The men's soccer team recorded their first loss of the season Wednesday, a 1-0 setback in Storrs, Conn. to the University of Connecticut.
The game's only goal came early, at the 19:26 mark of the first half.
Husky James Danaher's 20-yard pass slithered through the Dartmouth defense and found the foot of Erik Barbieri, who beat Big Green goalie Brian Wiese '95.
Five minutes later, a late whistle disallowed a second Conn goal. After Husky forward Derek Sullivan headed the ball into the net, the referees concluded that the ball had gone over the end line and awarded Dartmouth a goal kick.
Dartmouth came out strong in the second half and dominated the remainder of the game, but was unable to notch the equalizer.
"We stepped up the work rate in the second half," Coach Bobby Clark said. "But we ran out of time before we were able to solve our problems."
The Big Green's best chance came 63 minutes into the game when midfielder Methembe Ndlovu '97 broke through the Husky defense and came in one-on-one against Conn goalie Sloan Spaeth. Fifteen yards out, Spaeth dove to his left to deny Ndlovu and preserve the shutout.
Dartmouth came into the game ranked first in New England and 11th in the country. Conn was rightfully ecstatic after the win, while Clark was concerned about the potential for complacency.
"I've never seen Conn so excited after beating us," Clark said. "I think we've got to be careful. It wasn't really a compliment to this year's squad, but to previous teams and the program as a whole."
With the loss, Dartmouth's record falls to 2-1, while Conn improves to 6-3. The Big Green returns to Connecticut this weekend to face Yale and begin the defense of last year's Ivy Title. Yale holds a two-game win streak against the Big Green.
"Last year, it was the work rate and effort that gave us the results," Clark said. "If we can get back to that, we'll be OK."
