The men's lacrosse team rolled back into Hanover fresh off a historic victory that capped off its spring break action of the last two weeks. After dropping a tragic overtime game, 9-8, to a gutsy Sacred Heart squad on its home Scully-Fahey Field, the Big Green traveled to Boca Raton, Fla. in search of brighter fortunes.
The team met with good fortune in the Sunshine State, putting up a landmark 7-6 win over the nationally ranked No. 4 Maryland Terrapins. The win catapulted Dartmouth lacrosse right back in the hunt for its second-ever NCAA tournament birth.
Dartmouth kicked off its spring break schedule with a matchup against the Pioneers of Sacred Heart, who went toe-to-toe with the Big Green for more than 60 minutes. Sacred Heart got on the scoreboard first with an unassisted goal from Matthew Robideau, but Dartmouth battled right back to even the score at one apiece on a feed from tri-captain Ben Grinnell '05 to middie Brad Heritage '06.
Grinnell continued to fuel the Big-Green's high octane offense with a hat-trick of three goals to add to his two assists. Grinnell scored the last two tallies for Dartmouth in the second half, keeping his team in the hunt for a win against a relentless Sacred Heart team.
With 12:36 left in regulation, the Pioneers snuck their eighth goal of the game past Big Green goalie Andrew Goldstein '05 to even the score and eventually force an overtime period. Sacred Heart scored one last time and picked up the 9-8 victory with a mere 28 ticks remaining on the overtime clock.
After the team's disappointing setback to Sacred Heart, the Big Green laxers ventured south to Boca Raton, Fla., where they squared off against perennial national powerhouse Maryland in a non-league game. The contest proved to be one for the ages, as Dartmouth hung tough with the fourth-ranked Terrapins for the entire 60 minutes and eventually prevailed 7-6 with the help of a stingy defense as time expired.
Maryland stormed out against the Big Green early, tallying a 3-1 halftime advantage. The tables turned in the second half, however, with juniors Alec Hufnagel, Brad Heritage and Jamie Coffin all finding the net to even the score at four apiece by the end of the third quarter. The table was set for a monumental conclusion to the eighth ever meeting between the teams, and Dartmouth displayed its talent and poise down the stretch.
With Maryland holding onto an early fourth quarter lead, 6-5, the Big Green reeled off a string of three unanswered goals from Heritage, sophomore sensation Nick Bonacci '07 and newcomer Tim Daniels '08. Bonacci tallied two goals and an assist for the game, leading the Big Green with a team-high 3 points. Daniels' marker with 2:22 remaining in the contest proved to be the eventual game-winner, as Maryland scored its sixth goal a minute later, but failed to register a game-tying seventh.
Goldstein secured the Big Green's first ever victory over the Terrapins with a remarkable display of goaltending skills to ward off a late offensive charge from Maryland in the last minute of the game.
"This was a complete team effort," said Bonacci. "Every player, at some point in the game, came up with an extraordinary play. When someone made a mistake, one of his teammates played that much harder to make up for it."
Goldstein was rewarded for his outstanding performance against Maryland by being named the Ivy League Player of the Week, and was also recognized as the CSTV Player of the Week.
Unfortunately for Dartmouth, the substantial momentum accumulated from the win over Maryland during spring break dissipated on Tuesday afternoon as the team dropped their second game of the season 9-7 on the road against Albany.
Defenseman and tri-captain Adam White '05 explained the key to success for the laxers through the remainder of Dartmouth's season, "We need to realize that the kind of intensity we played with against Maryland is the kind of intensity that we need to bring to every game."
Jamie Coffin posted a season-high five goals in the losing effort, which led all scorers in the match. The Big Green fall to 3-2 on the season after the loss to the Great Danes, but look to rebound this Saturday at home against a formitable Notre Dame opponent ranked among the top-ten in the country. The opening face-off between the Big Green and Fighting Irish is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.
