Women's water polo clinched a bid to the Women's Collegiate Club Championship tournament with a perfect 4-0 weekend at the New England Division Championships at Middlebury College. The Big Green played three games on Saturday, trouncing the competition by a combined score of 44-5, before facing Yale in the championship game on Sunday. Once again, Dartmouth was victorious, overcoming the nationally ranked Bulldogs 9"2.
The weekend began with a match against Wesleyan University. While the Big Green got off to a slow start, scoring only once during the first quarter, they soon warmed up to demolish the Cardinals, scoring five more unanswered goals to finish the first half with a 6"0 lead. Wesleyan got on the board during the third quarter, but Dartmouth countered with four goals of its own, securing the Big Green's domination. After posting four more goals during the fourth quarter, Dartmouth emerged triumphant, posting a final score of 14"1.
Next up for the Big Green was Williams College, who was similarly outmatched by its opponent. Cary Telander '06 delivered the first blow one minute into the game, to be followed by Claire Cage '05, Lindsey Pryor '05 and Sara Rosa '07 in an impressive 6"0 first quarter tally. The Ephwomen were unable to score until the third quarter, but the effort was futile as the Big Green had already amassed 11 goals. The final score was 15"1.
The semifinal game on Saturday night also resulted in a Big Green blowout. While Telander and Rosa got Dartmouth on the board first, Middlebury countered with back-to-back goals to tie the game halfway through the first quarter. However, Pryor and Sam Klau '05 fought back to return the two goal advantage to the Big Green before the end of the first quarter. Dartmouth ran away with the game in the second quarter, scoring four unanswered goals in route to a 15"3 victory and a chance to play for the championship on Sunday against Yale.
In the championship game, Telander won the initial sprint for the Big Green, and the two teams traded possession and blocked shots for the first half of an evenly matched quarter. Dartmouth finally received an opportunity to score when Yale was penalized with an ejection, and Allie Owens '06 was happy to capitalize, zinging off a shot from the point. One minute later, after foiling a Bulldog attack at hole guard, Rosa found herself at the other end of the tank receiving a pass to her left hand, which she deftly tossed past the goalie for a two goal Dartmouth lead.
High energy by both teams led to a series of ejections, the first going against the Big Green. Yale capitalized on the opportunity, only to be awarded another one seconds later. While goalie MacAllistre Henry 'T06 blocked a hard shot from the point, the Bulldogs were able to grab the rebound and put it in the net to tie the game at two. As the quarter came to a close and Pryor forced the ejection of her guard, Telander put the Big Green up by one goal going into the second quarter.
Both teams focused on defense for the first part of the second quarter, trading steals, blocks, and turnovers before Yale was awarded another power play with four minutes left in the half. The Big Green ran a textbook advantage defense, as Telander had her arm up to block the shot from the corner. Despite a rapid counter attack, Dartmouth was unable to score until less than two minutes remained in the half, when Liz Allen '06 capitalized on another counter attack. She was followed by Cage, who fired on net from the point to put the Big Green up by three. Rosa rounded out the first half with another goal, shifting the goalie with a convincing pump fake before putting the ball in net to give Dartmouth a 6-2 advantage at the half.
Yale was unable to muster enough offense to score for the rest of the game, facing a menacing Dartmouth defense led by Rosa and Klau, who both assumed double duty, playing both hole guard and hole set for much of the game. Most impressive in Dartmouth's 9-2 victory was that seven players accounted for the nine Dartmouth goals. Also impressive was the Big Green's man down defense, which shut out the Bulldogs' man up attack five times after the first quarter.
While the defense allowed only seven goals during the weekend, the 53 goals scored by Dartmouth were shared among 10 players, a testament to the depth of the offense. Leading the team in goals for the weekend was Telander with 12, followed by Rosa with nine and Pryor with eight.
The weekend's performance gives the Big Green the second seed at the National Collegiate Club Championships at Texas A&M in May. Dartmouth finished second in the tournament last year, falling to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the championship game 4"7, and will take on James Madison University on the first day of the tournament.
