Coming off an 11-10 loss last weekend to No. 4 Duke, Notre Dame looks to rebound against conference foe Georgetown Saturday at noon in Washington, D.C.
The No. 10 Irish (10-2, 2-0 Big East) have had success so far this year in conference games and hope to stay focused against the Hoyas (8-2, 2-0).
Notre Dame head coach Tracy Coyne is confident about her team despite the loss to Duke - and also feels that there are only slight adjustments needed for her team to get back to winning ways.
"We were almost flawless against Duke, playing competitive, hard-fought lacrosse," Coyne said. "The one thing we need to work on is our execution at the end of the game."
One Irish player who excelled throughout the game was goalie Carol Dixon, who was named the Big East defensive player of the week thanks to her 22-save performance in the game against the Blue Devils.
During practices this week, Coyne has reviewed what mistakes from the Duke game the team needs to correct for the Georgetown contest, including extensive film sessions.
"We know that we do a lot of things really well, and just want to keep working on things that will help us win games," Coyne said. "We would not be where we are now if we weren't good."
By working on fundamentals such as draw controls, Coyne hopes to keep her team focused on itself rather than the opponent. Coyne said the main philosophy for this season's Irish squad has been constantly improving aspects of their own game while thinking of future opponents for only small parts of practices.
"We definitely want to fine-tune our game," Coyne said. "We are a 10-2, top-10 team, and we got that way through executing - which we are going to keep doing the rest of the season."
Saturday's game against the Hoyas marks the halfway point in Notre Dame's Big East schedule. As only six schools in the league have women's lacrosse teamsk, the regular season champion will earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA tournament as there is no Big East post-season championship.
Even with the absence of a conference tournament, Coyne is optimistic about her team's chances this season.
"We have played hard all season and plan on winning the [conference] to get the bid," Coyne said.
