Taking advantage of a week off, the women's lacrosse team came out with extra intensity and fresh legs to pound Cornell 19-8 Saturday afternoon at Chase Field. The win was an important victory for the ninth-ranked Big Green, who improved their Ivy League record to 2-1 (6-3 overall), and currently sit in third place in the standings behind Princeton and Yale.
The Big Green, who did not play during the week after Wednesday's snowstorm postponed their scheduled contest against the University of Massachusetts, scored the first seven goals of the game to put the contest almost out of reach just 20 minutes into the contest.
Jennifer Greene '98 opened up the scoring for Dartmouth less than a minute into the game, and was quickly followed 30 seconds later by the first of junior attacker Kim Mendelson's six goals.
The run continued when Maura Schneider '96 found the Big Green's leading scorer Julia Morrill '98 crossing in front of the net to the right side. Morrill took the pass from Schneider and quick-sticked a high shot to the right corner past the helpless Big Red goalkeeper Yelena Chak.
The Big Green, behind the play of Schneider, Morrill and, most importantly, Mendelson, continued to win faceoffs, hustle down loose ground balls and control the ball to push the lead to 7-0 before Cornell finally got on the scoreboard 18 minutes into the game.
The Big Red and Big Green traded goals in the next 10 minutes before halftime, but any Cornell momentum that might have been gained near the end of the first half was nullified when the Big Green's Kelly Hannigan '97 bounced a shot past Chak with just two seconds remaining in the half to give the Big Green a 9-3 halftime lead.
"I think not having played on Wednesday that we were rested, and as a result we came out and played one of our best halves," Allison Wiener '99 said. "We hustled to get loose ground balls, played strong defense, and controlled the game."
Just like the first half, the Big Green came out firing, leading to a 5-1 run in the first 15 minutes of the half that gave the Big Green a comfortable 14-4 lead, capped by a Mendelson goal as she moved in to the center and fired a goal even as she was checked in the face by a Big Red defender.
Morrill and Mendelson netted goals in the opening minutes to pace the Big Green attack, which saw eight Dartmouth players score on the afternoon.
"We played well because we pulled together and played as a team. We played with a lot of positive energy on the field," Schneider said.
Mendelson led the Big Green, whose 19 goals was the second highest total this year, with six goals on the afternoon, while Morrill added four goals of her own along with two goals and two assists for Greene.
The Big Green dominated on offense, outshooting Cornell, 38-22, as Big Green goalkeeper Sarah Carlson '99 found herself rarely challenged, making eight saves on the afternoon.
The stats also reflect the possession advantage Dartmouth had, as the Big Green won 22 of 29 faceoffs and also outhustled Cornell to a 28-5 advantage in ground balls.
The win set up an important Ivy League showdown on Tuesday as the Big Green travel to New Haven to face an undefeated Yale squad. With a 2-1 record, the Big Green find themselves in third place, one game back of both the Elis and Princeton.
A win over seventh-ranked Yale would give the Big Green sole possesion of second-place behind the Tigers.
"We have come together and acknowledged that this is the biggest game for us right now. It is regional and an Ivy rival," Weze Shorts '99, who had two assists against Cornell, said. "If we play like we did on Saturday, we will walk off proud, and hopefully the score will be in our favor."
