The ninth ranked Dartmouth women's lacrosse team made it nine wins in a row, as they downed Harvard 15-9 yesterday at Cambridge. Offensive dynamo Jacque Weitzel '00 led the way for the Big Green with nine points on the afternoon.
Harvard led 7-6 at the half, but Weitzel, the nation's leading goal scorer, took matters into her own hands, scoring six of the Green's nine second-half goals. Dartmouth outscored the Crimson 9-2 in the second half.
Dartmouth took the lead on back-to-back tallies by Weitzel and never looked back. She ended the day with eight goals and one assist.
Ivy League offensive player of the week co-captain Kate Graw '00 pitched in on offense with five goals, including three in the second half. Graw has scored 18 goals in the last four games.
Rounding out the scoring for the Big Green were Suzy Gibbons '01 and Liz Merritt '01.
Lizzy Frisbie, Katie Shaughnessy, and Alli Harper scored two goals each for Harvard.
In net for the Big Green was Sarah Hughes '02, who leads the nation in save percentage and is second in goals allowed. Hughes made 12 saves in the winning effort.
Hughes was named Ivy defensive player of the week for her spectacular play over the last three games, where she made a total of 44 saves and allowed only 18 goals.
"It wasn't necessarily pretty, but it was a win," Hughes said. "The seniors all stepped it up out there and really showed the impact their class can have on our team. The one thing we have done consistantly this season is develop as a team, and I feel that we can only get better."
Nora Guyer backstopped the Crimson, making 14 saves and allowing 15 goals in a complete game.
The win improves Dartmouth's record to 10-1, with their sole loss coming against first-ranked Maryland on March 21. The Big Green carry an impeccable 6-0 record in Ivy League play.
Coach Amy Patton's squad can't rest on their laurels however, as they must prepare for this Saturday's showdown with Princeton.
The Big Green faces No. 2 Princeton in New Jersey, where the two teams will battle for the right to be named Ivy League champions. The Tigers were a perfect 5-0 (11-1 overall) going into a night game with Pennsylvania last night.
"It's an Ivy win and it brings us now to the last step towards another ivy title." said Weitzel. "We can now focus on Princeton, who we have played for the championship for the last three years."
