A heart-breaking loss this weekend to the Bears of Brown set the women's lacrosse team one game back in their Ivy League standing, forcing a tie in the league title race between Dartmouth and Princeton. The Bears defeated the Big Green, 9-8, on Saturday afternoon in what many would call a game of catch-up.
After the first goal of the game, Dartmouth was never able to regain the lead until late in the second half of the game.
Freshman Jacque Weitzel found the net first sprinting the length of the field at the 5:26 mark to give Dartmouth its only first half lead. Razzling the Brown defense, Weitzel slipped right through to bury her shot in the corner of the net.
The Bears stepped up and responded to Dartmouth's offensive attack, never letting up on their assault on the Big Green net.
The Brown offense fired four back-to-back salvos to give them a 4-1 lead after the first 19 minutes of play.
The Big Green's second goal of the game came with only 1:33 left in the half when freshman Emily Fenwick cashed in on a free position shot. Feeding off this offensive strike, senior tri-captain Andrea Krumholz also capitalized on an eight-meter shot to bring Dartmouth within one.
But the Bears just wouldn't go away. With 0:16 left on the clock they drove the length of the field and fought with the Dartmouth defense, sliding their fifth goal of the game past sophomore goalie Sarah Carlson.
Dartmouth was not about to take these assaults lying down.
Senior tri-captain Kim Mendelson pulled the Big Green within one (4-5) with one second to play after blasting her shot in the net on another free position.
The Bears commanded the field more easily than the Big Green and that seemed to make all of the difference in the first half of play.
"During the first 20 minutes we were not playing the game we knew we could play," sophomore Weze Shorts said. "After that, we scored three goals in two minutes, and we were playing as a team. Unfortunately, our momentum was stopped seconds later at the half."
Retaining control of the game for the first three minutes of the second half translated into a game-tying goal for the Big Green. Fenwick darted between the Bears and drove one home to tie the score 5-5.
But the Big Green's inconsistency started to plague them again in the second half.
Brown took command of the field for the next eight minutes of play as they squeaked ahead to a 7-5 lead by the five minute mark.
Inspiring the team from the net, Carlson came up with two huge saves around the ten minute mark. Carlson shut down the Bears on a free position, and minutes later, she stopped the Bears dead in their tracks after denying another effort.
The Big Green offense took off after this turn of events.
Juniors Jennifer Greene and Julia Morrill combined for two goals around the fifteen minute mark putting the Big Green even with the Bears at 7-7. If one of them missed the first goal, the other would provide the instant replay with a good end. On these spectacular combinations, Greene chalked up two assists to give herself 50 career assists, tying the school's all-time assist record.
Carlson continued to step up her play thwarting the Brown offense twice around the 20 minute mark. She proved to be a wall stopping not only an offensive drive but also denying a second free position.
Weitzel exploited Brown's loss of momentum by breaking away down the field, weaving in and out of the defense, and firing her shot to the upper right corner to put the Big Green ahead 8-7.
However, this momentum did not last long as Brown tied the game with 2:29 left to play, and went on to pull ahead by one with a free position goal with 0:12 on the clock.
Coach Amy Patton called an immediate time-out to talk strategy. Coming onto the field, the Big Green pulled their goalie and devised an all-out offensive attack but were unable to pull the trigger fast enough to capitalize.
"We just had too much on our minds to do the little things right, and that just trickled down through every team member," Shorts said. "We just did not play 60 minutes of the lacrosse that we know that we can play."
The Big Green will be facing a crucial game against the Crimson of Harvard on Wednesday in Cambridge. If Dartmouth wins, it will be assured a shared seat at the top of the Ivy League.
"The team needs to bounce back from this and put it behind us," Shorts said. "We're facing our last Ivy game this Wednesday, and that's going to have to be a good positive game for us."
