In the summer of 2002, Elizabeth Right '04 made a bold prediction for herself and her Dartmouth lacrosse teammates -- that they would win a national championship.
"In the next two years, it will be done," Right said.
With the 2004 season in full swing, the Big Green women are out to fulfill Right's prophecy, but with the NCAA tournament more than a month away, there's another championship on their minds: Dartmouth's eighth Ivy League title in 10 years.
In that regard, so far, so good.
After a competitive spring break schedule that included trips to nationally-ranked Stanford and Maryland, the Big Green are 4-2 (2-0 Ivy) and in the heart of their Ivy League schedule. Five of Dartmouth's next seven games are against Ancient Eight opponents, with No. 10 Syracuse as the only non-conference opponent.
By the end of April, the Ivy League champion will be determined, and if Dartmouth's performance is any indication, Big Green head coach Amy Patton may lead her eighth Dartmouth team to the title.
Dartmouth's first two Ivy League games saw the Big Green women outscore their opponents -- Yale and Columbia -- by a combined score of 32-11. The Dartmouth offense, which had averaged 7.75 goals in Dartmouth's first four games of the season, exploded against the Bulldogs and Lions, leading the way to a 13-9 win over Yale and a 19-2 thrashing of Columbia.
At the same time, Dartmouth's defense, led by goalkeeper Devon Wills '06, the reigning Ivy Defensive Player of the Week, has been stifling throughout the season, holding opponents to 6.67 goals per contest. Still, while Wills (last year's Ivy Rookie of the Year) and the Dartmouth defense have been solid all season long, the Big Green's win over Yale represented a major breakthrough.
"We needed that game," Patton said after the win over the Bulldogs. "We wanted to start league play off with a win, and Yale is a very good team."
The Big Green women hope to continue to prove themselves a "very good team" when they take on Brown (3-1, 1-0 Ivy) on Sunday in Providence. The Bears' lone loss came at the hands of Maryland, who also defeated Dartmouth. However, where the Terrapins' win over Dartmouth was a close, hard-fought affair that saw the Terps triumph 11-8 after being tied at halftime, Brown was positively no match for the ACC power, falling 21-6.
Dartmouth will look to have an equally strong win over the Bears when the teams meet on Sunday at 1 p.m. on Stephenson Field.
In other news, tri-captain Lana Smith '04, a candidate for the Tewaaraton Award, is proving herself to be a serious contender for college lacrosse's top individual honor. She leads the Big Green in goals (15), assists (six) and points (21). She isn't without help, though, as two other Big Green players are in double figures so far: fellow Tewaaraton candidate Katieanne Christian '05 (9-1-10) and Kristen Zimmer '06 (5-5-10).
Annie Leibovitz '06 is also enjoying a breakout year with nine goals thus far, including five in Ivy play. Wills stopped 28 shots in three games last week, but only played half of the Columbia game, as Patton used Dartmouth's runaway win to give time to backup goalkeepers Kelly Roy '06 and Angela Trusty '07.
