Although much of the excitement of Homecoming weekend is directed toward the football game against Columbia, there are several other events to keep sports fans entertained long after the final whistle at Memorial Field.
Although tradition and public awareness dictate that football be at the heart of every Homecoming, three other Big Green teams will take on Columbia this weekend and two -- men's tennis and women's lacrosse -- will play host to a handful of colleges in the Big Green Invitational.
Despite playing out of the spotlight, the four teams that have begun their seasons so far have turned in top-notch performances and one -- women's lacrosse -- will kick off its season with a four team tournament.
Although these teams normally play in front of smaller crowds, they all represent the pride of Big Green on their respective playing fields, and a large crowd of supportive fans will certainly help all five teams continue -- or kick off -- their seasons in a winning fashion.
By sheer size, the Big Green Invitational, hosted by the Dartmouth men's tennis team, will be the biggest event of the weekend. In the fourth year of the annual tournament, Harvard, Brown, Hartford, Williams, Middlebury, the University of New Hampshire and the University of Connecticut will travel to Hanover to compete in the eight-team tournament, which begins on Saturday and runs until Monday.
Big Green fans can expect big performances from Neal Bobba '04 and Drew Dinkmeyer '04. Bobba and Dinkmeyer, longtime doubles partners, won the tournament last year, and Bobba won the singles crown. The pair looks to continue last week's successful showing in the ITA Regional Championships, in which they reached the quarterfinals. However, their crown will not come easily this year. The duo that ousted the two in the quarterfinals was Brown's Zack Pasaden and Kris Goddard, who will be participating in the tournament.
The other large event of the weekend is the Dartmouth fall tournament for the women's lacrosse team, an eight-game extravaganza over a period of five hours, which will kick off the season. With Notre Dame, UNH and Boston University in the fold, Dartmouth's season will kick off against Notre Dame at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday at Scully-Fahey field.
Although Dartmouth's team is missing its entire junior class due to off-terms, the squad is still 22-strong. This will allow coach Amy Patton to play the younger players and give them valuable field time before the regular Ivy League schedule begins in late March.
"This team is on a mission to win the Ivies and compete for a national championship, which is incredibly exciting," Patton said. "[The tournament] gives us a chance to compete against some great teams and see where our strengths are going into the year along with what we will need to work on for the future."
Dartmouth's offense will be spearheaded by co-captain Lana Smith '04, who led the Ivy League in points per game (3.64) and game winning goals, scoring 51 points (33 goals, 18 assists) on her way to a second team All-America selection last year.
The other first team All-Ivy selection last season and Ivy League Rookie of the Year, Devon Wills '06, will be in goal. With an impressive goals against average of 7.22 and a save percentage that placed her top 20 in the nation (.537), Wills will definitely be an asset as the season starts.
The Dartmouth field hockey team, which has struggled all season long, will seek to continue their recent string of successes against the visiting Columbia Lions this weekend. Despite keeping many of the matches very close -- the Big Green has lost six one-goal games -- the squad could not put together the total package and deliver the win, dropping the first 10 matches of the season.
However, the Big Green women finally delivered against Vermont, and have won both games since, giving them an impressive winning streak that they look to extend this weekend, earning their first league victory.
Dartmouth has been outshot and outscored by their opponents all season long, but to their credit, have boasted excellent teamwork and a knack for set plays, with 17 of their 19 goals this season coming off assists. Defender Rebekka Stucker '04, a two-time selection to the second-team All-Ivy, leads the Big Green in scoring despite playing in the backfield, with six goals and 12 points. Lexie Otto '05, who has played a limited role in the past two seasons, has broken out this year, leading the team's coordinated attack with five assists.
The Lions, whose futile season handed them 13 losses against only one win, is also looking for their first win -- but it is unlikely. The Lions have scored eight goals all season -- only two more than Stucker has scored by herself -- and have given up 46 goals, giving new meaning to the word porous. The Big Green will take on the Lions on Saturday at noon on Scully-Fahey Field.
The men's soccer team began this season with high hopes. After reaching the NCAA Tournament in 2000, the men's soccer team has been slipping, but coaches and supporters alike had high hopes for the squad, as the rebuilding phase of the team was apparently over.
The team opened the season strong, undefeated in its first six games with four wins and two ties. But maybe it was the three overtime games or the 6-0 demolishing of St. Bonaventure -- the Big Green have since dropped five games in a row, including a 3-2 overtime heartbreaker to league rival Princeton.
The match-up against Columbia should be an interesting one. Despite sitting low in league standings, Dartmouth has scored 18 goals, second only to Brown, while allowing 16 goals, leading the league in goals allowed. On the other hand, Columbia, despite its strong showing this season, has only scored 12 goals in its 11 matches, second lowest in the league, while the stingy Lion defense has allowed only nine goals, least of the Ancient Eight.
Forward Rob Daly '04 is the league's leading goal-getter with eight goals, and rookie forward Mark Limpert '07 provides the other venue of attack, tied for third in the league with five goals. But Dartmouth's high-octane offense will have to penetrate Columbia's Dean Arnaoutakis, who has allowed only 0.66 goals per match, the lowest rate of any goalie in the league.
The showdown between the spear and the shield will happen on Chase Field, Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
On the other side of the spectrum, there is the Dartmouth women's soccer team. Despite starting the season 1-5, with a five game losing streak, the Big Green Machine returned to their league winning form with a string of seven undefeated games -- with six wins -- by showing guts and intensity in the last minutes of the game.
Dartmouth, which has won all four of its league matches, sits atop the league standings and is unlikely to blemish its perfect record; Columbia is still looking for its first league win, with a defense that has given up eight more goals than any other team in the league other than Dartmouth.
The key for Dartmouth will be Lea Kiefer '04, who has been nearly heroic in several games with her multi-goal efforts. Kiefer leads the team in points and goals, with nine goals and one assist with three game-winners, placing her third in the league in goals and fifth in points.
Forward Christina Ferraris '06, who has come off the bench in several games this season, is nonetheless in the top-10 in goals scored with four goals.
Dartmouth's goalie Anne Marbarger '05 has found her stroke after a rough start, recording three shutouts in the stretch of seven games.
At 11 a.m. on Sunday, Dartmouth women's soccer will continue to steam-roll through the season to another Ivy Championship.
