Want a sure bet? Bet on the Dartmouth Big Green men's soccer team when they don't allow a goal. While this is almost a sure bet with any team in any sport, the men (4-6, 0-3 Ivy) seem to know how to rally behind their defensive unit when they are playing well and yesterday was no exception as the Big Green downed the Boston College Eagles, 1-0, in overtime on the wings of a Scott Darci '05 goal with just two minutes remaining.
The result snapped an 11-game home win streak for BC, which knew they were going to be in for a match from the get-go.
Dartmouth had reason to celebrate in the first half, when Eagles goalie Joe Roos seemed to break the plane of the goal line while holding the ball, putting Dartmouth on top. The referee however, called the goal back because of an apparent foul on Dartmouth.
That was the best chance Dartmouth would have in regular time, but Ben Gebre-Medhin '02 kept the Eagles off the board the entire game, notching six saves on the day.
As the game went into extra time, Dartmouth could smell victory, for in the previous three blank sheets the men always found a way to win. This time would be no different, for with 2:03 remaining in the second extra session, Juan Romera '03 found Darci who, in keeping with the recent past, slipped it by the keeper to propel Dartmouth to its fourth win of the year.
"This is definitely a big win for us," co-captain Danny Markman '02 said. "We played really well again, but more importantly, this time we got the result. We still all believe that we're a good team, far better than our record indicates, and we've got six games left to try and change things."
Darci's goal was his third of the year and, combined with one helper, puts him atop the team in scoring. It was also Gebre-Medhin's fourth shutout of the season and the 13th of his career, placing him one away from fourth on the all-time Dartmouth list.
The men ride this gritty win into Harvard Weekend, where they take on the Ivy leader Crimson at 2:30 in Cambridge.
Harvard is 8-2-1 and coming off a scoreless tie with Fairfield on Tuesday. Ladd Fritz is the Crimson's scoring leader while the trio of Conrad Jones, Jamie Roth and Dan Mejias has split time in net.
Last season, the Big Green beat the Crimson, 3-0, in Hanover.
