Yet, the Dartmouth men's lacrosse team has hit a rough spot. After an impressive 3-0 start, the team has managed only one victory in its last six games.
Over the recent shaky stretch, the Big Green have maintained their hallmark intensity and proficiency, but it just hasn't been able to cross the divide between winning and losing.
Co-captain Brad Heritage '06 attributes his team's shortcomings to accumulations of minor mistakes.
"Stupid turnovers and stick errors early in games can come back to plague a team in the later quarters, and that has really hurt us this year," Heritage said. "Hopefully, from here on out, we will execute better and keep the mental mistakes to a minimum. Turnovers are going to happen and people are going to make mistakes, but the more we can limit that, which we've struggled to do, the better off we are going to be in the games ahead."
To the credit of the Big Green lacrosse program, the losses have come at the hands of worthy opponents. Dartmouth has dropped one-goal decisions to No. 14 Penn State, No. 9 Notre Dame and, most recently, No. 7 Penn. And though the Big Green did fall to No. 6 Maryland by a more decisive margin, the true story of the six-game stretch has been their strength of schedule.
Coffin explained the frustration that comes when the team falls short of its tremendous potential.
"I think we are capable of beating anyone in the country," the former Ivy League Rookie of the Year said. "We just haven't been able to put everything together come game day. I would love the opportunity to play any of these teams again and know that we are capable of beating them."
Dartmouth will have an opportunity to salvage its NCAA tournament hopes and its season when it squares off against No. 4 Cornell this weekend.
The Big Red started their season 6-0, establishing itself as a 2006 powerhouse. However, like Dartmouth, Cornell has had trouble as of late. The Big Red are 1-2 over its last three games, losing to Penn and Syracuse.
Both Dartmouth and Cornell have one loss in the Ivy League and cannot afford another. Coffin reinforced the importance of beating the Big Red.
"It's crucial that we win this game against Cornell. [If] we win, we are back on track and still have a legitimate chance of making the [NCAA] tournament," he said.
For Heritage, there is added motivation to win Saturday's game. He's never beaten the Big Red.
"I'm not sure how long the drought has been against Cornell for Dartmouth, but for this senior class, Cornell is the only Ivy League team we've never beaten, and there's no better time for us than this year," he said.
Dartmouth's winless streak against Cornell dates back to 1997, before the era of not only current head coach Bill Wilson, but previous coach Rick Sowell.
Thanks to some fortuitous scheduling, the Big Green have a full week to gear up for the Cornell match. Heritage explained that while the team is preparing in light of the Big Red's playing style and game plan, the main focus is fundamentals.
"We have a full week of preparation for this game, and that has allowed us to go 'back to basics' with a lot of our stuff to iron out areas where we are having problems," said Heritage.
Coffin may have best captured the Dartmouth plan for success, simply stating, "If we can bring tons of intensity and correct the minor mistakes, we are going to be a tough team for anyone to beat."
The Big Green take on Cornell this Saturday at 1 p.m. in Ithaca.
