Despite the lopsided loss, head coach Amy Fowler was not discouraged by her team's performance, especially in the first half.
"When we went back and looked at the film, this one didn't feel like a 5-1 game," she said. "I know it was a big margin and they were a ranked opponent, but I was pleased with the way we played in the first half. In the first half, I think BC got lucky that we didn't come up leading. We went into the second half and didn't play as well as I hoped."
The defeat drops Dartmouth to 1-5 on the season, and BC improves to 8-2 overall with its third straight win.
The Big Green's lone goal of the match came courtesy of Allison Weinstock '10. With about 15 minutes left to play in the second half, Weinstock dove to her right at a loose ball in front of the cage and struck it past BC goalkeeper Julian Berkowitz to erase any hopes of an Eagle shutout.
Fowler attributed the Big Green's scoring woes to offensive mistakes rather than stout BC defense. "Looking at the chances that we created, some of them were our fault for not scoring them. With a young team, it takes a little longer to be more aware of the better option [for scoring]. We had people set up in position, but it was unfortunate that we couldn't finish."
The Eagles deposited two goals in the first half to lock on to the lead. After the Big Green held BC and failed to score for the first 15 minutes of the game, Eagle senior co-captain Lauren Parks struck twice in a span of six minutes, nailing a penalty corner past Big Green goalie Ashley Heist '08 and connecting on a hard shot from the top of the circle to give BC a 2-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
When asked about her halftime message to the squad, Fowler said, "We talked about how well we had played in the first half. I said to them we're playing great hockey, but the scoreboard does not indicate how well you're playing."
The Eagles wasted little time continuing their offensive pressure in the second half, netting a goal off a rebound in front of Heist 31 seconds into the frame. Less than two minutes later, Bob Dirks collected a loose ball in the circle and shot it into the Big Green net for her ninth goal of the season for BC.
With 20 minutes left, Caitlyn Young capped the scoring after taking a pass from the right side of the net and hitting it home for the score.
"We definitely had a mental letdown, we were playing soft," Fowler said of the second half. "We let three soft goals in, they weren't difficult saves. By this point in the season, we should start putting it together."
Jordan Sedlacek '09 relieved Heist in goal after Young's goal, and finished the night between the pipes with five saves and zero goals against. Heist recorded seven saves in the effort.
With two games coming up this weekend, including a home clash with Ivy rival Penn, Fowler said the coaching staff will be focusing on goalkeeping and scoring. "One thing is to help build even more confidence with our goalkeepers. We're also going to work on the finishing side, making sure the kids put the ball in the back of the net. We need to score just as many, if not more, than the opponent."
Dartmouth hosts the Quakers at noon on Saturday, Sept. 30 at Scully-Fahey Field, and then travels to Manchester to play the University of New Hampshire in an intra-state clash at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 1.
