Twenty-four pairs of eyes focused on the television in Oberlander Lounge last Tuesday, scrutinizing tapes of previous games to pick up the smallest details. Those eyes belong to the women's lacrosse team in preparation for what could be one of the biggest games of their lives.
On Saturday, the team will take the field in the semifinal game of the NCAA tournament for the first time ever in the history of Dartmouth women's lacrosse. Their opponent in this dual: national defending champion Princeton University.
"I think the team is ready," Coach Amy Patton said. "They're excited. They're focused. They are psyched to be playing."
It should prove to be a battle of two of the top teams in the country. Princeton and Dartmouth have a long history of good times and bad times for each team.
Dartmouth, which ended the season 12-2, and Princeton, which finished 13-2 this season, have faced each other 18 times. Princeton has taken 11 of those games including come-from-behind victories in two of the last three seasons.
Two years ago, Dartmouth held a six-point lead at halftime but was taken by surprise as the Tigers fought their way back to win.
Last season, Princeton was down by two with nine seconds left. Somehow, the Tigers managed to score the two necessary goals to throw the game into overtime. The two teams held each other in check during the regular overtime, and the game went into sudden death overtime. Princeton scored two minutes into this overtime to take the win, 10-9.
At halftime this season, Dartmouth led, 7-1, the same score as two years ago when Princeton came back to win. This year, however, Dartmouth wanted the win more and, despite a Princeton comeback, pulled out the 10-9 win.
Now, in the NCAA semifinals, the stakes are even higher. Not only is there the huge rivalry between the two teams, but Princeton, in losing to Dartmouth back in April, lost the Ivy League title to the Big Green.
Despite having been ranked number two in the Brine Poll since April 11, the Tigers were seeded in the NCAAs at number three, behind Dartmouth (#2) because of the regular season loss.
This ranking shocked Princeton Head Coach Chris Sailer who said after the pairings were announced, "We were pretty surprised and shocked that we didn't get the number two seed. It seems like the head-to-head was the only thing the [NCAA selection] committee looked at. When you look at the criteria, I think you'd come up with a different answer."
And so it is time to see who really should have won the Ivy League, who really should have been seeded number two, and who really should have received a bye, instead of a bid, into the tournament. This game will not be taken lightly by either side.
It comes down to one thing for Dartmouth, which is, "leaving no doubt," Patton said. "We want to prove we are the stronger team. [The team] realizes it's do or die."
To compound the frustrations are some disappointments with the recent selections to the All-Ivy teams, as Princeton placed several more players on the first team than Dartmouth.
"A couple of the [Dartmouth players] have a little something to prove," Patton said. "I think some people are going to be surprised."
"I think the most important thing that we need to keep in mind is that we got to the Final Four for a reason, based on our play this season," co-Captain Lauren Holleran '95 said. "If we go into it and simply play the way we have been for the past month and a half, I think we will be fine. We need to do the simple things well and everything else will fall into place."
Both Dartmouth and Princeton boast some of the nation's most talented women's lacrosse players.
Princeton's top-scorers Amory Rowe and Abigail Gutstein will be Dartmouth's main targets for defensive pressure.
Rowe leads her team with 58 points this season, enough to give her the career record for Princeton, 189 points. Rowe also holds the record at Princeton for career assists with 61.
Gutstein falls just behind Rowe, racking up 56 points this season.
Both Rowe and Gutstein are ranked nationally in scoring categories: total points, points per game, total goals and goals per game.These two can not become too overconfident, however, because Dartmouth's Holleran, Ivy League Player of the Year, not only ranks nationally, but also ranks above both Rowe and Gutstein in all four categories.
Other notable Princeton players are attack Lisa Rebane, attack Cristi Samaras and defenseman Carter Marsh. Rebane had 49 points this season while Marsh, as a defender, had 11. Samaras, a freshman who totalled 53 points this season, was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year.
They will meet their match in Dartmouth's defenseman Jenny Edwards '95, defenseman and co-Captain Mya Mangawang '95, attack Sarah Devens '96, and attack Wallis Cook '95. Edwards made the All-Ivy first team while the other three were named to the All-Ivy second team. Devens and Cook were high-scorers for Dartmouth, tallying 47 and 38 points, respectively.
"We can't ride an individual," Patton said. "For us to win we need to play as a unit. We've played our best games when we've played as a unit."
Dartmouth will be missing defenseman Maura Schneider '96. Schneider fell to a knee injury on May 2 with just 1:45 left in the game against the University of New Hampshire.
"We are pretty much planning that she won't be playing," Patton said. "Everyone has adjusted really well. Being in New Hampshire we're used to rolling with the punches [due to weather conditions and the like]. It would rattle another team."
Goalie Erin O'Neill will start between the posts for Princeton. O'Neill's .656 save percentage was good enough to land her the goalie position on the All-Ivy first team.
But Dartmouth goalie Kirsten Prettyman '95 is certainly nothing to overlook. Prettyman, after earning a .599 save percentage, received honorable mention for the All-Ivy teams.
"Both teams match up fairly evenly," Patton said. "The bottom line is which team comes ready to play for 60 minutes, which team is tougher, and which team has more heart."
The teams face off at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday at Trenton State. The Maryland (#1) versus Penn State (#4) game will take place on Saturday also, but will begin at 3:30 p.m.
The winner of each game will move on to the finals on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. at Trenton State.
"Getting to the Final Four has been a dream for over four years now, and I don't want to see it end prematurely," Holleran said.
