Notre Dame's quest for a perfect five-game road trip hit a major roadblock Wednesday night, as the Irish fell to No. 1 Northwestern 16-2.
No. 8 Notre Dame was previously 3-0 on the trip and was coming off of a win at No. 7 Duke, the program's first ever win in Durham, N.C. Irish coach Tracy Coyne was upfront about the team's play on Wednesday.
"We didn't show up. They came to play," Coyne said of the Wildcats. "There was an article in their student newspaper about what a rivalry they consider the game to be and they came out and played like it."
It was a game in which the Irish trailed from the start, falling behind 11-0 at halftime. The Wildcats would eventually score the first 15 goals of the game before Notre Dame found the back of the net.
The Irish, however, cannot afford to dwell on Wednesday's outcome, as they face another strong opponent on Saturday in the Georgetown. The Hoyas come into the game ranked No. 6 in the country and tied for second place in the Big East conference with Notre Dame.
"They have very talented lacrosse players," Coyne said. "They get a lot of the top athletes in that hotbed [the DC/Baltimore area], so I think that's what makes them the good team that they are."
The Irish will be up against historical odds. The program is 2-8 all-time against the Hoyas, including an 0-4 record in Washington, D.C. However, this Irish team pulled off their first ever road win over Duke just over one week ago, and will look to try and make history again.
"We are going to be prepared when the time comes to play that game," Coyne said. "If we play Irish lacrosse the way we know we can, I think that we are going to win."
As for what effect the loss in Evanston will have on the team, Coyne didn't see it as a factor.
"The game was an anomaly. It's not indicative of how we are going to play moving forward," Coyne said. "It showed our flaws, let's be honest, but you don't beat a team like Duke and not be a good team."
The Irish and Hoyas face off Saturday at 1 p.m.
