When the Maryland women’s lacrosse team works out between games, players are allowed to choose their own weight training exercises and receive one-on-one attention from athletic trainer Allie Boll.

That philosophy has helped the Terps remain fresh despite one of the most grueling schedules in the nation. Rather than complaining about facing six opponents ranked or receiving votes in their first nine games, they’ve embraced the challenge.

“The biggest thing we always preach is just to listen to your body [and get] treatment,” defender Julia Braig said. “Everyone takes a lot of accountability knowing how hard they can push themselves, but also when you need a break so you can perform at your best in games.”

[Read more: Maryland women’s lacrosse sweeps weekly Big Ten awards after two top-10 wins]

Last week, the Terps played two games against undefeated top 10 opponents in just three days, knocking off then-No. 7 Penn and then-No. 3 James Madison. They’ve battled more top 10 opponents (5) than both No.1 Stony Brook (2) and No. 2 Boston College (2).

Maryland (8-1) faces Georgetown (5-3), which received top-20 votes in each of the past four weeks, on Wednesday. It’s the Terps’ third game in seven days.

“We love playing the really good teams, it’s a chance for us to showcase what we’re all about and what we’ve worked for this entire season,” midfielder Meghan Siverson said. “Playing these high-ranked teams is really motivation for us rather than a burden.”

Attacker Megan Whittle said the level of competition is the reason many players on the team chose to play for Maryland. She added the recent schedule reminds her of the program’s previous three postseason tournament runs, which has prepared the team for this year’s national championship pursuit.

“We don’t want any easy games, we want every game to be a hard fought win,” Whittle said. “I think the best thing about Maryland is we always have a target on our back and everyone wants to beat us, so everyone gives us their very best game.”

Coach Cathy Reese agreed, adding that her team has gained confidence from its performances against the best teams in the nation without tiring.

Entering its midweek matchup with Georgetown, the team believes its training approach and big-game experience will ensure its drive continues.

“We’re getting a taste of what we can do,” Reese said. “When you go out and play and you see these glimpses where you do things really well, that is motivating in itself to continue to want to fight to get better.”