The time is now for Dartmouth's women's lacrosse team.
They captured the Ivy League title, which was their first order of business this season. They won 11 consecutive games down the stretch over some national powerhouses to not only earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament, but also a bye in the opening round and home-field advantage in the second.
Last weekend, when fifth-seeded Loyola (Md.) came to town, the fourth-seeded Big Green fought back from a 5-0 halftime deficit to advance to the Final Four at the University of Maryland-Baltimore County this weekend.
Dartmouth's opening game will be against ACC powerhouse -- and top-ranked team in the nation -- Virginia. The Cavaliers' conference mates North Carolina and Maryland will be waiting in the wings in the other semifinal, and there could be reason to think the young Big Green would "just be happy to be there."
Think again. The Big Green are far from a Cinderella story as they have proven all season long that they can play with anyone in the nation. Dartmouth has every intention of crashing this weekend's ACC party, hoping to steal away the title from its three southern competitors. But first, the Green have to get by a talented Virginia team, which is riding an 11-game winning streak of its own.
The two teams bring in contrasting styles, although both like to light up the net. Dartmouth relies on a basketball-like offensive system with players cutting to the net for quick-sticks, while Virginia plays a more patient perimeter game. For the Big Green, which have relied on offense all year, it will be a question of whether or not they can score on the Cavaliers. Although the Big Green enter the contest as the number-one scoring team in the nation (15.21 goals per game), the defense across the way in the orange heads to UMBC with the best scoring defense in the land, giving up only 5.56 goals per game.
With that in mind, the Big Green have to get ahead early rather than attempt one of their now-patented late second-half comebacks. Dartmouth has trailed against every ranked opponent they have played this season with the exception of Yale. In its battles against Princeton, Duke, North Carolina and Loyola, the Big Green trailed by at least three goals at one point in every game. If Dartmouth can score early and keep the momentum going all game, then the Big Green have a shot at pulling the upset. However, should Dartmouth fall behind, it seems unlikely the Big Green can reel off six or seven second-half goals against a squad which gives up less than six goals a game. Five times this year Virginia has limited their opponents to only one goal in the second half.
"Virginia has a lot of experienced players in addition to a lot of speed, but at this point, anything can happen in tournament time. Our players are playing at their highest confidence level of the season," Big Green head coach Amy Patton said.
In net, junior Sarah Carlson will get the nod and stay in as long as Patton feels she is getting a good look at Virginia's shots. Freshman Ellie Leahy could see playing time in the second half because Patton likes to mix up opponents by using a left-hander. Regardless of who is in net, Dartmouth has to do a good job of taking away the Cavaliers offensive opportunities. On the year, Virginia is out-shooting its opponents by more than a 2-1 margin, with 508 shots on net as opposed to just 247 shots attempted on the UVA netminders.
Unfortunately, the Big Green enter the Final Four with an 0-2 record against the three other teams. The first blemish on Dartmouth's stellar 13-2 record was an opening-day road loss to semifinalist Maryland, 16-7. However, at that point the Terrapins were well into their season and the Big Green had not yet played an official game.
The Big Green's other defeat came at the hands of North Carolina when the Tar Heels arrived in Hanover and needed a goal with nine seconds left in regulation to escape with a 13-12 victory.
Ironically, Virginia's only two losses were suffered at the hands of the same two opponents -- North Carolina and Maryland.
However, the Cavaliers' victories read like a virtual who's who of women's lacrosse.
They possess victories over those same Tar Heels in the ACC tournament, as well as Duke (twice), Princeton (twice), Georgetown, James Madison, Temple and William and Mary. By looking at the brackets, it is apparent all of these teams participated in this year's tournament.
The Big Green was one of only three teams in the NCAA tournament not to play the Cavaliers during this year's campaign.
Tonight's contest will also be an interfamily affair for the Gercke household. Older sister Nicole '98, a student assistant coach and former Big Green goalie, will have the opportunity to stare at her sister the whole game as she paces the sidelines. The younger sister, Sarah, is a sophomore attacker for the Cavaliers. While Nicole chose to head north to Hanover, Sarah opted to stay in her hometown of Charlottesville and play at UVA.
The team has been in Baltimore since Wednesday night, trying to acquaint itself with the atmosphere of playing in the Final Four and getting a few final practices in before the game on Friday.
The game will be broadcast live and in its entirety on WDCR (1340 AM) beginning at 6 p.m. Should the Big Green advance, the championship game will be held Sunday at 3 p.m. ESPN2 is planning to carry both games.
