For some, it was a childhood dream. For others, it was a return to the national spotlight.
The NCAA announced on Sunday that the Dartmouth Women's Soccer Team would participate in the 1999 NCAA Women's Soccer Championship. In the first round, the Big Green will host Colgate at 1 p.m. tomorrow at Chase Field.
"I remember how excited I was as a little girl when I used to be a ball girl for the NCAA games when they were held in Davidson, NC. Now I am playing in the tournament," freshman Annie Gibson '03 said.
The announcement came as a surprise for a few, but for most, it was what they believed the team deserves. Despite struggling early in the season, Dartmouth came back strong as they finished the season with a 2-0 victory over Columbia last weekend and a 9-7-1 season record.
Dartmouth faced some of the toughest opponents in the nation this season like national powerhouse North Carolina, the 14-time NCAA champion.
The tough schedule seemed to help the selection process for Dartmouth despite their having a rather mediocre record compared with last year's 16-2-2 mark.
"Our recent success and the strength of our schedule, which is one of the toughest in the country, looked good in the eyes of the NCAA committee despite the fact that we didn't have such a great record," junior forward Jen Murray said.
Players said they would approach the tournament by dealing with it one game at a time.
"We are fired up and ready to have a great time," freshman Kristen Sramek '03 said. "This is what the team has been working towards all season for, and everyone knows it's time to focus on putting everything we've succeeded at into this next upcoming game. We'll take each game one at a time."
Sramek's classmate Mary McVeigh '03 agreed.
"It's obvious that we've had our ups and downs this season, but now I believe we are exactly where we want to be. We have high hopes for the tournament, and are very excited about the series of teams dealt to us, but first things first, we play one game at a time," she said.
Senior Melissa Roth '00 led the regular season in scoring with 17 points (6 goals, 5 assists). Jessica Post '00 was second after Roth as she had 13 points (5,3). Goalkeeper Kristin Luckenbill '01 appeared in all 17 games this year.
Colgate, the Patriot league champion, has a 10-7-2 season record. Although the Red Raiders have a 2-1 series lead, Dartmouth defeated Colgate 3-0 last year.
The Big Green defeated Wisconsin and Georgia en route to a quarterfinal loss to North Carolina a year ago.
"They are a team we can certainly beat," Murray said. "I expect the tournament this year to be very competitive. I think that this year, more than any year, there is a large group of teams that have the potential to go all the way and I wouldn't be surprised if there are quite a few upsets."
The winner of Dartmouth-Colgate match will advance to the second round at the University of Connecticut for a game on either Saturday, Nov. 13 or Sunday, Nov. 14.
"We have a very positive outlook for the tournament," senior Katherine Roda '00 said. "Our bracket is fantastic. If we win [tomorrow], we have the opportunity to get some revenge on UConn and then Harvard. I think that making into the quarterfinals again is certainly not out of reach."
In addition to the Big Green, three other teams will make appearances in the NCAAs from the Ivy League. Harvard (14-1-1) received an automatic bid as the Ivy champion. Pennsylvania (13-3-1) and Princeton (12-4-1) will also play in the 48-team tournament.
"We played an extremely tough schedule this year with some highly-ranked teams and it has prepared us well for the tournament," senior co-Captain Christine Castro '00 said of the Big Green campaign. "We are thrilled to be playing a home game against Colgate in the tournament. Season records don't matter anymore once the tournament begins. Anything can happen now."
Ticket prices are $5 for Dartmouth or Colgate students with ID; $7 for adults; $5 for children aged 14 and under.
