With a lead of 12-3 one might think the men's lacrosse team had finished, but yesterday the Big Green tallied those goals in one half in its 21-5 rout over Providence at Memorial Field.
"They didn't have a very good record coming in, so it's always a risk that you may let up for a game like this," Coach Tim Nelson said. "I think we played really well though. Our guys came out ready to play and put the game away early."
Indeed Dartmouth was off to a quick start, taking a 7-1 first-quarter lead when Tom Scott '97 pounded one in from inside. Defensively, the Big Green were seldom pressured as the Dartmouth offense continuously pressured the Providence goal.
"We did what we had to do against a team that I think we were stronger than," Captain Todd Smith '95 said. "We faced off and ran our plays well."
Throughout the game, Dartmouth was at ease moving the ball and took the ball inside with precision.
"We've been playing unselfishly and have been passing the ball extremely well," Nelson said. "We need to continue executing our half field offense and moving the ball."
With the game under control, Dartmouth let up a bit during the third quarter, but the Big Green came back strong to end the game outscoring Providence 6-0 in the fourth quarter.
"The whole team got up to play," Nelson said. "All the guys were ready to go out and play especially since we were on our home field."
With 40 players on its squad, Dartmouth looks to capitalize on any opportunity to play as many players as possible.
"It boosts morale to get all of the players in," Nelson said.
Even though yesterday's win came easily for Dartmouth, the Big Green valued the playing experience.
"Anytime we have a game we get fired up for it," Smith said. "It's great for practice. We can run our plays and get in the game mindset."
The victory brought Dart-mouth's season record to 6-0, the team's best start since it began the 1944 season 6-0.
The team is now tied atop the Ivy League with Princeton and Harvard, and is the only Ivy team to sport a perfect overall record.
Dartmouth will look to use game experience Saturday when it takes on Ivy League rival Cornell at 11:00 a.m. at Memorial Field.
"We have to come ready to play," Smith said. "We need to be ready to pull out a win against a team that is pretty similar to us skillwise. We did it against Penn and hopefully we can pull it out this weekend."
"We have to keep working and continue to play hard and tough," Nelson said. "I'm confident because we've had our backs against the wall a lot this season and no one has given up."
