The men's lacrosse team took a western tour over spring break, sandwiching a win at Colorado College between tough losses to the United States Air Force Academy and the 14th-ranked University of Notre Dame.
Falcons flying high
The Big Green came up short in their first season game at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., losing 18-9.
Senior midfielder Brian Meritt led the team in the first period with a quick goal and an assist on a goal from Bill Tarr '98.
After these two strikes, however, Dartmouth's offense fizzled, while the Falcons' attack dazzled. Air Force went on a 7-0 run, led by two goals each from senior midfielder Daniel Baniewicz and senior attack Brian Laidlaw.
Dave Maher '99 kicked off a Dartmouth rally late in the third period with an unassisted goal. From there, the Big Green outscored Air Force 3-1 over the remainder of the third period, and a Scott Hapgood '97 goal at 3:56 in the third brought Dartmouth within three goals of the lead, down 9-6.
But an Air Force six-goal outburst, with no reply from the Big Green, put the game out of reach at 15-6 in the last five minutes of the game.
Merritt and Maher finished the game with three goals apiece, and Big Green goalies David Kosloff '97 and Andrew Dance '99 combined for 17 saves as the Falcons outshot the Big Green 42-27. Laidlaw had five goals on the day for Air Force.
Evening the score in Colorado
After the loss at Air Force, the Big Green evened their record -- in the same town but against a different team -- with a 17-9 victory over Colorado College.
Merritt had a tremendous day, notching six goals and four assists, for 10 points overall. Hapgood also scored six times in the game.
Merritt's explosion, Kosloff said, is a sign of the great play his team has come to expect from him.
"We're definitely expecting him to have a great year," he said. "He's an amazing athlete, one of best players in the country."
Merritt, an All-American in 1995 as a sophomore, "has been one of our best players since he's gotten here," Kosloff said. "He's a great offensive and defensive player."
Hapgood and Merritt combined for seven of the Big Green's first eight goals, as Dartmouth shot out to an 8-3 lead by halftime.
Colorado College approached to within four by the fourth period, but Dartmouth closed the door on the Tigers with a seven-goal outburst in the last period.
Kosloff had six saves, facing few shots, as the Big Green defense held the Tigers to only 15 shots total.
Dartmouth's offense, meanwhile, shot 31 times, with goals from Tarr, Hank Brier '98, Chris Rowland '99, Gary Stern '99 and Will Lamson '00.
Rematch in South Bend
On the way back from their western trip, the Big Green stopped off in South Bend, Ind., for a rematch against the 14th-ranked University of Notre Dame.
Last year, the Fighting Irish scored in the last minutes of the game to beat the Big Green on their home turf, so the Dartmouth squad was looking for revenge -- and an upset against a team ranked in the Top 20.
Unfortunately, a strong Notre Dame team, led by junior All-American midfielder Jimmy Keenan's five goals and three assists on offense, amassed an 8-1 lead in the third quarter.
Merritt and Hapgood scored two goals apiece, and freshman Gregg Edell scored once to bring Dartmouth's total to five.
Big Green goalie Dance was strong in net with 18 saves, but was ultimately overwhelmed by the strong Fighting Irish offense, which took 44 shots to Dartmouth's 24.
At 1-2, the Big Green lag behind Top 20 teams like Notre Dame and Princeton University, 3-1 and 4-0, respectively.
However, Kosloff said the trip was important because the team "got a lot better over the trip."
Moreover, they are still well-situated to make a run at the title, with a number of games, and all their Ivy contests, still remaining.
"We're definitely a young team, full of a lot of potential," Kosloff said. "We're real competitive and should win a bunch of Ivy games."
The team's next game is this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Memorial Field against SUNY Stony Brook.
