It was the same old story on Wednesday afternoon, with the same frustrating ending, for the men's lacrosse team. The Big Green got off to another strong start in the first quarter and hung tough through the next two quarters -- only to see the game slip away in the fourth. The loss to 12-5 Yale (7-3, 3-2 Ivy) extends the Big Green's losing streak to three and drops the men to 5-4 (0-3 Ivy) on the season.
It was an unseasonably warm afternoon at Scully-Fahey Field, and the Big Green came out just as hot. The opposing squad was an up-and-down Yale team that earned the distinction earlier in the season as being the team to snap Princeton's 37-game winning streak, but the Bulldogs stood at 2-2 in Ivy play as they came to Hanover.
Jake Dwyer '03 scored the game's first goal just 29 seconds into the game. Yale responded and grabbed a 3-2 lead before Matt Heineman '05 put a goal in to level the score.
Tied at three, the teams stood deadlocked heading into the second quarter. Mike Gault '03 preserved the deadlock when he came up with a huge save after a Yale attacker slipped through for a one-on-one with less than 10 seconds to play.
The two teams played a back-and-forth second quarter with Dartmouth controlling a majority of the possession and Gault rising to the occasion against all that Yale threw at him. The Bulldogs managed to get one by him, however, and carried a 4-3 lead into the intermission.
Dartmouth had one of its best scoring chances right from the opening face-off. Russell Radebaugh '04 won the draw and the Big Green was in on the Yale defense. The fast break abruptly ended as a key pass was deflected, and the rest of the second half followed the same troubling formula as Dartmouth's previous two Ivy League games. The Big Green gave up two quick goals and Yale jumped out to a 6-3 lead.
Just as it looked like Yale would be cruising to an easy victory, Dartmouth fought back and closed the gap with two quick goals of its own. Ben Grinnell '05 scored the first as he capitalized on an extra-man opportunity from the left side of the crease. Justin Weinstein '03 followed Grinnell's goal with a rifle of his own that beat Yale goalie Eric Wenzel top-shelf.
Entering the fourth quarter within a goal, Dartmouth was poised to steal the game from the Bulldogs. The final 15 minutes, however, were all Yale. The Big Green fought off a one-minute penalty only to concede an even-strength goal just moments later.
Yale converted on its next extra-man opportunity, and with 9:30 left to go, the Big Green trailed 9-5. The Yale defense tightened its grip and the Big Green offense came to a grinding halt. Carbon-copy goals from the left side extended the lead and another late tally put Yale in front by a 12-5 score.
For Dartmouth, the game seemed to be one pass out of reach. On fast breaks, offensive sets and man-up situations, the Big Green couldn't complete that final pass to goal. Though they played extremely hard and well for most of the game, it was once again the little things that would haunt Coach Rick Sowell and his troops.
The Big Green sit at the bottom of the table in the Ivy League, but if they could erase a total of 15 minutes from those games, it's more than possible that the team would sport a perfect 3-0 Ivy mark.
Still searching for the complete 60-minute performance, the only thing the Big Green can do is bear down, keep working and hope to turn around its luck. Despite the frustrations, the team remains optimistic.
"We just need to keep improving, keep the mentality we have had all season and learn from out mistakes," Pat Keeley '05 said before yesterday's game. "I feel like good things are going to happen."
There's no time for Dartmouth to dwell on the Yale loss as the Big Green hits the road to square off against Brown, hopefully to get the good things rolling.
