They may have come to Hanover ranked number three in the nation, but they most likely did not leave that way.
The previously undefeated University of Hartford women's soccer team fell to the unranked Big Green yesterday afternoon 2-0. The win for Dartmouth avenged a 1-1 tie from last season.
"We worked really hard. That was our main goal," co-Captain Holly Thomas '97 said. "Everything ended up going our way."
Dartmouth, coming off a recent 2-1 loss to Yale and missing co-Captain Kate Andrews '96, who is out with a torn ankle ligament, jumped into the game right from the start.
"We set the stage in the very beginning," Coach Steve Swanson said. "That makes the difference for us."
Dartmouth secured a 1-0 lead over the Hawks in the first half. Back Christina Hallenbeck '97 found the net off a pass from midfielder Betsy Dobbin '98 at 41:27 into the half.
For the remainder of the half, Dartmouth pushed hard, holding Hartford to no score. Between the posts for Dartmouth, Annie Eckstein '98 tallied four saves to maintain the Big Green's lead.
Dartmouth had several opportunities at the Hartford cage again, but could not convert the shots to goals.
The second half saw one goal scored and six players injured.
The bout of injuries began with Dartmouth's Hallenbeck and spread to both teams.
While these injuries did not appear to be serious, they did break up the momentum of the game several times.
At the outset of the second half Hartford appeared to dominate the momentum. However, things soon changed as Dartmouth picked up the pace, bombarding Hartford goalie Danielle Rotondi with shots on goal.
Continual firing upon the goal soon paid off for the Big Green. At 64:26, forward Melissa McBean '97 fed forward Jenna Kurowski '97 the ball. Kurowski redirected the ball off the top goal post and into the net to give Hartford a two-point deficit.
With 25:34 left on the clock, Hartford maintained its level for the rest of the game but was unable to score.
The Hawks sent off several shots on the Dartmouth goal but all attempts to score were crushed by Eckstein's saves.
Hartford was left running with no time left, giving Dartmouth the win to improve its record to 5-2-1 overall and marring Hartford's record with its first loss, 8-1-0.
"We have to work hard every game, every time we step on the field," Thomas said.
"We suffered a little adversity in the past week," Swanson said. "It was inspiring for the coaching staff as well as for the players. We wanted to go back to what it's been like."
The Big Green will look to keep on track this Sunday when they battle Brown on Chase Fields at 12:00 p.m.
Although Brown is 0-2 in the League, they have had close games against both Princeton and Yale, so the Big Green will be ready for a tough match.
"The Ivy League is so competitive this year," Kurowski said. "You just can't overlook any team."
