One of the innate beauties of team sports is that momentum can change so quickly.
A week ago, the field hockey team was squirming, trying to figure out how it could eke out so much as a single win after losing five consecutive games by a single goal.
How things have changed.
On Wednesday, just a few days after snapping that losing streak with a 2-0 win over Yale, the Big Green (3-5 overall, 1-1 Ivy League) won their biggest game of the season with a stunning 2-1 upset of the University of New Hampshire, the nation's 17th-ranked team.
"We didn't play so differently from the way we were playing when we lost the last few games," Coach Julie Dayton said. "From the opening minutes we really went after them. That put them on the defensive and took them out of their game."
For its part, Dartmouth managed one first-half goal on a chip shot by Amy Coughlin '96 that was created on a crossing shot by Cynthia Roberts '96.
Dartmouth's second goal came mid-way through the second half when Kathleen Hickey '96 beat UNH goaltender Jenn Bouchie in a break-away one on one for her second goal of the season.
But UNH came within one with 6:14 to play when the Wildcats' Kathy Cortez pumped the ball past Lauren Demski '96.
"That gave us a scare," Dayton admitted. "UNH is a quality team. With a team like that, the game is not over until it's over. You can score in ten seconds in hockey."
The Big Green managed to hold off the Wildcats over the game's last minutes to preserve the win.
