The Dartmouth women's lacrosse team has finally hit its stride, and it could not have come at a better time.
In its first game since re-cracking the top 10 in the national rankings, the No. 8 Big Green leveled Boston College 16-2 in Chestnut Hills, Mass., on Wednesday to register its fifth consecutive victory and eighth win in its last nine contests.
The game was a rout from the beginning. Dartmouth (11-4, 5-2 Ivy) scored eight goals in the game's first 10 minutes and held Boston College (8-9, 1-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) scoreless for the entire first half.
"Our biggest goal was to set the tone from the start," Dartmouth head coach Amy Patton said. "We definitely did that."
Kristen Barry '08 led the Big Green with five goals and two assists. The sophomore has been on fire lately, scoring 16 goals in her last four games. In a dominant victory, however, Patton was quick to emphasize Dartmouth's stellar play on the field.
"[Barry] stood out on the stat sheet, and she played a great game," the coach said, "but the entire team played really well."
The Big Green women poured on the scoring early ... real early. Both Barry and Sarah Szefi '07 had goals in the game's opening minute.
The Eagles' freshman starting keeper, Katie Monaghan, allowed seven goals in just over seven minutes. She did not record a save in the game.
Whitney Douthett '07, Jen Pittman '07, Casey Hazel '06 and Szefi each scored twice in the first half for the Big Green, which led 12-0 at the break. Barry had already notched a hat trick by the close of the first period, and Kristen Zimmer '06 netted the other goal.
"Our offense was getting some really good looks at goal and converting," Patton said. "And our defense did a good job of sliding into double coverage when we needed to."
Dartmouth's defense surrendered a quick hiccup at the start of the second half, allowing Boston College freshman Jenna McCabe to net her team's first goal. Dartmouth did not wait long to reassert its dominance, however. The Big Green scored the next four goals as Zimmer and Jenna Manula '09 each scored once, and Barry added the last two of her five goals.
Even though she was rarely tested, Dartmouth keeper Devon Wills '06 played well. Wills saved five shots and allowed just one goal. She was replaced by Ashley Heist '08 with three minutes left in the game.
Boston College senior Lizette Blohm beat Heist with 16 seconds remaining to bring the game to its final score of 16-2.
Three Eagles goalies saw action in the game. Dartmouth scored its first seven goals on Monaghan, who was replaced for the rest of the first half by sophomore Courtney Zwirko. Zwirko had three saves, surrendering five goals. Senior Tara McKennett, who played the second half in goal, allowed four goals and made six saves.
The Big Green host No. 3 Duke this Sunday at 6 p.m. at Scully-Fahey Field in what promises to be an exciting match-up.
Patton hopes to draw a huge crowd for the season finale. The only active lacrosse team on campus, Duke's women had been ranked first nationally prior to the most recent poll. And, after all, Sunday is senior day.
"We're trying to set an attendance record. A couple years ago we had about 1,500 people go to our game against Maryland. We're hoping to top that," Patton said. "We're really hoping to get as many people cheering and supporting us as possible."
The Duke game comes only a day before the selections are announced for this season's NCAA tournament.
After losing three of its first six games and struggling to meet its lofty expectations -- the team opened the season with a No. 3 national ranking -- a win Sunday would complete a convincing turnaround and ensure the team of an at-large bid and likely a high seed in the Big Dance.
