Notre Dame fell short in its exhibition against No. 6 Dartmouth Saturday in Hanover, N.H., dropping the contest 14-13 in the team's final game before the No. 5 Irish begin their regular season this weekend at James Madison.
The Big Green and the Irish scrimmaged through controlled situations earlier in the day with 10 offensive and 10 defensive turns for each team. In the afternoon the teams then played an exhibition match in a rematch of last season's NCAA semifinal Dartmouth victory.
Despite the close loss, Irish coach Tracy Coyne was very impressed by the performance of both teams.
"For the first game of the year, it was a very high-caliber and fast-paced scrimmage - what you would expect from two final four teams," Coyne said. "The officials were shocked how fast the game was moving for an exhibition, and watching the tape it would look much more like a midseason game than a scrimmage."
The Irish will now begin preparing for their first regular season opponent, No. 12 James Madison. Notre Dame will travel to Harrisonburg, Va., for its Sunday matchup.
"I think we have a few things left to fine-tune," Coyne said. "But I think this exhibition has given us the extra push and renewed our commitment for this year."
Notre Dame also received news Friday that Ohio University had canceled its women's lacrosse program - significant because the two teams were scheduled to play later this season.
"It's discouraging news for a major university to cancel their program," Coyne said. "It left us and a lot of other teams scrambling to find another opponent for this season."
