It did not matter that the game was not an Ivy League contest or that the that the opposing team had a season record of 1-13. The men's soccer team come from behind 2-1 victory over Providence College Sunday afternoon at Chase Filed marked two milestones in what has been a very frustrating season for the young Big Green.
Not only did the Big Green finally turn the tables on the opposition and rally for a victory, it was the first home victory at Chase Field on the season.
"It was a good comeback," Captain Jon Bosacco '96 said.
The Big Green's Augie Lopez '97 scored the game-winning goal with 37 seconds remaining in the contest. Lopez played Bosacco's long pass from the Big Green backfield and had only the goalie to beat when he lifted a shot over Providence backup goalie Chris Ivany.
The goal was Lopez's second point of the day after assisting on the tying goal just seven minutes earlier. Lopez sent a crossing pass from the left side of the goal box to forward Hunter Paschall '96, who headed the ball into an empty net. The goal was Paschall's team-leading eighth of the season.
Despite the good performance at the end, the Big Green were disappointed with their play early on in the game.
"I thought it was a pretty poor showing in the first half," Bosacco said. "We didn't have the desire to win. We didn't have the appetite."
This lackluster play resulted in a scoring opportunity for Providence early in the first half. Providence's Robert Kruse scored in the 17th minute when he headed a crossing pass by Big Green goalkeeper Matt Streng '98.
It was a rare offensive opportunity for the Friars, who were outshot 20-8 by the Big Green, forcing Streng to make only three saves all game to earn his first victory of the season.
The dominance of Dartmouth showed through in the second half after a halftime locker room chat that got the Big Green inspired.
"Our coach really laid down the law," Bosacco said. "He didn't yell or anything, but I think we all realized we had just been going through the motions."
In the second half, it was all Green. Dartmouth tallied 13 shots to Providence's three after switching to five midfielders after playing with four in the first half.
"We really picked it up in the second half," Bosacco said, "pressured the ball better. We went into our tackles and came out with the ball."
"We put in a good performance," Bosacco added. "And we came out with the win."
The win was the second straight for the Big Green, who raised their overall record to 5-10 on the season.
Saturday's game against Harvard was rescheduled to Wednesday because of rain. The game against the Crimson will be the final game at Chase Field for the Big Green's senior players as they try to improve their 1-3 Ivy League record.
