick. It was the first instance of that now enviable depth stepping up during a game in which Aldave was held to one assist.

After Northwestern’s Izzy Scane punctuated a four-goal run by tying the score at 12, Notre Dame netted three straight goals for a 15-12 lead. That was enough to stave off another comeback attempt.

“Since Savannah and I came in as freshmen, we had never beaten them before,” Roe said. “Honestly, when we scrimmaged them in the fall, we didn’t keep score, but I don’t think we ever beat them. That was a huge game for us. Even though that was the second game [of the season], we were like, ‘Yeah, this is legit.’”

Other coaches took notice of Notre Dame’s rise. Once a team that could be shaken and taken advantage of over the course of a game, Notre Dame now has the depth and mental fortitude to cause those same problems for others.

“They’re very, very talented, from front to back, particularly on the defensive side of the ball,” one rival coach said. “They can score, but they have a lot of experience on their defense. And they have kids who can run in transition, and if you fall asleep on them, they’ll score on you. I think they will be right up there, 1, 2, 3, 4, knocking on the door with UNC for sure.”

Some other Division I coaches were less sure that the Irish would position themselves to take that next step — perhaps supporting the notion behind writing this story.

“I’d like to see how tough they are,” one coach said. “Can they take a punch and respond? They’re a team that was off to a nice start, and they have great recruiting classes every year. The talent is there. It’s just a matter of them finding the right recipe.”

Seven of last year’s seniors believe in the recipe. They returned for graduate years, using the NCAA’s eligibility relief. Nobody transferred out of the program. Emma Schettig, a high-profile defender as a freshman at Maryland, entered the portal and joined Notre Dame, adding to a defense already considered one of the nation’s best.

Even with Deehan back between the pipes, that defense could’ve taken a big hit had those players — namely Roe, Buchanan and Donnelly — chosen not to come back for an extra year. They embolden Notre Dame’s deep and dangerous offense that is made even stronger with Aldave strutting back to take the draw after a score.

“Without a doubt, we feel really confident in being able to go for it,” Halfpenny said. “When I watch these women play, they play with no hesitation and no restraints. There’s a freedom about the way they play.”

That freedom is what Deehan and others hope will catch on to those outside of South Bend. Not just the rankings-makers or the analysts, but to the next generation of women’s lacrosse players who Halfpenny hopes will expand upon the culture she’s helped nurture. Long after the likes of Buchanan, Roe and other members of their class are gone, Notre Dame expects to ride this momentum to future successes.

“People will just look at us and say, ‘Wow, that’s something I want to be a part of,’” Deehan said.

Howe said there will be a noticeable “wow” factor. Buchanan chose the word “special” to describe their chemistry. Roe opted for the word “fun.”

Perhaps summarizing it all best, Aldave said that Notre Dame won’t be overlooked any longer.

“By the end of next season, they’ll be saying that Notre Dame is a women’s lacrosse school,” she said.

This is all to say that the phrase “don’t poke the bear” doesn’t really apply to this Notre Dame team. By not poking the bear, the implication is that it will remain harmless. But Notre Dame isn’t a sleeping bear.

It’s already a force to be reckoned with — whether it’s poked or left to its own devices.