Throughout this season the women's lacrosse team had one motto: Leave no doubt.
The team fulfilled that and more this season, earning its first ever trip to the NCAA Semifinals and the Ivy League Championship.
Regular Season
Just two years ago, when teams came to play Dartmouth, they did not think that much of the games. After all, it was Dartmouth, not Maryland or some other big name lacrosse school.
Things have changed.
The women of Dartmouth lacrosse, through hard work and determination, have earned a name for themselves, not just within the Ivy League but throughout the nation.
Look at their record. In the first five games of the season, the Big Green defeated all of their opponents, including then top-ranked and defending national champion Princeton.
But look closer. The scores tell even more. Out of those first five games, only the April 1 Princeton game was even close, a 10-9 Dartmouth victory.
Dartmouth took the other four games easily, with the smallest point margin being four and the largest being 10.
Dartmouth's defeat of longtime rival Princeton may have been the most important victory of the season. Not only did the win improve Dartmouth's standings in the Brine/IWLCA Poll from number four to number two, but ended up giving Dartmouth the extra win that would later determine the Ivy League Championship.
Dartmouth had a slight slip in play after those five games when it faced Penn State on April 9. The Nittany Lions, then ranked eighth, defeated number two Dartmouth 9-7 in one of the low points of the season for the Big Green.
"We felt what it's like not to play as a team," Coach Amy Patton said in a postgame interview.
Dartmouth dropped to third in the Brine Poll after this loss, a step it would not be able to undo until very late in the season.
Dartmouth jumped right back into its game, however, wanting to prove that the five-game streak at the beginning of the season was not just a fluke.
The Big Green, under the leadership of senior co-Captains Lauren Holleran and Mya Mangawang as well as seniors Jenny Edwards, Wallis Cook and Kirsten Prettyman, won each of its next seven games. This time the point gaps widened with a 12 point margin (22-10) coming against the University of Vermont on April 20.
Also in this streak, on April 25, came the decisive 14-8 win against Harvard. With this win, Dartmouth walked away undefeated in the Ivies and with the Ivy League title in hand.
Before they knew it, the Dartmouth women were facing the last and one of the biggest games of the season -- the long awaited Maryland game.
For the first eight minutes of the May 6 game, Dartmouth and Maryland stayed neck and neck. Despite a strong effort by Dartmouth, Maryland managed to pull a step ahead of the Big Green, and came out on top with a 12-4 win.
This game closed the Dartmouth season with a 12-2 record overall and a ranking of third in the country.
NCAA Division I Tournament
Dartmouth's strong season gave the team much hope for a bid to the NCAA tournament. Of the six teams chosen by the NCAA Selection Committee, the top two receive byes allowing them to skip to the semifinals.
Because of the eight-point spread in the Maryland game, Dartmouth believed it would not receive a bye.
The committee surprised many people, however, by giving Dartmouth the bye and the second seed and by giving Princeton, which ended its season ranked number two, the third seed.
The bye put Dartmouth in the semifinals for the first time in the history of the program.
Princeton's win over Temple, 14-8, in the first round of the tournament on May 13, pitted Dartmouth against the Tigers in the semifinals. Princeton has been in the Final Four for the past four years.
"We were a little scared," Patton said of the May 20 semifinal game. "Our nerves were getting the better of us. Princeton's experience in Final Four situations was to their advantage."
Dartmouth opened up slowly, letting Princeton jump out to a three-goal advantage.
"Our defense wasn't pressuring and our attack wasn't going to goal. They were scared to take a risk," Patton said. "The officials in our attacking end were calling a tight game." When the direction of the game switched, Princeton took advantage of the officials' calls and were subsequently given free positions.
Dartmouth did get past the nerves and was able to play to its normal level, but Princeton managed to stay above the Big Green for the remainder of the game and came out with the 13-8 win.
"The thing that will reign in my mind about that game is that I've seen them [Dartmouth] before when they've been done and they've folded. I saw them hang in there [on Saturday] to the bitter end of the game. It shows they are a classy team," Patton said.
The most upsetting thing in losing to Princeton is that it was a game that could have gone either way," Patton continued. "It's hard to lose to someone you know you could've beaten. As far as our team goes we aren't letting that take away from the season we've had."
"I couldn't have asked for a better way to end my career," Mangawang said. "It was with a fabulous team and a great coaching staff. I think this team has left its mark in the history books and I was proud to be a part of it."
She added, "Throughout the tournament, on and off the field, I was always happy to be a part of Dartmouth lacrosse. We played tenaciously, lost graciously, but most importantly whatever we did this season, we did so as a team."
