Dartmouth may have dropped the contest to the No. 9 Princeton Tigers, but you might not have known it had you blinked. The Tigers only goal in the 1-0 victory Saturday afternoon at Chase Field came on a penalty stroke in the first half. Aside from that, the game was a complete draw as the Big Green held their own against the NCAA runner-up squad from one year ago.
Princeton nabbed their only goal with just under 13 minutes left to play in the first half. Tiger forward Kristy Hale advanced into the circle from the right side of the field only to be tripped by a host of Big Green defenders, giving the tigers their opportunity. Christine Hunsicker blasted a shot into the cage by the glove side of Dartmouth goalie Brittany D'Augustine '00, who attempted to make the impossible save.
The Big Green would get their best opportunities as well in the opening stanza as Tiger goalie Gia Frascione was pestered early on but not after the half. Standout sophomore Lauren Scopaz '00 drilled a shot that was turned wide and junior Weze Shorts's shot was deflected in front of the cage. After that, the Big Green's opportunities would be few and far between as Princeton maintained control for most of the game but was frustrated time and time again by the Dartmouth defense.
Dartmouth maintained its composure though and mounted a late rally, a rally in which they outhustled Princeton to loose balls and forced numerous turnovers and bad passes by the Tigers. The Big Green had a chance on a penalty corner with 15 seconds left in the game but couldn't get off a shot attempt as the Tigers held on for the shutout victory.
D'Augustine held the Tigers scoreless in active play as she turned away all three shots she faced. Frascione handled only two Dartmouth shots.
The Big Green did return to their winning ways by downing Maine yesterday afternoon, downing the Black Bears 2-0 on goals from Scopaz and Shorts.
Scopaz ended the scoreless tie early in the second half and Shorts provided an insurance goal by scoring an empty net goal with under a minute remaining.
The Big Green take on the University of Connecticut before facing Brown next Saturday.
