Yesterday's cold weather had little effect on the "intensity" of the women's lacrosse team as they extended their winning streak to three games by defeating Boston College 10-6 in Hanover.
With the win, the Big Green, ranked fifth in the nation, improved their record to 3-1 heading into Saturday's Ivy League opener at Princeton.
Leading 4-2 midway through the first half, the Big Green started to pull away. Attacker Julia Morrill '98 netted a goal that was quickly followed by an unassisted goal by Jennifer Greene '98, as she beat her defender from the left side and bounced a shot by the Eagle goalie. A late Boston College goal cut the Big Green lead to 6-3 at halftime.
"Our goal coming into the game was to come out with emotion, and in the first half we did come out with emotion and play with intensity," Morrill said.
The Big Green wasted no time getting on the scoreboard in the second half. Morrill collected the faceoff and ran down the left side untouched before firing a shot into the upper right-hand corner of the net just 18 seconds into the half.
Five minutes later, Dartmouth began a run where they gained their biggest advantage of the game, or five goals.
Maura Schneider '96 sent a pass from behind the net to a cutting Morrill, who quick-sticked the ball over the head of the Eagle goaltender for her third goal of the afternoon and 13th of the young season. Morrill also added an assist on the afternoon.
"We forced them into a lot of mistakes and turnovers in the midfield, and because of that we were able to control the ball and the game," Morrill said. "There were still some opportunities that we wasted, but for the most part we took advantage of their turnovers."
"That's the kind of game we should be playing. When we keep our intensity and control the ball, we are playing the kind of game that we know we are capable of playing," Schneider said.
Trailing 8-3 however, the Eagles tried to mount a comeback, led by attacker Chrissy Kelleher, who scored two quick goals against a seemingly fatigued Big Green defense.
However, Dartmouth's offense took control soon after, holding the ball in the Eagle zone, before Schneider ended the rally with a goal from the left side. This goal gave the Big Green a 9-5 lead. Each team would add a goal in the final minutes to produce the final score.
"We always regroup after goals, and although we might have been tired, we never panicked at all, we always felt that we were in control," Schneider said. "I really don't think it was a big lapse, and we stayed in control and played a great game."
The Big Green will hit the road for their Ivy League opener against Princeton on Saturday. Princeton and Dartmouth have both played James Madison, and while the Big Green fell to the Dukes 8-5, the Tigers, who match Dartmouth's 3-1 record, cruised to a 12-4 victory.
"We need to step up our defense if we want to beat Princeton, keep them on their weakside," Morrill said. "On offense, our attack will need to convert on our goal opportunities when we get them, and most importantly we need to play with the same kind of intensity we showed against Boston College."
