The Irish have made the NCAA tournament in six of her seven seasons at Notre Dame and are poised for another tournament run with a weath of experience returning this season.

Known on the field for a “fast, aggressive and passionate" style of play, Halfpenny's teams have led their respective conference in caused turnovers each of the past five seasons.

In 2018, the Irish finished 10-9 to clinch their 13th-straight winning season and a lot of newcomers made immediate impacts. The Irish won six home games for the second straight season, including wins over No. 9 Syracuse and No. 18 Duke. The Irish advanced to the ACC semifinals for the third time in school history after coming back from a five-goal deficit to beat Virginia in the quarterfinals.

Freshman Andie Aldave broke her first school record just three games into her collegiate career. She tallied 11 draw controls against Stetson to break the single game record. Later in the season, she broke the single season record after winning her 86th draw control. She finished the season with 98. Aldave and fellow freshman Maddie Howe combined to complete a feat for the first time in school history. The duo scored 30+ goals this season to become the first freshman pair to score 30+ in school history. Howe led the team in goals with 40 while Aldave was second with 31.

Savannah Buchanan and Sam Giacolone earned first team All-ACC honors at the end of the season. Buchanan finished top-three on the team in all categories while finishing third in school history for most draw controls in a single season (67). Buchanan also earned first team All-Region honors from the IWLCA. Giacolone led the team in ground balls and had five games with double-digit saves.