The opponents are tougher and the games are tighter, but the song remains the same.
The Dartmouth women's lacrosse team started slowly but exploded offensively in the second half to defeat ACC and national powerhouse Duke, 10-8, at Chase Field yesterday. The win was a huge step toward securing a home game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament next week.
The fifth-ranked Big Green scored the final three tallies of the afternoon to improve their record to 11-1 on the season, while the tenth-ranked Blue Devils fell to 10-6.
The young Duke squad wasted no time scoring as sophomore Emily Hickman netted the first goal of the afternoon just over 45 seconds into the contest. But the Big Green returned the favor when Heather McNulty '99 scored off a Jen Greene '98 feed to even the score.
Duke seemed unshaken by the Big Green's offensive attack, though, as all-American candidate Tricia Martin scored two consecutive goals for Duke to make the score 3-1.
Emily Fenwick '00 scored twice in the first half to cut the Blue Devil lead to 4-3, but after a pretty goal from Kendra Basner and a free-position effort from freshman Kate Soulier, Duke held a commanding 6-3 advantage with under a minute remaining until halftime.
However, Jacque Weitzel '00 scored her first of a trio of goals with just 38 seconds remaining in the half, closing the gap to just two at the intermission.
Just as she had closed the first half scoring, Weitzel then opened the second half with a quick tally to cut the Blue Devil lead to one.
After a 13-minute drought for both squads, the Big Green's Liz Merritt '01 scored the equalizer on a pretty pass from Greene, whose three assists maintained her nation-leading total in assists per game.
Minutes later, Duke junior Meghan McLaughlin put the Blue Devils ahead 7-6, but Weitzel was up to the task as she fired in a gorgeous one-timer to knot the game at seven apiece.
Keri Dunn scored her only goal of the afternoon for Duke just 45 seconds later, but that would be the last offense the Blue Devils would get, as Ellie Leahy '01 remained steadfast in net, and Fenwick made two timely defensive plays late in the contest to shut the door. Leahy made seven saves in relief of Dartmouth starter Sarah Carlson '99.
Dartmouth's defensive play sparked the Big Green's offensive attack as freshman mid-fielder Suzy Gibbons showed her speed and tied the game for the fourth and final time.
Dartmouth's game-winning goal was netted when senior tri-captain Julia Morrill took a one-timer from Greene and fired it past Blue Devil netminder Shannon Cheney.
Dartmouth received an insurance goal when Amy Zimmer '01 rebounded her own free-position goal.
Fenwick was quick to reason how the Big Green pulled out the victory.
"In the second half the team really pulled it together," she said. "They played hard and played to win. Every player on the team fought to put the last few shots in the goal. That's what makes this team so incredibly strong. When we decide to go hard, we do it."
Things get no easier for the Big Green as they welcome another ACC powerhouse to Chase Field on Thursday for the first time ever -- the second-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels.
The Tar Heels will come to Hanover at 13-2 and should the Big Green claim a victory, they would, in all likelihood, move up to fourth or higher in the poll, garnering them a bye in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
"The Duke game helped to give us a feel for what it will take to beat UNC. We started the game today lacking a little of our usual confidence and intensity," Fenwick said. "Against a team like UNC we can't afford to play with that sort of mentality. Better to learn that today than Thursday."
The Big Green conclude their season and their Ancient Eight schedule on Sunday afternoon against the Columbia Lions who are fielding a lacrosse team for the first time this spring. Should the Big Green win, they will claim the Ivy League championship outright.
