Dartmouth remained the only unbeaten Ivy League team this season, bringing its record to 3-0-2 after a golden goal win in the second overtime against Vermont yesterday. Mark Limpert '07 and Mike Vidmar '03 scored a goal each to give Dartmouth the win after Vermont had gone up in the first half.
Vermont started the game more actively than the Big Green, and had the chance to open the score after eight minutes. At first, Dartmouth goalkeeper Rowan Anders '07 failed to get hold of a long shot by the Catamounts' Danny Broughan, but Anders quickly plunged and locked the loose ball in his hands before the Vermont strikers could get to it. Dartmouth then tried to strike back on the break, but Sam Porter '05 barely missed the net off of a low cross from the right by Damien Quinn '04.
In the 34th minute, the Dartmouth defense failed to clear a low cross from the left by Broughan, and Tony Anderson's shot from the edge of the penalty area caught Anders unprepared, giving Vermont the lead.
Close to the end of the half, Vermont's junior keeper David Sullivan, who otherwise enjoyed a good game, making 11 saves, failed to get hold of a cross on the left, but Oliver Harker-Smith '05 missed an empty net.
When the weather turned wet at the beginning of the second half, it seemed as though Vermont could achieve their first win this season, after posting an 0-4-3 record to open the season. While Dartmouth dominated the first few minutes of the second half, Vermont was dangerous on the break, and Anderson was denied his second goal of the game after an offside call in the 58th minute.
Dartmouth got a long-awaited equalizer in 67th minute from forward Mark Limpert '07. Sullivan collided with Dartmouth's Darnell Nance '06 in the penalty area, and after the ball bounced off them, it went straight to Limpert, who was left with the simplest of finishes, only a few yards away from the empty goal.
The cold and the play made players a lot more nervous for the rest of the game, and with ten minutes on the clock the two teams were close to a melee, with the Vermont players alleging that goalscorer Limpert had unfairly challenged keeper Sullivan. Both teams missed golden opportunities in the last minutes of regulation.
First, Broughan, who enjoyed a productive game, failed to punish Anders' mistake with five minutes to go, sending the ball wide of an emptied goal. Then, in the last minute of regulation, Limpert was left unmarked by the Vermont defence, but his header from Quinn's cross went wide.
Even though they had outshot their opponents 11-3 in the second half, the Big Green men could only manage one goal and went to overtime for the second game in a row, having tied the University of Maine 1-1 last Sunday.
In overtime, both keepers were forced to be at their best. Anders denied Wyld in the first overtime, while Sullivan pulled out a difficult save to keep senior Seth Eaton's effort out early in the second overtime period.
With 25 shots to Vermont's 12 during the game, Dartmouth was poised for victory, and that victory came 3:32 into the second overtime. Quinn capped off his afternoon with an assist to Vidmar, whose shot from the edge of the penalty area went straight into the top right corner of Sullivan's goal.
This was the first appearance this season, for Vidmar, a former honorable mention All-Ivy selection in 2000. Vidmar, who played 17 games last season after missing most of 2001 with a knee injury, spent the summer in Slovakia.
"Having two substitutes score the goals makes the coach look good for a change," Dartmouth coach Jeff Cook commented after the match.
"I was not particularly happy with the first half performance, but we responded after halftime and played well. I am happy that a number of players who can contribute a lot to the team stepped up in the second half.
"Now that we have some injuries, I hope that the players that are playing now will gain experience and add depth to the squad. We have to learn from this game that every opponent, no matter what the record is, has to be respected. We have to play our best if we want to have the chance to get good results.
"Our focus is to try and win against St. Bonaventure on Sunday. I think it's an experienced team, but if we want to be in a position at the end of the year, trying to compete for the Ivy League [title], we have to take every game as it comes and try to do well in each game."
Dartmouth will try to "do well" once again on Sunday, when the Big Green hosts St. Bonaventure. The game starts at 2 p.m. at Chase Field.
