The Dartmouth men's soccer team extended its winning streak to four games and its unbeaten streak to seven games on Wednesday. The squad defeated Oneonta State 2-0 at Chase Field, improving to 5-1-3 on the season, 1-0-0 in the Ivy League. The Red Dragons, meanwhile, drop to 4-6-1.
Michael Ordonez '08 scored once again after netting an overtime winner against Princeton last Sunday. He opened the scoring 24 minutes into the game, when Brian Lappas '08 fed him the ball on the left flank. Ordonez advanced into the penalty area and chipped the ball over the keeper into the far corner for his third goal of the season.
"When we keep the ball more than we have in the past, our offense looks better," Ordonez said. "The goals are just me getting lucky, being at the right spot at the right time."
The Big Green looked in total control of the game for the rest of the half, not allowing the Red Dragons a shot on goal. Even though the Big Green players obviously possessed greater class, however, they could have given the win away.
In the 71st minute, Oneonta senior star striker Adam Gercke broke free from the Dartmouth defense and put the ball past goalkeeper Rowan Anders '07, only to see his effort disallowed due to an offside call. The Red Dragons managed to keep possession of the ball throughout the last ten minutes and put tremendous pressure on the Big Green defense.
On one of Dartmouth's well-organized counter-attacks, however, Craig Henderson '09 managed to double the lead with his first collegiate goal. In the 88th minute, Panagiotis Savidis '06 took a quick free kick on the left and passed the ball to Matt Carroll '09, who progressed and found the unmarked Henderson. The freshman striker saw the gap and shot from the edge of the penalty area, finding the lower left corner of Timothy Melia's goal.
"I don't think that I'm personally playing better than before, but we as a team are functioning much better," said Carroll, who also assisted for the overtime game-winner against Princeton on Sunday. "I know where players will be and they know where to receive them. It's great to know that I'm contributing to the success of the team."
The Big Green will be facing tough opposition on Saturday, when they head to New Haven, Conn. to face Yale. The two teams are poised to be the main contenders for the Ivy League title this year.
Earlier this season, the Bulldogs won the Yale Classic and the Dartmouth Adidas Classic, two invitational tournaments that Dartmouth took part in. The two teams never played each other, but should have a pretty good impression of their opponents' style of play.
"Yale has the same exact record as we do coming into this Saturday," said Ordonez. "We aren't really worried about their game. We are more focused on what we have to do in the next few days to prepare. As long as we take everything day by day and game by game we will be fine."
"They seem to be a very good ball controlling team, which attacks in numbers," Carroll added. "I'm sure the coaches will come up with a good plan."
