The woes continued for the Dartmouth field hockey team on Friday, as the Big Green gave up four goals off penalty corners in a 5-0 loss to Columbia in New York City. The loss, its fifth straight, drops Dartmouth (3-10, 1-4 Ivy) to the bottom spot in the Ivy League conference standings, while Columbia (6-8, 1-4 Ivy) moves up to the seventh position by virtue of a better overall record.
This was the third game in a tough four-game stretch from Sunday, Oct. 15 to yesterday. During those first three contests, the Big Green went 0-3, including an 8-0 rout courtesy of No. 2 Wake Forest University, and the team was outscored by a 17-2 margin.
"There's no question this has been a grueling travel week for us," head coach Amy Fowler said. "I don't necessarily think we can look at the fatigue as the main reason why were not playing as well.
"We're putting an effort out there, but we don't have a lot of determination, and we're not playing very smart. We're trying to change that around so we can see a better team effort. We're playing as 11 individuals out there and not as a team."
Jordan Sedlacek '09, looking to duplicate the solid goaltending she displayed against the University of Vermont Wednesday evening, started the game for the Big Green and made eight saves, but allowed four Lion goals in 43 minutes of work. Co-captain Ashley Heist '08 came into the game in relief, giving up one goal during the remainder of regulation.
Columbia came out firing at the Big Green, netting two goals off penalty corners in a two-minute frame to grab a quick lead.
Off a corner six minutes into the first half, Laura Cosan fired the ball into the right side of the cage off a faked shot from Lions teammate Ashley McMasters. With 8:31 elapsed in the stanza, Ramie Merrill received a pass on the right side of the circle and shot it past Sedlacek, putting Columbia ahead 2-0.
Dartmouth had difficulty generating scoring chances in the half. The Big Green recorded three shots and only earned one penalty corner, while the Lions managed to produce 11 shots and eight penalty corners.
Fowler attributed the Big Green's stalled offense not to a lack of scoring talent, but to an inability to take chances when they become available.
"Once we take a shot, we're actually pretty good [on offense]. We're looking for kids to create the opportunities that they're getting and finishing them. That's where the effort and the smarter decisions come into play."
Co-captain Whitney Waugh '08 led the team in shot attempts with two, and she and Allison Weinstock '10 were the only two Dartmouth players to record a shot on goal in the contest.
In the second half, Columbia racked up two more penalty corner tallies and forced Dartmouth into a goalie switch.
Up 3-0 with around five minutes elapsed in the frame, Jacqui Munro took the ball off the set piece and fired to the stick side of Sedlacek. After Heist came into the contest following the goal, Munro struck again off a corner with 25 minutes remaining when her shot skipped past Heist to give Columbia a 5-0 lead.
"Some of the goals we gave up were questionable, but that's more attributed to our corner defense in general," Fowler said of the Big Green's woes during the penalty corners. "We dug ourselves the same exact hole we had in the UVM game. It was a bit of a confidence letdown, but when you get in a hole, it's tough," she said, adding that a number of shots on cage came from odd angles or came toward the cage with traffic impeding the goalie's vision.
The Big Green traveled to Boston University on Sunday to battle the Terriers in a 3 p.m. matchup, but the results of the game were not available as of press time. Dartmouth hosts its last two regular-season home matches at Scully-Fahey Field next weekend, when it plays at noon on Saturday, Oct. 28 against Harvard and at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29 versus Syracuse.
The Crimson have struggled on the season, posting a 2-13 overall record, although both victories have come against Ivy League opponents. Harvard dropped a 3-1 decision to Princeton on Saturday in its last match.
