The Big Green men's soccer team won both games at the 2005 Dartmouth Adidas Classic Invitational, which was played over the weekend at Sachem Field. However, Yale won the tournament after winning both their games as well and holding a better goal difference than the Big Green.
Dartmouth completed a remarkable comeback to defeat the Drake Bulldogs (2-5-1 on the season) 2-1 on Friday. It was the second time within a week that the Big Green players have scored two late goals to turn the game around after a 2-2 draw against Michigan State in the Yale Classic last weekend.
It was the opener of the Adidas Classic tournament for both sides and both teams came out cautious to start.
The first scoring opportunity came in the 16th minute, when Scott Darci '05 and Darnell Nance '06 found themselves up against two Drake defenders. The co-captain forward, however, took too much time before he passed the ball to Nance, who was already closed off by the defense.
Three minutes later, Dartmouth players mourned the missed chance, as they found themselves trailing.
Sophomore Luke Frieberg advanced on the right wing and once he reached the end line, eased past the challenge of a Dartmouth defender. His resulting low cross found the unmarked senior co-captain of the Bulldogs Chris Hamburger, who opened the score with an easy tap-in. Peter Savidis '06 and substitute Mark Limpert '07 both had chances to equalize before half-time, but their efforts were cleared by the Drake defense.
Only seven minutes into the second half, Dartmouth was back on level ground after a beautiful goal by Amar Takhar '06. The senior midfielder received the ball just in front of the area and easily skipped past two opposition defenders. His powerful left-footed shot found the left-hand corner of the Drake goal and left the keeper helpless. It was Takhar's first goal of the season.
Dartmouth controlled the game for most of the second half but missed good chances through Matt Carroll '09 and Craig Henderson '09.
When it looked like the game was destined for overtime, a spark of genius by co-captain P.J. Scheufele turned things around. The creative midfielder delivered a perfect cross from a left-wing free-kick on to the head of onrushing Lucas Richardson '07, who scored the winner from close range.
"P.J. made a perfect service," said Big Green coach Jeffrey Cook, "and Lucas timed his run so well that the goalkeeper had no chance, partly because of the quality of the service and partly because of the sun."
In Sunday's game, the second of the tournament, against the Rhode Island Rams (2-5-1), the Big Green took an early lead after only three minutes. Jacob Aguiar '07 delivered a good cross from the left wing, which found Nance in the penalty area. The powerful forward out-jumped the poorly positioned Rhode Island keeper to head the ball into the empty net for his second goal of the season. Dartmouth had a chance to double the score after seven minutes, but a corner kick from Scheufele hit the near post of Dean Ruddy's goal.
After that, the Big Green players seemed to underestimate their opponents and eased off a little. They paid the price in the 65th minute, when a quick one-two combination between Jeffrey Gonsalves and Steve Mellen left the former one-on-one with keeper Rowan Anders '07, and shot the ball low past Anders' efforts for the equalizer.
In what is becoming a Big Green tradition, Dartmouth managed to score with less than 15 minutes left on the clock to claim the win. Nick Christman '08, who has just returned after missing a few games, earned himself a free kick right in front of the Rhode Island area. The tireless midfielder took it himself, curling the ball perfectly over the wall and into the net for the first goal of his Dartmouth career.
"We're delighted with the wins. At this point of the season, we'll take them any way we can get them. I expect us to play and win in every single game, and try to repeat our Ivy League championship," said Cook after the game.
In the other two games of the tournament, Yale (unbeaten at 3-0-3 this season) won against Rhode Island and Drake to claim the tournament title. In the Friday encounter, the Bulldogs tore the Rams apart with a 6-2 win. Junior defender Jake Miller and forward Alex Munns each claimed two goals in the hammering, with senior Shannon Brooks adding two assists.
In the Sunday Bulldog encounter between Yale and Drake, an own goal by Peter Kariotis separated the two sides, giving Yale a second tournament title in two weeks, after the Yale Classic last weekend.
For his performance and two goals, Alex Munns (Yale) was voted Offensive MVP of the 2005 Dartmouth Adidas Classic. Jake Miller (Yale), who also added two goals in the 6-2 hammering of Rhode Island and played solid 90 minutes against Drake, shared the Defensive MVP award with Lucas Richardson'07, who enjoyed yet another successful weekend.
Big Green goalkeeper Rowan Anders was the unanimous choice for Goalkeeper of the Tournament after his six crucial saves and good vision that he demonstrated when he had to cut off the opposition attacks outside of his box.
Dartmouth's record is now up to 3-1-3 and the Big Green will face Princeton in its Ivy League opener next Sunday, October 2. "Princeton has seven seniors [on their team].
They are a very competitive team, and have one of the most dangerous attacking players in the league in Darren Spicer. We are excited to play at home and hope to have a good attendance," said Cook.
Against Princeton, Dartmouth will be back on home turf at Chase Field, after playing the last couple of matches at Sachem Field due to renovation of the soil on main playground.
