SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Cornell's nationally ranked defense couldn't overcome the loss to two injured starters and Notre Dame's powerful offense in dropping a 16-8 decision on Sunday afternoon at Moose Krause Stadium in NCAA first round tournament action. The Big Red's season, which included a share of the program's first-ever Ivy League title, ends with a 12-4 record. Notre Dame, the No. 6 seed, advances to play No. 3 Georgetown on Saturday, May 20.

All-America candidates Crysti Foote and Jill Byers each scored four goals and had two assists, while Carol Dixon had 12 saves in goal for the Irish (14-3). Caitlin McKinney added a hat trick, while Heather Ferguson had two goals and an assist in the win.

Cornell got four goals from sophomore Noelle Dowd, who was the team's only multi-point scorer on the afternoon. Dowd added two ground balls and two draws in the loss. Senior Allison Schindler was one of four players to each record a goal, finding the back of the early to extend Cornell's short-lived lead to 3-0 early in the first half. Classmate Rachel Spoonhower added three draw controls to the effort, while senior tri-captain Lyndsay Robinson had a team-best three ground balls.

The Big Red defense, ranked third in the country entering the game, could not overcome playing without injured starters and All-America candidates Margaux Viola and Anne Riordan. Senior Maggie Fava had eight saves in the contest, with six coming in the second half.

By the numbers, the game was closer than the final score. Notre Dame held a slight 29-26 edge in shots and a 22-17 edge in ground balls, while both teams won 13 draws.

Byers scored three times and had an assist in the first half to lead the Fighting Irish offense. The Big Red got off to a raging start, scoring the first three goals of the contest, including two scores by Dowd. The home team regained momentum as it started winning draws. Notre Dame answered the run with four consecutive goals to make it 4-3, but Dowd's second goal of the contest with 15:25 left tied the game at 4-4. The Fighting Irish weren't slowed down, scoring four more times to take an 8-4 advantage into halftime. Cornell tried everything to get back into the game, even going to backup goalkeeper Mary Montague for seven minutes in the first half to try and spark the Cornell defense. The junior allowed one goal and won a possession on a ground ball race to the end line.

Notre Dame bumped the lead to six goals before regaining the edge, getting back to within four on a fastbreak score by Mimi Baveye with 16:56 remaining after a long battle for a ground ball at midfield made it 11-7. The Irish started to run away with the contest, scoring twice after that goal to make it 13-7. The Big Red attempted to cause some turnovers and pressed out the defense, but UND took advantage of the pressure to score several late goals thanks to constant ball movement in extending the lead. Dowd recorded her fourth goal of the contest and 0th of the year with 1:33 left to cap the scoring.