The "frozen tundra" of Memorial Field seems to have taken its toll on the men's lacrosse team these days, as the spark from their trip down South has suddenly turned cold.
Despite moving the game to the snow-free fields of Keene State College in Keene, N.H., the Big Green fell to SUNY Stony Brook 13-10 last Saturday, dropping their record to 1-3 overall.
Dartmouth led 2-1 after an otherwise slow first quarter. In the second period, the teams exchanged leads.
Dartmouth played well, but the Seawolves matched their offensive output goal for goal. At the end of the first half, the score was tied at 6-6.
Unfortunately for the Big Green, the Seawolves picked up the pace in the late third and early fourth quarter, pulling ahead with seven goals to Dartmouth's four and putting the game away.
"They came out strong," said co-Captain David Kosloff '97. "They got a couple of big ground balls and were able to put the ball in the net a couple times."
Dartmouth goalie Andrew Dance '99 was strong in net, stopping 14 of 27 tough shots from a strong Stony Brook offense.
Stony Brook senior midfielder Courtney Wilson was particularly devastating, as he led the Seawolves with five goals and one assist.
Ultimately, however, it was the Seawolves ball possession offense which hurt the Big Green.
"They were really able to keep possession of the ball," Kosloff said. "They had the ball for a long time."
Stony Brook's strong ball control kept the Big Green's potent offense from getting many late-game shots on Stony Brook goalie Greg Taylor, who stopped 12 of 22 for the Seawolves.
Senior co-Captain Scott Hapgood had four goals, while midfielder John Whelen '98 had a hat trick and two assists.
Freshman Gregg Edell had a pair of scores as well, and Gary Stern '99 had a goal to round out the scoring.
With no Ivy League games, the Dartmouth squad is looking forward to its first Ivy contest, coming up this Saturday at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
"The first Ivy game is a huge game, and there's always a good rivalry with Penn," Kosloff said.
The Quakers (4-3 overall, 1-1 Ivy League) have a strong attack and are playing well lately, with wins over Lafayette College and Cornell University in the past two weeks, but Kosloff said the Big Green will be ready for the away game.
"We're a pretty strong team on the road," he said. "We've got a whole week to scout Penn and get ready to play."
The Big Green are scheduled to play their first home gameon April 12 against Cornell. re really able to
