The Big Green went punch for punch with the No. 7 Tigers through three quarters, but was out-manned in the fourth, as Princeton pulled ahead by a sizeable margin in the game's final quarter. With their five-goal fourth quarter, the Tigers pulled off a 16-11 win in front of 1,200 fans at Dartmouth's Scully-Fahey field.
The Big Green was able to control the ball from the very beginning, winning the game's opening face-off and dominating possession throughout the early goings. Dartmouth put together drawn-out possessions that led to scoring opportunities, but the Big Green's shots were fired wide of the Princeton net or saved by Tiger goalkeeper Alex Hewit.
Co-captain Jamie Coffin '06 credited his team's offense and defense for bringing their best showing, but acknowledged that Hewit was too much for Dartmouth to overcome.
"The difference in the game -- their goalie made some incredible saves," Coffin said. "He's the best in the country. He came up with some big saves that not only prevented goals but ended possessions. That was the difference in the game; after we'd shoot the ball would be brought down to our end."
Dartmouth out-shot the Tigers 14-6 in the opening period, but was outscored 4-2 in the quarter because of Princeton's offensive efficiency. When the Tigers managed to move the ball to their offensive end, they wasted little time before putting the ball in the back of the Big Green net.
Out of Princeton's six first quarter shots, the two shots that did not hit the twine were possession shots -- the Tigers ran their shots out and were able to maintain possession. As a result, Dartmouth was not able to convert a single Princeton shot into a change of possession.
The second quarter was a series of rallies. Over the first nine minutes of the frame, the Big Green fought back to tie the game at four with goals from Coffin and Tim Daniels '08. But the Dartmouth comeback only served to fan the fire that was the Princeton offense.
After the game was tied at four, the Tigers won the ensuing face-off and scored on the resulting fast break, breaking the tie 12 seconds after the Big Green knotted the game. Princeton would score four unanswered goals during its run to pull ahead 8-4.
After the Tigers' run subsided, Dartmouth responded in its usual way -- a slow, settled offensive attack. The Big Green scored two goals and looked to close out the erratic second quarter at 8-6 when Princeton attackman Alex Haynie snuck a bounce shot over the right shoulder of Dartmouth keeper Patrick Marshall '09 and into the corner of the net with four seconds remaining in the half.
The Princeton attackmen were able to keep the ball away from Marshall and capitalize on their scoring opportunities to a remarkable extent. Marshall said that the combination of skilled shooters and a bit of luck spelled trouble for the Big Green.
"They were good shooters. They also got some bounces and a few rebounds which didn't help, but they were definitely good shooters," the freshman goalie said.
Dartmouth came out strong in the second half, outscoring the Tigers 3-2 in the third quarter with goals from team leaders Coffin, Brad Heritage '06 and reigning Ivy League Player of the Week Nick Bonacci '07. However, a 30-second holding violation on Ben Lovejoy '07 with four seconds remaining in the third period was a harbinger of what would come in the fourth quarter.
The Tigers scored on the extra-man opportunity 15 seconds into the fourth quarter, jumpstarting a 5-1 run. Princeton's fourth-quarter push put the game out of reach for the Big Green as the Tigers survived an upset scare and kept their Ivy League title hopes alive.
Coffin spoke of the emotional implications of the loss.
"The whole loss in general is kind of a disappointment," he said. "If we had won there was a small chance of making the NCAA tournament. For us, this loss serves as closure. I know especially for all the seniors it was really hard for us to lose to Princeton today."
Dartmouth will face winless Holy Cross on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and will then try to even its Ivy League record at 3-3 against Harvard Saturday at 6 p.m. in its season finale.
