The men's soccer team shutout the University of Vermont 3-0 in a border-state rivalry yesterday at Chase Field. The win should help the Big Green in the New England rankings as they entered the contest as the sixth-ranked team while Vermont brought the No. 4 ranking to Hanover. The win raised Dartmouth's record in the rivalry to 12-9 in the 21-game history of the series.
The game began with some fast offeses from both sides, but it was the Big Green who struck first. Connecting on some short passes, Dartmouth rallied towards the Vermont goal. At 6:09 into the game, Dartmouth took a 1-0 lead when forward Jamie Hozack '00 won a battle in front of the Catamount net and tucked home a rebound off of Keith Zadourian's '98 shot from the left side of the box.
The Big Green, with this early advantage, controlled the rest of the first half. The only times Vermont came close to the Dartmouth goal were on fast breaks, but even those occasional chances were crushed by Dartmouth's strong defense, especially by the play of defender Bobby Meyer '99. Goalkeeper Matt Nyman '99 held Vermont at bay. Thanks to the shutout, Nyman is now fourth in the region with a 0.80 goals against average.
In the second half, Dartmouth kept pounding at the Catamounts goal. After a couple of good offensive rushes, Gareth Jones finished off a strong individual effort by putting the ball in the back of the net 73:08 into the contest. That goal was then followed by an insurance goal off of a penalty kick. After forward Chris Pedicik '99 was fouled by a Vermont defender inside the Vermont penalty area. Meyer made the penalty kick to step the Big Green up to an unchallengable 3-0.
It was the third straight shut out victory for the Dartmouth soccer team, which improved its overall record to 3-1-0.
"It was a great game in a sense that it built our confidence," co-captain Zadourian said. "We have lost the last two years against Vermont. Since they were two spots ahead of us at No. 4, it was a big game for us to win."
Head Coach Fran O'Leary agreed. "It was a terrific performance. It is unusual to have a three point difference in a game between good teams. So, I am very satisfied with my team today," O'Leary said.
"We are moving forward," said junior Chris Dedicik. "And our goal is to be nationally ranked."
The Big Green face No. 2 Boston University on Sunday on the road.
