Notre Dame Youth Movement Showing Signs of Growth

Madison Rassas had considered Notre Dame a dream destination since she first picked up a lacrosse stick.

“This has been a dream of mine since before I could walk,” Rassas said. “Always [playing] in the backyard, the goal was to wear that jersey. When that moment came, I was going to execute on that. I put so much work into getting here that it literally gives me goosebumps every time I put on that jersey.”

The sophomore midfielder and 2024 U.S. U20 training team selection has emerged as a breakout star in the Fighting Irish’s youth movement. During her debut campaign last spring, Rassas recorded a team-high 29 goals with four assists.

A lower-body injury cut Rassas’ freshman season three games short, but it gave the Sterling, Va., produt additional motivation entering the offseason.

“It’s the first time she truly missed major time in her career,” coach Christine Halfpenny said. “She’s stronger, she’s built her IQ and continues to work on creating great chemistry with a really great team around her. Last year, there was a big microscope on her, and now she can share that load with the players around her.”

Now, the preseason All-American has played a pivotal role in No. 15 Notre Dame’s 2-0 start to the 2026 season, amassing nine goals and three assists in the opening week of play. She scored a career-high six goals in her team’s 25-0 rout of Central Michigan.

Rassas’ father, Todd Rassas, earned All-American honors each season from 1996-1998 with the Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse program. Her grandfather and great-grandfather were each All-American football players in South Bend. Family ties have proven a common thread on Halfpenny’s squad, with more than a dozen legacy players on the Notre Dame roster.

Halfpenny said the staggering figure of familiarity speaks to the program’s unique culture. She’s quick to point out the dearth of transfers in her roster construction.

“We’re focused on our narrative,” Halfpenny said. “We’re focused on our belief. All that outside noise, frankly, we don’t even hear it. When you look at the young age of our team, this is our recruitment efforts. This is our development. We’re really just proud of our players for believing.”

Last season, the Irish finished 7-8 in a rebuilding year and missed the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018.

As Notre Dame battled a daunting non-conference slate and competed in the ACC — which fielded two final four squads, including eventual national champion North Carolina — the team lost five one-goal games.

For Rassas, the experience proved invaluable.

“That was a wake-up call for all of us,” Rassas said. “Just knowing all summer, all preseason, we’re putting in extra work and doing the extra things to get one percent better every single day. Everybody has bought into that, and no one wants to feel how we felt last season.”

Notre Dame remains young, significantly more so than the bulk of its conference counterparts. In the Irish’s season-opening 12-10 win over then-No. 13 Michigan on Feb. 6, six freshmen and sophomores earned spots in the starting lineup.

But Halfpenny said the group has taken significant strides in its attacking cohesion. She credited the defense, which staved off the Wolverines late in the season opener before posting the third shutout in program history against Central Michigan, as a unit that exudes confidence.

“We’re really proud of the consistency that’s showing early signs of an excellent team,” Halfpenny said. “But it’s a long season. We play in the hardest conference in the country. None of that is lost on us.”

Halfpenny has seen her fair share of transcendent classes progress through the program. Among her current players, 2024’s graduating class that featured the likes of Jackie Wolak, Kasey Choma and Madison Ahern set a standard to strive toward.

Still, there’s a balancing act between learning from the past and embracing the current team’s unique identity.

“The motivation in this group has been so awesome — the will to win is what you need to be champions,” Rassas said. “That’s what we saw in Kasey and Jackie. They were warriors. I can really see it in this group. We want it so bad. We’re going to do anything to keep putting up wins.”

While Notre Dame racked up a pair of non-conference victories in its opening week of play, the Irish have quickly shifted course to preparations for a clash with No. 3 Boston College on Friday in Fish Field House.

It’ll mark the first of Notre Dame’s 10 ACC games as Halfpenny’s squad vies for a return to the conference tournament.

“It starts with confidence, and this opening weekend [reinforced] confidence we had before,” Rassas said. “I had no doubt we could do this thing. Everyone’s been able to buy into that mentality that we are here for a reason and are going to make everybody work to put up points against us.”