The Dartmouth women's lacrosse team had one of its most successful seasons ever this spring, despite the fact that it ended in a defeat to Harvard in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Receiving an invitation to the tournament was an honor well deserved for the Big Green, as only six teams receive bids. Dartmouth finished the season with an 11-4 record.
The season began auspiciously during the spring trip to the Washington, D.C. area. The Big Green returned to Hanover with wins over Loyola, Towson State, and Richmond, and only one loss -- to the University of Maryland. Coach Amy Patton was encouraged by her team's early success, especially by the play of Lauren Holleran '95.
Holleran, the winner of last season's Ivy League Rookie of the Year award, picked up right where she left off last spring, scoring a team record 10 goals in the win over Loyola. Holleran finished the season as strongly as she began, leading the Ivy League in overall scoring with 65 points (53 goals, 12 assists).
Holleran, who was second to Amory Rowe of Princeton in Ivy League scoring , was named to the All-Ivy first team as well as the Brine/Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association All-American first team for Division I.
Ellen Bruce '94, Dartmouth's leading defender, was named to the All-Ivy first team and the Brine/IWLCA All-American first team as well. Ginger Smith '92, captain of the Big Green, was named to the All-Ivy first team and the Brine/IWLCA All-American second team.
Other Dartmouth players receiving honors were goalie Kim Cohen '94, who was named to the All-Ivy first team and the Brine/IWLCA All-American second team. Cohen led all goaltenders in Ivy League games with a 6.39 goals against average, and was second in the league in overall goaltending to Erin O'Neill of Princeton.
Sarah Devens '96, who made a strong showing for the Rookie of the Year award but did not win, received an All-Ivy Honorable Mention for her efforts this season. Devens finished with 32 points (25 goals, 7 assists) overall, and 18 (12 goals, 6 assists) in Ivy League play. Also receiving an Honorable Mention was defender Jana Friedman '94.
The Big Green suffered an early season setback when they lost a double-overtime game to Princeton, 10-8 on April 4. Leading 7-1 at halftime, Dartmouth folded in the second frame, allowing the Tigers to storm all the way back to win the game.
Many teams would have slumped after such a disappointing performance, but Dartmouth displayed pride and confidence by doing the opposite, starting a seven game winning streak with its next game.
The streak began with wins over the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State University. Dartmouth's 9-6 victory over Penn State was its first ever defeat of the Nittany Lions. The Big Green continued on with wins over the University of Massachusetts, Cornell, Yale, Boston College and Brown.
During the seven game streak, Dartmouth out-scored its opponents 85-25, and appeared to be one of, if not the, hottest teams in the nation. But the Big Green had yet to face Harvard, and they could put it off no longer. The Big Green
was one game away from an Ivy League title but lost their final regular season game, and a subsequent NCAA tournament game to the dreaded Crimson and Harvard superstar, Liz Berkery.
With Holleran, Bruce, Cohen, Devens and many other players returning, the future looks bright for the women's lacrosse program. The Big Green were one game away from the Ivy title, and came within two wins of the national championship this year, a big accomplishment for any team in any sport.
