Sometimes its hard to get motivated for a lackluster opponent, but the Big Green field hockey team had no problems yesterday afternoon at Chase Field. Coming into the game, lowly Siena College sat at 0-6, having scored only two goals all season. The trend continued as the Big Green demolished the Saints 9-0.
The swarming Dartmouth defense didn't give the Saints anything to go marching home about, as they kept the ball on the Big Green's side of the ball for virtually the entire game.
All goalkeeper Kendra Kosko '99 had to do was sit back and watch the action downfield, as Siena failed to take even one shot on goal. When the final whistle blew, the Big Green had outshot the Saints 44-0.
"To shut out a team is quite a large feat," Kosko said. "But to shutdown their offense and not allow any shots on goal is almost unbelievable."
Dartmouth didn't waste any time, netting its first goal at 33:44 of the first half. Lauren Scopaz '00 sent the inside shot left of the keeper with an assist coming from Sarah Sedgwick '98.
The Big Green regained control of the ball quickly and wasted no time getting on the board two minutes later when Sedgwick put one in the cage off a Kelly Hannigan '97 assist.
Ball control was the key for the Big Green yesterday, as they spread the field and passed extremely well. The team play paid off again at 26:09 when Sedgwick knotted her third point of the game. Emily Louden '99 took the beautiful pass from the wing and one-timed it home, making the score 3-0, and already making Sienna wish they had never gotten on the bus.
After a slight lull in the action, Jen Karlen '98 knocked one through with assists credited to Sarah Drake '97 and Hannigan.
Three minutes later, Dartmouth decided they would add another goal before half to cushion their lead. Drake scored, assisted by Karlen, and Dartmouth headed for halftime with a 5-0 lead.
The second half simply provided more opportunities for Dartmouth's potent offense to add to its lead. At 25:35, Rebecca Sangster '00 netted the first goal of her collegiate career, on an unassisted inside shot.
Nine minutes later, the Big Green made Coach Julie Dayton look very good with a perfectly executed penalty corner. Lauren Worley '99 was credited with the assist on the goal by Scopaz, who added another point to her stellar day.
At 9:54 Emily Loudon sent her second goal of the day ripping into the net off the assist from Drake. Just for good measure, the Big Green finished off the assault when Kristen Leadbeater '00, scored her first goal of her collegiate career off the assist from classmate, Scopaz. For Dartmouth, the game allowed the team to get back in sync for a big week.
"We knew that at this point in the season, being 4-4 coming into today's game, it was mandatory to come together and work as a unit," Sedgwick said. "We focused on passing the ball and working together towards the cage."
The Big Green travel to UNH on Wednesday for a tough battle with the Wildcats.
"This win has helped to uplift our spirits and showed how well we really can play together," Scopaz said. "You can be sure that we'll be psyched and ready for UNH on Wednesday, which is a big game for us."
The last two meetings between the teams were taken by Dartmouth, but the Big Green squeaked by each time with a one goal margin.
"With today's win we can enter the game with reassured confidence that we can score," Sedgwick said. "And when we work together as a team we can be extremely successful."
The Big Green stands at 5-4. After Wednesday's showdown at UNH, the team will travel to UConn on Saturday, and return home to face Maine on Monday.
"This is where we begin to turn our season around," Kosko said. "It's time for another nine-game winning streak to finish out our season. "
