On a chilly Wednesday afternoon, the Dartmouth field hockey team (5-2, 2-1) traveled to Durham, NH, to face the UNH Wildcats (7-5). Despite an even matchup and strong play by the Big Green, they fell to UNH in double overtime, 4-3.
In the first half of the game, Dartmouth pulled ahead to a 2-0 lead. Rebekka Stucker '04 began the scoring by deflecting the rebound of teammate Lauren Welsh '03 into the goal. Later in the half, Welsh herself scored off of a penalty corner with an assist by Carolyn Steele '03.
However, UNH evened up the score before the halftime break. With 4:31 left in the first frame, Wildcat freshman Samantha Carr netted a goal. Then, at the 1:52 mark, UNH was awarded a penalty stroke. Senior Jessica Russell put the ball into the net and the score at 2-2.
The score remained even until halfway through the second half, when Russell, on a breakaway, got around Dartmouth goalkeeper Brittany D'Augustine '01 and put UNH in the lead. As time ticked away in the game, Dartmouth's offense made another surge. With 1:31 left in regulation, Steele knocked in the tying goal, putting the score at 3-3 and forcing a 15-minute sudden-death overtime.
The first overtime passed by scoreless, though UNH threatened a goal by getting a shot past D'Augustine. However, Caitlin Barrett '04 cleared the shot away from the goal, and the extra frame moved into a second.
With slightly under nine minutes remaining in the second overtime, UNH set up for a penalty corner. Russell took the shot, and her teammate Allie Lehmann redirected the ball past D'Augustine and into the net to give the Wildcats a 4-3 victory.
UNH outshot the Big Green 21-17. D'Augustine tallied 11 saves for the game, while her Wildcat counterpart made 9 saves.
Dartmouth is back in action this Saturday, October 7, when they will face Yale at Scully-Fahey field to continue the Ivy League season. Game time is 11 a.m.
