Brad Christof '01 netted a goal with eight minutes to play in the first half to propel the Dartmouth men's soccer team to a 2-1 win on the road against Providence yesterday afternoon. The victory was the third in a row for Dartmouth (11-4).
Providence (4-13-1) got on the board early as Tom Blesso scored at the 2:42 mark off a pass from teammate Kevin Jones.
Dartmouth responded quickly as Matt Labarre '04, once again raising the bar for most goals in a season by a freshman, scored his team-leading eighth goal of the season at 5:52. Fellow classmates Seth Eaton '04 and Damien Quinn '04 teamed up for the assist.
Christof gave the Big Green the lead in the 36th minute with an unassisted goal off a throw-in, making the score 2-1.
That was all keeper Ben Gebre-Medhin '02 needed, as he provided the Big Green with another big game in the net. The Dartmouth keeper earned six saves, while his Providence counterpart, Danny Glynn, made four stops.
Gebre-Medhin preserved the lead with an impressive stop in the 85th minute, when a Providence forward took a shot on goal from only 12 yards out. Gebre-Medhin was able to redirect the ball with his right leg for the save.
The win represents a milestone for head coach Fran O'Leary, who earned his 55th career victory, tying him for third place on Dartmouth's all-time wins list. O'Leary's total ties him with Thomas Griffith, who coached Dartmouth from 1974-1984. O'Leary is now in his seventh season as Dartmouth's head coach.
Dartmouth's 11 wins this season is the second most in program history, as well as the most wins in a season under O'Leary. The win total is also the most since 1992.
Dartmouth returns to action on Saturday for a crucial Ivy League match at Cornell at 4:00 p.m. The Big Green's following game is Saturday, Nov. 11 against Brown, which currently sits atop the Ivy League standings.
