Four-year player Nicole Cameli '07, who missed the entire 2005 season because of an injury, scored two goals for Dartmouth (11-4-1, 5-1-0 Ivy), including the game-winning goal.
"It feels fantastic, because we came out to win" said Monica Martin de Bustamante '08, the team's leader in points.
Despite outshooting the Crimson squad 12-3 in the first half, Dartmouth managed only one from-behind goal in the half.
Harvard's Lizzy Nichols opened scoring in the sixth minute of the game on a free kick from 30 yards out.
The Crimson continued to keep Dartmouth off the scoreboard until the 37th minute of play when Cameli won the ball in a scramble in front of the Crimson net and shot the ball from close range for the equalizer.
The two teams headed into half time with the score knotted at 1-1. Dartmouth limited Harvard to only three shots on goal and had a 2-0 advantage in corner kicks.
The Big Green's solid defense dominated in the second half, refusing to allow the Harvard offense near the goal. Meanwhile, Dartmouth's offense took 10 shots on goal in the second half and scored two goals in the win.
Cameli's second goal of the game, the game-winner, came in the 57th minute. The senior scored off of a rebound as Martin de Bustamante recorded the assist.
Dartmouth extended the lead in the 83rd minute when Martin de Bustamante scored an insurance goal for the Big Green with less than seven minutes remaining on the clock. The junior scored off of a Sarah Johnson '07 corner kick and recorded her fourth goal of the season.
The women in green held an 8-0 advantage in corners and outshot Harvard 10-0 in the second half.
Samantha Sheppard '07, who made her first collegiate start against Harvard, and Amanda Webb '08 shared two saves in goal for the Big Green while the Crimson goalie Lauren Mann recorded seven saves in the game.
Cameli and Johnson led the Big Green in shots taken, as each took four shots in the game.
Dartmouth's 26-person roster includes 10 invaluable seniors who will be missed tremendously next season. Nine seniors started the Harvard game and all 10 players saw action in the match.
While Dartmouth had hoped for a win for Yale (6-7-2, 2-3-1 Ivy) over Columbia (9-4-3, 5-0-1 Ivy) on Saturday evening, the Lions offense produced two second half goals to record a win over the Bulldogs and helped Columbia stay one point ahead of the Big Green in the Ivy League rankings.
"We had hoped that Yale would do us a favor, but it didn't work out," Big Green head coach Angie Hind said. "[With a win over Cornell], we will confirm to the NCAA that we belong."
The Big Green will look to finish its regular season with a win over Cornell (3-12-1, 1-5 Ivy) on Saturday at Berman Field in Ithaca, N.Y.
"We'll just go out and play like we always play against Cornell and hope for the best," Martin de Bustamante said.
After suffering a late 1-0 loss to Princeton last Saturday, a win against Dartmouth on Cornell's Senior Day would be a memorable end for the senior members of the Big Red, who will likely not receive consideration for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
