Co-captain Brad Heritage '06 sees the win as a potential turn-around.
"I think this win will do a lot for us in terms of helping attitude at practice and having a little bit more confidence in our game and the fact that we can come out and get a win against teams we know we can beat.
"It's a good feeling to know that this year's seniors will graduate never having lost to Yale," Heritage said.
The Big Green (5-6, 1-2 Ivy) pieced together the 12-10 victory with a strong, albeit uncharacteristic, fourth-quarter effort.
After taking a 7-5 lead into the locker rooms at halftime, Dartmouth had trouble restarting in the second half. The Bulldogs (5-7, 1-4 Ivy) held the Big Green scoreless for the first eight minutes of the third quarter, scoring two goals of their own to tie the game at seven.
With Dartmouth's lead gone, the turn of events in the second half felt similar to the team's second-half disappointments against Notre Dame and the University of Pennsylvania.
The ensuing face-off would prove otherwise. With the score knotted at 7-7, long-stick midfielder Ben Lovejoy '07 secured a difficult ground ball after Tim Daniels '08 won the face-off draw. The long-stick was stripped of the ball as he entered the Yale offensive zone, but was able to regain control of the ball to flip it to Nick Bonacci '07 on the crease.
Bonacci had hardly caught the pass from Lovejoy when he found a wide-open Brian Koch '09 for an easy put-away.
The Dartmouth goal came 11 seconds after Yale's tally. The quick goal not only created a Big Green lead, but also damaged the Bulldog morale. Yale would never lead in the game.
For the game, Bonacci spurred the offense with a six-point effort. In addition to his two assists, the junior ripped four shots past Yale goalkeeper George Carafides. Heritage found the net three times and assisted on one of Bonacci's scores. Co-captain Jamie Coffin '06 scored twice, and Lovejoy made his presence felt on the offensive side of the field with a goal in the second quarter.
Wednesday's win was even more impressive for the Big Green men because they succeeded playing a style that has rarely favored them this season.
Dartmouth has earned a reputation for its slow, deliberate offense that wages a war of attrition against opposing defenses. Against the Bulldogs, however, the team let loose and played an up-tempo, run-and-gun game that relied less on structured offense.
When the Big Green played at a breakneck speed in previous games, it was an indication that Dartmouth's opponents were dictating the pace of play. But on Wednesday, the fast tempo was a strategy for victory.
Heritage was proud of the way the team adjusted to the faster-paced game.
"We've found over the past few years that lacrosse has been turning into such a possession game," he said. "Today's game shows how we've got guys that are capable of making plays on their own and do well in unstructured situations."
He noted that a quicker pace of play has been an Achilles heel for the team this year and admitted, "It's nice that we came out on the winning side this time."
With three conference games remaining, the Big Green jumps from a tie for last into fourth place in the Ivy League standings. Mathematically, the team is still in contention for the Ivy League crown and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, but will need some help in the form of upsets.
According to Heritage, the team has not given up hope of winning the conference, but is more mindful of the importance of each individual game.
"[The Ivy League title] is obviously on the back of our minds," he said. "It's been a focus all year and that has hurt us a little bit. I think at times we were looking ahead toward the big pictures too much. As a team, we're better off when we take games one at a time."
Dartmouth looks to climb the next rung on Saturday when the team travels to Providence, R.I., to face Brown at 1 p.m. The Bears currently sit at the bottom of the Ivy League totem pole with an 0-3 league record and just two wins overall.
