On Sunday, the senior class of the Dartmouth women's soccer team donned the green for the last time, so it was only appropriate that the scoring sheet read like the roll call for the pre-game ceremony. Co-captain Megan Wijas '06 notched three assists on the day and fellow seniors Christina Ferraris '06 and Allison Green '06 each scored once with Jennie Tonneson '06 adding an assist to her season total as the Big Green downed the Cornell Big Red 5-0.
Unfortunately for Dartmouth, only pride was on the line Sunday, at least in terms of conference play. The team knew the win was only good enough for a second place finish in the Ivy League because of what had happened elsewhere in the Ancient Eight the previous night. The Yale Bulldogs defeated the Brown Bears 3-0 Saturday night to clinch their first Ivy championship since 1992.
Considering the close finish for the conference title and Dartmouth's No. 25 ranking in the national poll, the class of 2006 may not have to say goodbye just yet. The team's 12-4-1 overall record (Ivy 5-2) may be good enough to qualify for an at-large bid in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The tournament brackets will be announced Monday at 5 p.m., on ESPNews.
If yesterday's game was any indication, the women's soccer team will be in good hands -- or feet as it were -- for the 2006 season with Roxy Davis '07 scoring twice against Cornell goalkeeper Taylor Hendren. In fact, it was Davis who drew first blood for the Big Green, beating Hendren eight minutes and 24 seconds into the game. Wijas lofted a high pass downfield to Davis, who proceeded to put the ball in the top left corner of the net from 20-yards away.
In spite of more Dartmouth dominance on the offensive end for the rest of the half, the teams entered the halftime break with the score still 1-0 in favor of the Big Green. Cornell wouldn't be able to hold the floodgates for much longer as more of Dartmouth's shots found the back of the goal in the second frame.
The deluge began at the 48:05 mark when Sarah Johnson '07 made a corner kick that Hendren couldn't rein in before Emily Tracy '07 put the Big Green up 2-0 and raise her 2005 goals-scored total to three. Johnson's assist upped her point total to 25, good enough for the sixth best season by a Dartmouth player ever.
Twenty minutes and change later Ferraris notched her sixth goal on the season when she fielded a low pass from Wijas and sent a bullet of a shot past Hendren from 25 yards out.
Any notion the Big Green would ease up with a 3-0 lead was dispelled when Green scored for the second time this season on an assist from Tonneson. And then just as she started the game, Davis bookended the Dartmouth scoring attack when she kicked a one-timer, again from 20 yards away, into Cornell's goal to bring the score to 5-0 at the 87:03 mark.
While the Big Green's post-season fate remains up in the air for now, coach Angie Hind told reporters that whether or not there are any games left for her 2005 squad, Sunday's victory was a great way to end the regular season campaign. "I'm delighted with the win," she said. "We couldn't have finished the season on a better note. We won 12 games and finished second in the Ivy League."
By 5 p.m. Monday we'll know if the 2005 squad's legacy will include an NCAA berth as well.
