After a tough one-goal loss at Notre Dame last weekend, the No. 8 Georgetown women’s lacrosse team (9-3, 3-1 Big East) is looking to get back to its winning ways this afternoon against another conference foe, Rutgers (9-4, 1-3 Big East).
The recent turmoil in Rutgers’ athletic department caused by the firing of the men’s basketball Head Coach Mike Rice and the subsequent resignation of Athletic Director TimPernetti appears to have had no effect on the women’s lacrosse team. Rutgers notched its first Big East win over conference rival Villanova 9-6 last weekend.
Rutgers is a well-rounded team with a balanced attack, but junior midfielder and two-time Big East weekly honor roll recipient Katrina Martinelli will pose the biggest threat to the Hoyas’ defense. 2013 has been a breakout year forMartinelli, who — after coming into this season with 11 career points — now leads her team with 38 on 29 goals and nine assists.
Head Coach Ricky Fried believes that the Hoyas, as long as they stay focused, are capable of limiting the Scarlet Knights’ scoring opportunities. Consistency, though, will be the key.
“The biggest thing we’re looking for is just to be disciplined for the entire game,” Fried said. “I think we’re doing a good job in aspects of our game, but then there are other aspects [where] we aren’t focused on enough. Those are the things that are letting us down at the end of the day.”
Missed shots in particular have plagued the Hoyas this season. In last weekend’s loss to Notre Dame, Georgetown had a 15-shot advantage but could not pull out the win due to a failure to convert those shots into goals.
Throughout their 2013 season, the Hoyas have consistently had success in creating scoring opportunities; finishing the plays has proven more difficult. And, as every athlete and coach knows, the close misses do not count at the end of the day — only the numbers on the scoreboard matter.
Shooting is something the Hoyas have been working on all year, but, in light of the loss to Notre Dame, Fried has been stressing the importance of finishing chances even more.
“We’re emphasizing [shooting] as much as we possibly can — about what a quality shot is and where we are expecting them to shoot,” Fried said.
While improved shooting will go a long way toward securing a victory for the Hoyas, another key will be limiting turnovers.
Especially with Martinelli on the prowl, maintaining possession could very well be the difference between improving to 4-1 in the conference and dropping to 3-2.
“We are tracking things a little bit better in practice about, you know, who’s turning the ball over,” Fried said. “[We] make that a little bit more public to the team so that they’re aware of it because I don’t think in practice you are always aware of when you turn the ball over.”
After Rutgers, Georgetown faces Villanova (5-7, 0-4 Big East) on Sunday. The team will then have one week to gear up for its last weekend of regular season play, during which it will face Connecticut and then one of its toughest opponents of the season in No. 5 Syracuse.
Play is scheduled to begin against Rutgers today at 3 p.m. in Piscataway, N.J., and Sunday’s game against the Wildcats is scheduled for noon in Villanova, Pa.
