After St. Patrick's Day, it's no surprise that the luck of the Irish smiled upon the team with the fitting name.

Yesterday, the Harvard women's lacrosse team fell to the Notre Dame

Fighting Irish, 8-3, on Jordan Field. Harvard drops to 2-1 on the season, while Notre Dame improves to 3-1 overall and is a perfect 3-0 on its Spring Break road trip.

The Fighting Irish were paced offensively by senior Lael O'Shaughnessy, who netted two goals and assisted on two others. The 5'5 attacker led a physical and intimidating Notre Dame attacked that wore down the Crimson defense as the afternoon wore on.

"It was a very physical game and we had most of our chances early," said Harvard Coach Carole Kleinfelder. "Once they got the lead though, they

just got tougher and tougher from a physical as well as mental standpoint."

In the early going, the Crimson was able to penetrate the Irish zone and

create some scoring opportunities. The Crimson drew first blood when sophomore midfielder Katie Shaughnessy converted an Ashley Harmeling pass in the eighth minute for a 1-0 lead.