Dartmouth men's soccer beat Boston College. Literally.
A bruised and battered Golden Eagle team limped off the Big Green's Chase Field, licking its wounds from a demoralizing defeat.
Chris Pedrick '99 broke up a scoreless affair with under two minutes remaining, bouncing in a spectacular bicycle kick off a Ben Kennedy '01 pass, while a pack of red and white shirts gave chase. The goal's success resulted from the trickery of one of the white shirts, forward Brad Christof '01, who faked as if he would deflect the ball and allowed the shot to slide by flailing Eagles goalie Chris Hamblin.
The goal marked the fifth straight game that Pedrick has found the back of the net.
Dartmouth (6-1-0) won its second straight game behind a suffocating defense and frenzied offensive attack.
While it took 88 minutes, 13 seconds of game time for the Green to break a scoreless tie, their superiority in all facets of the competition had been made clear much earlier. Dartmouth outhustled and outpushed a sluggish BC (4-6-1) squad throughout the scoreless first half. Liberal refereeing early in the second half allowed several Eagle players to be thrown to the ground while game action continued.
Dartmouth attacks forced the diminutive Boston College goalkeeper to the ground on numerous occasions, diving and sprawling to prevent a Big Green runaway. Several other rushes saw shots fly just wide of the BC net.
The second period in particular saw a furious offensive effort by the Green. Just nine seconds into the second half, Christof beat the defense, pulled in a pass and sent the ball just over the Eagle net. Dartmouth had two golden opportunities each around the 61:00 and 67:00 marks, but came up empty.
Only Pedrick's gifted shot could find the inside of the goalposts.
For much of the game, Dartmouth's defensive effort could have allowed All-American goalie Matt Nyman '99 to stay home. Boston College's best scoring attempt came 11:51 into the game, with a hard shot banking off the crossbar. The rest of the game took place predominantly in the Eagles' defensive zone, with Big Green fullbacks snuffing all potential breakouts.
Nyman did contribute to the victory however, making six valuable, if not spectacular saves. With his fourth shutout of the season, Nyman now has 14 for his career. That total leaves him two short of the Dartmouth record. He has only given up five goals in the teams' seven games.
A humorous contrast arose between Nyman and Hamblin, as Dartmouth's lanky keeper smoothly directed the backfield, while the Eagle netminder frantically ran around bigger bodies. Nyman's mammoth goal kicks wowed the crowd, while Hamblin took a sprinting start to accomplish a lesser result. In the end, the better of the two goalies emerged victorious.
Dartmouth's win over an opponent who last week took the nation's top-ranked team, the University of Connecticut, to overtime, bodes well for the team's likely post-season future. The 17th-ranked Big Green's 6-1 record is the team's best start since 1992.
Further adding to excitement over the Big Green's prospects is their performance in a game where the teams combined for 40 fouls. Dartmouth proved it can be tough, while successfully controlling its play. In the roughest game on Chase Field this year, the Green's reputation came out rosy.
