The animals were piling into Noah's Ark two by two as Dartmouth men's soccer took the field against Boston University. A fierce rain soaked the field and a biting wind chilled players and spectators alike. But those die-hard fans who remained to watch were rewarded, witnessing a thrilling game as well as one of the strangest plays in the history of college soccer.
A lot can happen in two hours of football, European style. On Chase Field yesterday, two scoreless 15-minute overtime periods followed two scoreless 45-minute halves. But although the scoreboard showed the same 0-0 mark as when the game had begun, nothing was the same.
The Big Green dominated play in the first half, out-shooting the Terriers 10-1, forcing Boston University goalie Bryan Murphy to make four saves.
Having battled for 95 minutes, 43 seconds, 14th-ranked Dartmouth (7-1-1) appeared to have lost the game when Boston University's Joaquim Kaland held the ball 18 yards from the goal with no one in his way.
A Dartmouth defender had sent a back pass in the direction of All-America goalie Matt Nyman '99. But the saturated field gobbled up the ball, stopping it just outside the goal box and right in the path of the onrushing Kaland.
Nyman charged the ball, but the BU forward deftly slid the ball through him, and lined up a short kick into an open net. Kaland struck the ball, sending it along the drenched ground towards the center of the goal. The ball crawled along, inching towards the game's conclusion.
Miraculously, Dartmouth's All-America defender Brendan Reidy '99 sprinted to the net and pulled the ball from a puddle at the goal line just before disaster was realized. With fans' mouths agape and players semi-stunned, the game continued through the rain.
With 3:45 remaining in the first overtime, a Dartmouth rush halted when a BU defender pulled down Brad Christof '01 next to the goal without penalty. The second overtime came and went with each team failing to score on several sterling opportunities.
The overtimes were not the only times Dartmouth came up just short (or wide) on offense. A flurry of chances late in the first and second halves gave BU a scare but yielded no scoring result.
At 32:30, Dartmouth forward Chris Dedicik '99 broke away from the defense and had the Terrier goalie at his mercy. "Deds" wound up but mis-hit a ground ball just to the left of the goal.
At 78:00 Dartmouth set up for a corner, with Reidy sitting back comfortably behind the play. But the Big Green's shaved-headed superstar flew in, smashing a header off the middle of the crossbar.
Two minutes after that, Terrier netminder Murphy robbed Nick Magnuson '01 with a sparkling diving stop.
With only 3:45 left to play in regulation, Christof took a pass and pounded it into the back of the BU net. Unfortunately for the Green, the whistle blew, signaling a controversial offsides call.
With neither team being able to score with their field players, BU mounted a strong challenge late in the game courtesy of Murphy, who attempted a header off of a Terrier corner kick. The header was on target but found its way wide of the goal.
Murphy made six saves on the afternoon, while Nyman had three to show for his efforts.
The Terriers mounted a weak offensive attack, but managed to end Dartmouth's three-game win streak and senior Chris Pedrick's string of six games with a goal thanks to a strong defensive effort and a little luck.
In light of the way in which BU almost stole the game, Dartmouth can hardly complain about its bad luck. The Green hope to be lucky, good and victorious when they face Yale at home on Saturday in an important Ivy League match.
