Despite falling behind early in the first half, Dartmouth managed to fight back and gain a huge lead of its own. The Big Green spotted the Terriers a 2-0 lead before scoring six unanswered goals to take lead it would not relinquish.
"I was really impressed that we dug in and didn't get frustrated," Big Green head coach Amy Patton said to reporters after the game. "I knew they knew they could be playing better."
Jenny Hauser, Boston University's biggest offensive threat, started the game hot. Hauser beat Dartmouth goalkeeper Devon Wills '06 twice in the first eight minutes, putting the Terriers up 2-0.
Hauser had a chance to bury the Big Green in an even deeper hole, but Wills blocked her point-blank shot.
Dartmouth controlled the rebound and really took advantage of the change of possession. Annie Leibovitz '06 took the ball and carried it all the way downfield. The Big Green kept control until Whitney Douthett '07 fired a pass to Kristen Barry '08, who scored and closed the gap to 2-1.
Dartmouth kept the pressure on and scored twice within the next two minutes. Leibovitz scored her first of the game and Barry followed it with her second. The Big Green quickly changed its fortunes, turning a two-goal deficit to a one-goal lead. Dartmouth did not let up. About seven minutes after Barry's second tally, Douthett scored one of her own, followed only 16 seconds later by another Leibovitz goal, assisted by Douthett.
Just a moment before halftime, referees whistled Boston University on a violation in front of the Terrier net. Jen Pittman '07 held the ball during the stoppage and took a shot as soon as the clock started again. Her shot beat Terrier goalkeeper Jenna Golden with less than a second remaining in the half, pushing Dartmouth's lead to 6-2 at the break.
But the Terriers came out of halftime energized and managed to bring the game back to within three goals when Lauren Morton scored her first of two goals on the afternoon.
Leibovitz quickly countered with her third goal to complete her hat trick and keep the game out of reach.
Sarah Szefi '07 added an eighth Dartmouth goal a few minutes later on an assist from Kristen Zimmer '06.
Morton and Douthett each scored their second goal in the game's final 10 minutes to bring the game to its 9-4 finish.
"I thought we had a great game plan coming into the game, and we executed it," Leibovitz said. "We possessed the ball well, especially at crucial times, and ran an excellent stall in the last 15 minutes."
Dartmouth led the stats sheet with 23 shots to Boston University's 19. Wills had seven saves for the Big Green, while Golden saved 10 Dartmouth shots.
Sunday's victory over the Terriers coincided with Princeton's upset of the University of Virginia. The Tigers held off the second-seeded Cavaliers in Charlottesville 8-7.
Princeton's win means the seventh-seeded Big Green will be at home for Green Key weekend. Instead of traveling to Virginia, the Dartmouth women will host the Tigers next Saturday at Scully-Fahey Field.
Princeton is a much more favorable match-up than UVA for Dartmouth. The Big Green already pummeled the Tigers 15-5 at Princeton earlier this season.
That Dartmouth's chances of returning to the Final Four for a second straight year are suddenly considerable is somewhat surprising.
Earlier this season, it looked as though the Dartmouth women might not even make the tournament. After starting the season ranked third in the country, the Big Green endured a couple of tough losses that dropped the team all the way to the tournament bubble.
A late season loss to Duke threatened to doom the Big Green's tournament hopes, but the team's solid showing against the Blue Devils and its big win over Princeton helped earn the team a bid, although it still had to settle for the seventh seed.
Now the only thing standing in the way of a return to the Final Four is a showdown at home with a team Dartmouth already has beaten soundly.
"What really excites me [about this team] is that we're still growing every day," Patton told reporters after the game, "and I see us getting better and better and better."
