The No. 12 Irish continued their recent string of success with a dominating 15-5 win over Big East opponent Cincinnati. The win pushed the Irish winning streak to four games and left their Big East record at 5-1 with three regular season games remaining.
Irish coach Tracy Coyne said she has seen steady improvement throughout the season and the team now appears to be peaking at the right time.
"I just think that we're taking care of the ball in a lot of different ways, we continue to work on the little things," Coyne said. "We just got off to a bit of a slow start and now it's coming together."
Notre Dame scored on their first possession and never looked back, jumping out to a 9-0 lead in the first half. Celebrating Senior Day before a large home crowd at Arlotta Stadium, the Irish quickly dispensed any notion of a Bearcat upset.
"I was happy with our intensity, we respected them as an opponent," Coyne said. "I also thought we handled them well physically."
Senior attack Gina Scioscia had a perfect ending to a stellar career, recording seven points on three goals and four assists.
"I was really pleased with how Gina played," Coyne said. "For her on her Senior Day to have a day like that it's special."
Freshman Jenny Granger and junior Shaylyn Blaney each had three goals for the squad. Notre Dame's quick start allowed Coyne to get everybody on the field for Senior Day.
"Everyone being able to play on Senior Day is nice, you play for your teammates and honoring your seniors," Coyne. "It was a nice tribute to them."
Notre Dame was able to outshoot Cincinnati (4-8, 0-4) 31-10 in the match, with their relentless attack putting the game out of reach early.
"I think that we need to start establishing momentum early, and that's something we've been working on," Coyne said.
The game was a nice way to honor the three graduating seniors — Scioscia, defender Rachel Guerrera and midfielder Maggie Zentgraf — who Coyne said were integral to building up the program to its current state.
"They've been through a lot, we were building and building and since they've been on the team we've been nationally ranked every season," Coyne said. "They maintained their belief in the program and bought into what we're trying to do."
The Irish will hit the road for the last three games of their regular season, first taking on Ohio State in a game with huge implications for an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament.
"Ohio State's going to be a battle. Anytime Notre Dame Ohio State get together in anything its going to be a tough fight," Coyne said. "There are some big regular season games left to be played so we need to get it done."
The Buckeyes will take on the Irish on Thursday at 5 p.m. in Columbus.
