There were no rumors about the demise of the Dartmouth women's lacrosse team following Saturday's 17-8 loss at Princeton, but if there had been, they would have been greatly exaggerated.
Wednesday night, the Terriers of Boston University found that out the hard way, as the 10th-ranked Big Green triumphed, 10-4, in front of 150 fans at Scully-Fahey Field. The game was Dartmouth's fourth in 12 days, and the last before next week's home stand against No. 5 Duke and No. 12 North Carolina.
"It feels good," Dartmouth head coach Amy Patton said of the win, her team's 10th of the season. "I think our kids need a little bit of a break to heal some injuries, and I think a couple of days off is going to do them well, especially since I think they're tired from midterms.
"We've been talking about fighting through that, just as all teams have to, and I think this is going to be a much needed rest for them."
There was no rest early on in the game, as both teams battled to be the first to score. However, with 2003 Ivy League Rookie of the Year Devon Wills '06 in the net for Dartmouth, and fellow U.S . Developmental Team keeper Anne Sheridan in the BU cage, the battle went on for 20 minutes.
"That was a little rough," Wills said of the opening stalemate, "but the defense tends to stay focused on ourselves. We don't really worry about what's going on at the other end.
"Our attack sees three good goalies every day in practice, so [Sheridan's presence] wasn't really an issue."
Fortunately for Dartmouth, when the drought ended, it was "at the other end." During a scramble in front of the BU net, Kristen Zimmer '06 found the ball on her stick and put it past Sheridan from point-blank range for a gritty, workmanlike goal that broke the scoreless tie with 10:01 to play in the half.
With the stalemate ended, Dartmouth capitalized on Zimmer's momentum, scoring another four first-half goals. Annie Leibovitz '06 made good on a free-position shot a minute and a half later, and Dartmouth added three goals in the last 2:30 of the half. Katieanne Christian '05 potted her first goal of the evening on an unassisted tally, and tri-captain Lana Smith '04 followed with a free-position tally at the 1:36 mark. It was another 12 seconds before the ball was back in BU's net, courtesy of Katie Fahey '06, who took a pass from Zimmer for a fast-break goal.
The Dartmouth defense, meanwhile, remained solid, not allowing a goal through the first 29:19 of play. With 41 seconds to go, Wills went to make a routine save on a Kaitlyn Cuneo shot, but the ball bounced off of Wills' stick and into the back of the net, making the score 5-1 Dartmouth at halftime.
BU attempted to mount a comeback early in the second half, as the Terriers got goals from Angie Martin and Lindsey Lewis in the first five minutes. Play took a turn, however, when the Terriers' Danica Strutt committed a hard foul on Dartmouth tri-captain Kate Killen '04 with 24:20 to play.
By the time Killen returned to her feet, Strutt had been ejected from the game. A mere 55 seconds later, the ball was in BU's net, courtesy of -- you guessed it -- Killen.
"It was exciting," Killen said of her quick revenge. "I guess we needed the momentum."
Momentum was quick in coming, as Zimmer followed with her second goal of the day at 21:46, and Lana Smith added her second tally at 12:22. Casey Hazel '06 assisted on both scores.
BU's Hannah Cross added one more goal with 11:34 to go, but Dartmouth held strong, and Christian and Killen potted their second goals of the game at 6:26 and 4:43, respectively, closing the scoring.
With the Terriers vanquished, Dartmouth will take the next eight days to prepare for the Tobacco Road series, which will begin when the Blue Devils visit Hanover on May 6 at 6 p.m. Following the Duke game, Dartmouth will close the regular season on May 8, when UNC comes to town for a 1 p.m. matchup on Senior Day at Scully-Fahey Field.