They have dealt with national powerhouses, regional competitors and Ivy League rivals; but, yesterday the Dartmouth women's soccer team displayed why they are the best team in the state of New Hampshire.
The Big Green, who entered the contest ranked ninth in the latest coaches poll, defeated the University of New Hampshire 2-0 on Chase Field.
The game was originally scheduled to be played in Durham but because UNH's field was deemed unplayable late yesterday, the game moved to Hanover. With the shutout win, the Big Green moved to a perfect 5-0 on the friendly confines of Chase Field and have yet to let up a goal on that same playing surface.
Jamie Lang '02 and Jessica Post '00 tallied goals for the Big Green to improve to 9-1-1 on the campaign, while the Wildcats, who sit atop the America East standings, fell to 6-6.
Dartmouth dominated much of the afternoon's play, outshooting the Wildcats by a score of 14-4.
The Big Green finally capitalized on one of their chances in the 32nd minute when Post found Abby Gillard '01 who pushed the ball to a streaking Lang, who settled the ball and then beat Wildcat netminder Lorien Snellings.
Post provided insurance for Dartmouth when she took a free kick from about 25 yards out and ripped it over the Wildcat wall, over Snellings's outstretched arms and into the upper left corner of the net.
Snellings tallied six saves on the afternoon while Kristin Luckenbill '01 recorded three of her own. With her seventh shutout of the season, All-American candidate Luckenbill lowered her goals against average to 0.45 on the season and added to her consecutive goalless minutes streak which now stands at 614.
The Big Green now await the arrival of the Yale Bulldogs on Sunday for a 12 p.m. Homecoming affair. Should the Big Green triumph, then they would tie the 1993 squad for the best start in the program's history.
In addition, a Dartmouth win would knot the Big Green with the Harvard Crimson at 4-0-0. Although no one wants to look past Yale or the rest of the Big Green's schedule, Dartmouth's Halloween date with the Crimson in Cambridge will likely be the game which decides the Ancient Eight champion and the winner of the automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Before Dartmouth battles the Crimson, they must deal with the Bulldogs who sport a 1-2-0 record in the Ivy League. The Crimson defeated the Bulldogs 2-1 earlier this season.
