Despite superb goaltending from Andrew Dance '99, the Dartmouth men's lacrosse team dropped its fifth straight game of the year to Yale yesterday by a score of 6-4.
Dave Maher '99 scored a goal midway through the third quarter that gave Dartmouth its first lead in over 218 minutes of play. It lasted for only 45 seconds.
"We have to generate more offense against Brown, it's just a fact," co-captain Dan Gans '98 said.
Despite the score, Dartmouth controlled most of the game with a hard-hitting, aggressive defense.
After over 13 minutes of hitting the post, missing by inches and watching Yale goalie Joe Pilch make some great saves, the Big Green let Yale slip a goal through their own defense.
Minutes later Adam Solow '01 evened things up for Dartmouth as he hovered around the crease, spun, hesitated for a moment and then sprinted to the goal leaving two Yale defenders in the dust. Pilch looked helpless as Solow casually laid the ball in the net.
The two teams continued to trade goals all the way through the third quarter. Dance kept Yale at bay with several incredible saves.
His diving save early in the third stanza prevented a one-on-one fast-break goal. Midway through the fourth quarter, he saved shot after shot amidst a flurry of Yale offense.
He got a little help from Alexander Grishman '01 who miraculously saved a near Yale goal with his long stick.
Meanwhile, Gregg Edell '00, Jeremy Desor '00 and Maher provided the Big Green offense, scoring one goal each, leaving the score knotted at four with several minutes to play.
"When it was four all we thought there was no chance we would lose the game," Gans said.
And then there were the penalties. Yellow flags suddenly rained on the field and Dartmouth found itself playing a good portion of the last three minutes a man down.
Yale took advantage of the weary Dartmouth defense and scored twice to win the game.
On the day, Dartmouth committed seven penalties for six minutes while Yale had five for only three-and-a-half minutes.
"We could have won. Our defense played well," said coach Tim Nelson, who clearly found the loss tough to swallow.
The Big Green now stands at 3-5 overall and 0-3 in the Ivy League. This was Yale's first Ivy League win and brings their record to 3-7 overall.
Up next for Dartmouth Saturday is 2-7 Brown in Providence. The Big Green will remain in the city overnight to tangle with non-conference for Providence the following day.
The Green close their season with games against Ancient Eight opponents Princeton and Harvard and a non-league game against Vermont.
Despite their skid, the Big Green remain confident.
"We're due for a win," Gans said.
