With their post-season hopes hanging in the balance and playing as if each game was their last, the No. 11 Big Green laxers battled both the elements and a gritty No. 18 Brown squad en route to an 11-9 victory at sopping Sculley-Fahey Field on Saturday afternoon.
The win keeps Dartmouth in the running for at least an at-large qualifier bid to the NCAA tournament later this spring with an overall record of 7-3 and an Ancient Eight mark at 3-1.
"It was a real close game but we stuck together as a team in crunch time and that was definitely the difference for us," said Alec Hufnagel '06.
The laxers started their weekend contest against the visiting Bears with a post-season-like intensity, jumping on top of Brown early 2-0 on an underclassman scoring strike from Nick Bonacci '07, who was fed by freshman middie Tim Daniels.
The second Big Green goal came from the stick of Hufnagel and was assisted by fellow junior Jamie Coffin.
Brown answered with its first goal at the 2:57 mark of the opening stanza to pull within one, but Bonacci drove the Dartmouth advantage back up to two goals just 17 seconds later on a swift move in front of the cage to give him a clear shot at the net.
Heading into the second frame with a 3-1 lead, the Big Green began to get pounded by both heavy rain and a barrage of Brown offense, as the visiting Bears out-shot Dartmouth 16-4 in the quarter and strung together five goals to take its largest lead of the game at 6-4.
The Big Green pulled back to within one of its opponents 98 seconds before halftime on a tenacious shot from tri-captain Ben Grinnell '05 past the Brown goalie.
After the break, Dartmouth came out poised to protect its home field advantage and retake control of the game's tempo.
The laxers tied the score at six thanks to Hufnagel's second tally of the contest, taking advantage of a man-up opportunity just three and a half minutes into the third period of play.
The squads traded goals through the remainder of the quarter and entered the final fifteen minutes of regulation with the score knotted at 7-7.
Brown made it clear early on in the fourth quarter that it would take a full 60 minutes to decide the winner in this contest. Only a few minutes into the last frame, the Bears cashed in on a man up advantage to take an 8-7 lead.
Dartmouth, however, was quick to retaliate as Coffin lined his second goal of the game into the back of the net less than a minute later, evening the score once again.
The Bears then took their final lead of the game, 9-8, with 7:55 remaining in the match, but Dartmouth would not relent on its home turf.
Much to Brown's chagrin, the Big Green offense came alive and erupted for three unanswered goals in the remaining minutes to secure an impressive 11-9 victory.
Grinnell's go-ahead score at the 3:47 mark capped the dramatic comeback. However, the Big Green captain credited the defense for the victory as much as the late offensive charge.
"The defense was extremely solid, especially in the second half when the offensive guys stepped up and contributed," he said.
The Dartmouth defense was anchored once again by the outstanding performance of goalie Andrew Goldstein '05, who came up with 10 saves overall and remained unwavering as the final seconds ticked off the clock to seal the victory for the Green. "Games like these will really help us down the line as we fight for wins toward the end of our schedule," Goldstein said.
Up next, Dartmouth's laxers take on perennial powerhouse Princeton this coming Saturday afternoon in New Jersey.
