There were 13 total goals scored by Dartmouth and Harvard during yesterdays's women's lacrosse game at Jordan Field in Cambridge, Mass. The Big Green entered the game ranked 13th in the country, having jumped up five spots after sweeping last week's homestand against Boston University, Penn and then-No. 10 Penn State.
Looking at the numbers, someone had to be in for a rough evening, and it certainly wasn't Harvard's lucky day as Coach Amy Patton's squad took a 9-4 victory over the Crimson for Dartmouth's fourth consecutive victory. The Big Green women will ride that winning streak -- their longest of the season -- into their Ivy League season finale at Princeton's 1952 Stadium against the No. 1-ranked Tigers.
The Crimson were certainly thinking about an upset as the game began, as sophomore midfielder Jen Brooks connected off of a pass from Heather Gotha to give Harvard an early 1-0 lead. The Big Green responded less than two minutes later, as co-captain (and Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week) Jen Newitt '02 connected with Amy Frazier '02 for the goal. Kate Cole '02 added an unassisted tally in the game's 10th minute to put Dartmouth in the lead, but Harvard midfielder Katie Shaughnessy answered back with an unassisted goal of her own. It would be the last time the Crimson tied the Big Green.
Newitt found Katieann Christian '05 for the first of three unanswered Dartmouth goals, followed by a free-position goal from Alison Moulin '02 and a Moulin-assisted goal by Whitney Jamison '03. Elaine Belitsos was able to stop the bleeding for Harvard with a goal at 26:15, and the Big Green finished the half with a two-goal advantage.
The second half began in dramatic fashion, as an action-packed opening minute saw Frazier score unassisted for her second tally of the game, and Harvard's senior attacker Melissa Christino answer back with an unassisted goal of her own to put the Crimson back within two. As dramatic as the game's opening minute was, though, it merely set the stage for a remarkable offensive performance by Moulin. The senior midfielder dominated the last 20 minutes of the game, beginning with a Frazier-assisted goal in the game's 43rd minute. Moulin added an unassisted tally with just over 10 minutes left, and then scored off of another pass from Frazier at 52:15 to cap off a three-goal solo run that put the game out of the Crimson's reach. All the while, the Big Green defense kept Harvard at bay, and Dartmouth goalkeeper Sarah Hughes '02 made five of her eight saves in the second half.
The game brings Dartmouth's record to 9-3 overall, with a 4-2 record in Ivy League games. A sixth consecutive Ivy title for the Big Green remains a possibility, but it hinges on the results of four games. In order for Dartmouth to claim a share of the Ivy crown, the Big Green must beat Princeton on Saturday, and Cornell must defeat Yale. From there, Harvard must defeat Cornell on April 27th, and Brown must beat Princeton the next day to create a four-way tie for the Ivy title between Princeton, Cornell, Yale and Dartmouth. In order to get there, though, this Saturday's game at Princeton is a must-win for the Big Green.
