This past Saturday, Dartmouth faced Premier League rival Northeastern University at Sachem field in their final regular season game. The first quarter ended without a score as the Big Green squandered several scoring opportunities with some sloppy play and unforced penalties.
As a result, Northeastern scored first, at the 22-minute mark, with a penalty goal that put them ahead 3-0.
The rest of the second quarter was plagued with Dartmouth mistakes, but with just over a minute left in the half, the Big Green won a scrum five meters from the Northeastern line, and the ball was spun to the backs who were tackled just short of the goal.
Quickly, Dartmouth regained possession and the forwards ran off the ruck, but they were stopped twice by the Northeastern line.
Then, the strength of the Green forwards emerged, and prop Dan Thibeault '97 powered his way in for a try on the third attempt. The conversion was missed, but the score put the DRFC up 5-3 at the interval.
Dartmouth struck immediately at the beginning of the second half. In the forty-third minute, the Big Green forwards again won a series of rucks after a Dartmouth scrum.
Northeastern resisted the first few assaults but Alex Magleby '00 fought his way through for a try. The conversion was missed again but Dartmouth led 10-3.
Trying to stop Dartmouth's momentum, Northeastern responded just a few minutes later.
Dartmouth was repeatedly penalized for falling offside, and as Northeastern attacked and capitalized on the penalties, they finally scored a try. The conversion tied the score at 10.
Soon after, the DRFC forwards again won a series of rucks, but this time the ball went wide to slippery winger Tom Miller '98 who sidestepped his way in for a try in the corner.
This score put Dartmouth ahead, but Dartmouth missed its third conversion attempt to take a 15-10 lead.
Early in the fourth quarter, flyhalf Mark Oldham '99 kept the ball himself after a successful ruck and slipped through for the score. Unfortunately, another conversion was missed but the game appeared to be safely in Green hands with a 20-10 lead.
Continuing with the assault, at the 65 minute mark, Magleby stole a Northeastern lineout 10 meters from the line and broke through the defense for his second try. Sophomore fullback Scott Whiting's conversion made it 27-10.
With just a minute left in the game, Whiting's second conversion brought the final score to 34-10.
The DRFC ended the season with an overall record of 17-1-1. The only loss was in overtime to Cal-Davis in the quarterfinals of the national championship.
The DRFC finishes its season next Saturday with the traditional match at Sachem against the alumni on Green Key Weekend.
