Dartmouth women's lacrosse ended its record-breaking season Friday after an 8-4 loss to No. 1 ranked Northwestern (20-0) in the NCAA semifinal round at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium at the U.S Naval Academy.
The trip to Annapolis, Md., marked Dartmouth's first Final Four appearance since 1998 and its third in history.
Though head coach Amy Patton fell short of notching her 150th career win, she could not help but praise her players.
"This is probably one of the greatest teams I've ever coached at Dartmouth," Patton said. "I am extremely proud of these players. They worked extremely hard. Northwestern did a good job of limiting us in shots. The teams that did that seemed to be the ones that beat us this year."
Following a day of rain and cold weather, Dartmouth struggled to find its footing on the muddy grass playing surface as Northwestern scored the first four goals of the NCAA semifinal competition.
However, Dartmouth goalkeeper Devon Wills '06 stood strong in the net and fought off further damage for the Big Green. Wills made six saves in the first half and nine total for the day, helping Dartmouth become just the third team this season to hold Northwestern to single digits in goals scored.
After the Wildcats pounced, Dartmouth was ready to make its move in the game. Sophomore playmaker Whitney Douthett looked to attacker Sarah Szefi '07, who scored with three seconds left in the opening frame.
At the half, Dartmouth trailed 4-1, with Northwestern holding a 13-4 advantage in shots and a 5-1 edge in draws.
The second half opened with another goal by the Wildcats just 43 seconds in.
However, quick to return the favor, Douthett connected with Katieanne Christian '05 for Christian's first goal of the night and Douthett's second assist.
The Big Green began to gain momentum, but just couldn't connect as they slipped on the wet grass, dropped passes and had goals taken back by the referees.
Capitalizing on Dartmouth's sloppy play, Northwestern put two more points on the board, one at 24:31 and another at 12:05. However, the Big Green was determined to close the gap, and it did just that as midfielder Kristen Zimmer '06 ripped one past the Wildcats off of a pass from Margo Duke '07.
Eight minutes later, with just 58 seconds left on the clock, Christian made her final cut towards the net and scored her second goal of the night and her 70th point of the season.
Although the Big Green faced less than ideal conditions, it showed its strength and athleticism throughout the game. Co-captain Erin Osborn '05 continuously came up big, stopping the Wildcat's offense and causing turnovers.
"Our defense really stepped it up in the second half, but it was a little too late." Patton said.
Dartmouth entered the semifinal tournament as the fourth seed and finished its season 16-3. Four players received All-American honors, led by Christian with a first team selection.
Christian totaled 65 goals and became just the third Big Green player in history to earn 70 points in a season.
She notched 12 goals during the NCAA tournament games, including five each against Syracuse and Georgetown.
Named Ivy League co-player of the year and first team All-America, Christian is now one of five finalists to receive the Tewaaraton Trophy. The Tewaaraton Trophy is presented each year to the top male and female lacrosse player in the nation and will be awarded on June 2.
Teammates Zimmer '06 and Douthett '07 each received second team All-America honors.
Zimmer, who started all 18 games of the season, finished with 12 goals and 10 assists and won 120 of her 179 draws.
Douthett, also a first team All-Ivy League selection, was second on the team with 62 points, sporting an even 31 goals and 31 assists.
Goalkeeper Wills backstopped for the Big Green and received third team All-America recognition. Wills also received first team all-Ivy honors as she finished her season with a 6.99 goals against average.
Although Dartmouth ended its season one game earlier than hoped, its trip to the Final Four is evidence of what an amazing season the lady laxers had. The Big Green set records for most consecutive wins in a season (13) and most total wins (16).
Dartmouth loses four strong seniors this year in co-captains Osborn and Sarah Sanborn, Christian and Leah Skypeck. However, with a lot of young talent and an exceptionally strong junior class stepping up as leaders, the Big Green should be right back in the hunt next year.
