While the football team narrowly escaped from the jaws of defeat at the hands of the Cornell Big Red on Saturday, the women's soccer team made their game look like a walk in the park defeating Cornell 3-0 and improving their record to 4-2-1 (3-1-0 Ivy) while Cornell dropped to 1-5-0 (1-2-0 Ivy). The Big Green are now unbeaten in their last four games (3-0-1).
This game was controlled by Dartmouth from the opening whistle, as the first 10 minutes of the game were spent in the Cornell end. The continuous Dartmouth pressure earned corner kicks and near misses but it wasn't until 23:03 that the Big Green capitalized.
Last week's Ivy Rookie of the Week, Jen Murray '01, kicked it on net from the right corner and the shot was partially blocked by Cornell goalkeeper, Kristin Pepe, but the rebound was immediately poked home by Melissa Roth '00.
Pepe has suffered from the rebound syndrome all year as she has 35 saves yet has allowed 10 goals.
Just ten minutes later, tri-captain Betsy Dobbin '98 started the attack and crossed it to Murray, who notched her fourth goal of the season and eighth and ninth points of the season.
Roth and Murray have proved to be a dynamic duo all season up front for the Big Green, as they both are making strong cases for all-Ivy consideration.
Roth electrifies the offense with her ball-handling ability, her unbelievable hustle and her ability to get others involved. Meanwhile, Murray strikes fast and seems to be magnetically attracted to the net, as no matter where she is on the field she can always find a way to put a shot on goal.
Murray's goal made it 2-0 at the half and the game looked to be very much in control. And it was.
The second half looked much like the first except for the fact that it was much sloppier. Cornell tried to attack frantically at times while the Big Green played very defensive-minded.
Goalie Kristin Luckenbill '01 once again played a solid game. Although she wasn't tested often, when she was, she answered the call. She has allowed only one goal in her last four starts.
Luckenbill hopes the Big Green can keep rolling, "It wasn't pretty, but we fought hard and did what we had to do."
Katy Hearey '00 added a late insurance goal to put away the Big Red and their hopes of snapping a losing streak, which has lasted since their opening-day win against Columbia.
None of the players will dare look ahead to the Ivy League title or the NCAAs yet. They seem to want to take it one step at a time, a credit to rookie coach Kelly Blasius-Knudsen '91.
Roth said, "We still have a chance for the Ivy League title so each Ivy match-up is huge for us."
The Big Green's only Ivy contests left are at Yale, at Columbia and at home against Harvard on senior day. The game against Harvard on Nov. 2 could decide who will wear the crown this year. Dartmouth has not been able to crack the Crimson though in recent years.
The fans, though, can't help but be thinking about a league title and a berth in the NCAA tournament.
Yale, who was tied with Penn atop the Ivy League standings at 2-0-0 going into Saturday was defeated by Princeton, a team that Dartmouth defeated a week ago. Right now, should the Green win their last three Ivy games, they would need Penn to at least lose one game so both teams could gain a share of the league title.
In addition, the Big Green should slide up from 9th in New England as a result of their draw with Hartford and their drubbing of Cornell, and may even creep into the Top 25. A faceoff against national power Connecticut also looms.
It may only be early October, but the way the Big Green are playing, one can't help but be thinking about November.
