"We play a tough schedule; I don't think it's so much that we're playing on the road," Brian Koch '09 said. "We were right there with Virginia and Albany, and it's just the fact that really, we're just waiting for one of these games to go our way."
The one-sided loss was lopsided from the start. Princeton (9-3, 4-1 Ivy) struck first five minutes into the first quarter and never looked back, as it did not relinquish its lead over the course of the game.
Dartmouth (4-9, 1-4 Ivy) did not get on the board until after the Tigers had amassed a 3-0 lead, as Ari Sussman '10 scored a goal with 44 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Sussman scored two goals in the game to up his season total to a team-high of 28.
"[Sussman] has been huge," Koch said. "Coming in, you really don't know what to expect of the freshman class, and it's been a huge help. Ari having a ton of points is huge for us on offense, and the whole freshman class has really stepped up for us."
Sussman's scoring threat has allowed other players on the offense to make contributions, as defenses tend to shift their focus to early double teams.
"Ari's got the ability to dodge and beat everybody one-on-one and that frees up other guys on the team," Koch said. "[Nick] Bonacci ['07] is another one of those guys that provides the spark when we need it."
The Big Green scored one goal in each of the first three periods and managed just 12 shots in the first three frames. Over the same stretch, Princeton fired 35 shots and scored 10 goals to put the game out of reach before the fourth quarter and rotated 35 players of its 47-man roster into the game.
The Tigers' onslaught of shots allowed Mike Novosel '10 to stand out in the goal, and the freshman finished with 17 saves. Saturday's total of 17 stops trumps Novosel's previous season and career high of 14 against the University of Virginia on Saturday, April 21.
"It's very hard to make that transition from high school to college, especially as a goalie," Koch said. "He just stepped right in and stepped up huge for us. He's one of the reasons that our defense is playing so well right now."
Bonacci also scored two goals, bringing his season total to 26. Jon Livadas '09 and Jimmy Mullen '09 scored goals to add to the Big Green's total. Koch had Dartmouth's only assist on the game, as he set up Bonacci for an extra-man goal in the third quarter. Most of the Big Green's goals came in dodging situations and were unassisted.
"Princeton's got a really good defense, and the way it worked out they had the ball on offense most of the game," Koch said. "We didn't get the ball on offense, and a lot of the time things didn't work out for us."
At 1-4 in the Ivy League and 4-9 overall, both the conference championship and an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament are out of the question for the Big Green. Cornell captured its fifth-straight Ivy League championship on Saturday with an 11-8 win over Brown in Providence, R.I.
This season, Dartmouth's main contributions have come from underclassmen, and the team's brutal schedule has led to a less-than-impressive record. The team is, however, hesitant to write off the 2007 season as a rebuilding year.
"It's tough to call it a rebuilding year because our seniors are great players and great leaders," Koch said. "We don't want to call it a rebuilding year, especially with the close games against top teams like UVA and Albany."
Dartmouth will wrap up its regular season next week as it travels to play Holy Cross on Tuesday, May 1, at 3:30 p.m. and hosts Harvard for the Big Green's home and Ivy finale on Saturday, May 5, at 6 p.m.
