The No. 6 lady laxers notched their seventh victory of the season with an impressive 18-8 victory over Brown (2-6, 0-1) Sunday at Scully-Fahey field. Despite the rain, Dartmouth lax earned its third Ivy League win with ease and continued its run as Dartmouth's only undefeated team on campus.
The Big Green opened the contest with five goals, including one ripped by senior co-captain Erin Osborn less than three minutes into the first half. Three minutes later rookie midfielder Kristen Barry '08 was fed by sophomore Whitney Douthett to score her first goal of the game. Douthett unselfishly led the team in points for the day with five assists and one goal. With ten minutes gone from the clock, senior standout Katieanne Christian owned Brown's goalie, Julia Southard, as she put back three goals in less than four minutes. Christian finished the game with five goals. Brown finally showed some fight and answered back with a goal from Sarah Passano. However, Dartmouth quickly rebuffed the Bears' attempt to even the score with a goal from sophomore Margot Duke. With 11:42 remaining in the first half Dartmouth led 6-1. Head coach Amy Patton credited her finely tuned defensive lineup as "playing phenomenally" in the first 20 minutes.
Brown's Kate Staley scored the Bears' second goal of the game at 9:02, only to be answered back three from the Big Green. A short two minute span saw goals from senior co-captain Sarah Sanborn, Katieanne Christian, and Casey Hazel '06. The Bears' Amie Biros closed out the first half of play with Brown's third goal at 2:45. After the first half, the scoreboard displayed Dartmouth's strong lead of 9-3.
The second half opened with three goals from Brown to tighten the game to 10-5. Consequently, Patton called a timeout in order to regroup and focus Dartmouth's game. Patton's words of wisdom paid off as Dartmouth immediately widened their lead with two free position goals scored by Douthett and Barry. At 19:56 Amie Biros scored her third goal of the game bringing Brown within six at 12-6. However, Dartmouth retaliated with a surge of goals ignited by Sanborn's assist to Casey Hazel, who tallied her second goal of the game. Two minutes later, junior midfielder Kristen Zimmer netted her second goal of the game, assisted by Sarah Szefi '07. The surge continued as Barry netted her third and final goal of the game and Christian, her fifth.
Brown made their last and final attempt as Ashley Holden tallied their eighth goal with 5:51 left in play. However, Dartmouth once again shut them down as Hazel scored her third goal and Douthett put the nail in the coffin with her fifth and final assist to Jen Pittman '07, who scored her first goal of the game. After 58:50 minutes in the cage and 8 saves, Colorado native Devon Wills '06 stepped off the field giving some time to Kelly Roy '06. The Lady Green finished the day with an impressive 31-20 edge in shots and a 33-14 advantage in ground balls.
Dartmouth's season thus far has proved to be the most successful in school history. Spring break offered an intense lineup with a trip down south to face the nine-time NCAA champions, the Maryland Terrapins, and James Madison University followed by two important Ivy games.
The Big Green showed the nation they're a force to be reckoned with as they beat Maryland for the first time in history 10-8. Following such a huge victory, Dartmouth went on to beat JMU, Yale and Columbia. Currently standing 3-0 in the Ivy League, Dartmouth travels to Amherst to face off against University of Massachusetts on Tuesday, April 5.
