The Big Green may be No. 22 in the nation, but they are now second in the Granite State for the second straight year. Dartmouth lost the battle of New Hampshire by the score of 2-1 to UNH under the lights on Wednesday night despite outshooting their intra-state rival 31-7.
The match was designed to feature Division I-A soccer in New Hampshire, and what it featured was a dominant Big Green team that was unable to convert on its chances to put away an inferior New Hampshire squad.
The Big Green got on the board very early in the game and looked as if they were going to put away the Wildcats with the same ease that saw the women's team beat Cornell, 7-0, over the weekend. Sophomore Jamie Hozack put home a penalty kick with assists from Brendan Reidy '99 and Chris Pedrick '99.
UNH responded midway through the first half to the Big Green goal, as Darren Breuner beat Matt Nyman on an unassisted goal at 27:35 to knot the score. The rest of the half would prove to be scoreless and the game would go to the locker room tied at 1-1 apiece, a score that would remain until the opening minutes of overtime.
It did not take New Hampshire long to win the game, as Kevin Iarusso netted the game winner just under four minutes into overtime. It was the second straight game the Big Green have lost 2-1 in overtime, and the bitter feeling that lingers after an upset has become all too familiar for the Dartmouth squad that is now 9-3-1.
After dropping to 22nd in the national polls as a result of their Cornell loss, the Big Green will certainly fall out of the top 25 with this loss to the 8-8-1 Wildcats. Dartmouth's best hope for claiming a spot in the NCAA tournament now rests on winning the Ivy League by knocking off 17th- ranked Brown. Consequently, a loss in any of the four remaining games, including Brown, could leave the Big Green home for the holidays.