Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.
Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism. Support independent student journalism.
The Dartmouth
March 29, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Men's lax waxed by No. 1 Cornell in Ivy showdown, 17-3

Brian Koch '09 scored the game's first goal, giving the Big Green a short-lived 1-0 advantage over visitor Cornell.
Brian Koch '09 scored the game's first goal, giving the Big Green a short-lived 1-0 advantage over visitor Cornell.

The Big Green (4-5, 1-2 Ivy) took an early 1-0 lead on a man-up opportunity less than two minutes into the game. A slashing call on Big Red (10-0, 3-0 Ivy) defenseman Mitch Belisle gave Dartmouth a man advantage, and the Big Green extra-man offense cashed in when Josh Gillam '10 fed Brian Koch '09 for the game's first score.

Cornell responded one minute later with of a goal of its own to tie the game at one before a long goal-less stretch. Over this stretch, Dartmouth kept the potent Big Red offense in check by holding the ball for long possessions, taking smart shots and finding scoring chances that kept the Big Red on their heels.

"Offensively, we knew they were going to pressure out when they could ... we wanted to play aggressively while still making smart decisions," co-captain Nick Bonacci '07 said. "Defensively, we knew they wanted to run in transition, and we knew we needed to get our guys back. We didn't do as good of a job at that as we'd liked to."

Cornell's David Mitchell broke the goal-less spell with a low shot that evaded Mike Novosel '10. Mitchell's goal started a rally during which the Big Red scored eight unanswered goals before the Big Green got back on their feet. Cornell was able to dictate the pace of play and play the faster game that has defined their success this season.

The Big Red shooters had either read their scouting reports or adapted quickly to find weak spots. During their early 8-0 rally, Cornell's attackmen and middies repeatedly faked high on Novosel to get the keeper airborne, then shot low.

"They were definitely the best shooting team we've seen this year," Bonacci said. "Novosel did a great job with it; he can't save everything. They had too many good shooters."

Dartmouth played virtually no offense until Gillam scored a goal with 6:17 remaining in the second period to make the score 8-2. Dartmouth appeared to be gaining some momentum as Cornell's Chris Finn committed a tripping foul only seconds later.

On the ensuing man-up opportunity, Dartmouth's leading scorer Ari Sussman '10 had his pass knocked down, and Cornell converted the turnover into a transition fast break. Mitchell scored again for the Big Red, his second of five on the day, to turn Dartmouth's man-up opportunity into momentum for Cornell.

Mitchell's goal would catalyze another Big Red offensive rampage. Cornell nearly matched their opening 8-0 run with a 7-0 run that lasted until the fourth quarter.

With the score 15-2 at the beginning of the fourth quarter and the game well at hand, the Big Red were able to pull out many of their starters and rotate players who don't see field time in close games. As a result, nine different players scored goals for Cornell.

Possession time was the determining factor in the lopsided outcome. Dartmouth outshot the Big Red over the opening 10 minutes of the game, a stretch where the Big Green controlled and dictated the pace of play.

The Big Red won 18 of 24 face-offs throughout the game. Furthermore, Dartmouth managed only 11 shots in the first quarter and only 18 in the next three quarters combined. The Big Red fired 46 shots on goalies Novosel and Pat Marshall '09.

"Possession time definitely matters," Bonacci said. "Although, they seemed to be able to score both in transition and when they slowed it down and played six on six."

Statistically, Gillam and Koch were the Big Green's offensive leaders with one goal and one assist each. Bonacci and Sussman made contributions to the Dartmouth attack that do not show up on the score sheet, beating their man to draw a slide and then passing to keep the ball moving and the defense in transition. Bonacci finished with one assist.

"They were pretty good on defense, both on-ball and off-ball ... they were a tough defense, period," Bonacci said. "They defended us well everywhere."

With the loss, Dartmouth's overall record drops to 4-5, with their Ivy League record falling to 1-2. The Big Green will try to bounce back on the road with five consecutive road games, including match-ups with No. 2 Virginia, No. 3 Albany and No. 5 Princeton. The road trip begins with a chance for Dartmouth to even their Ivy League record at Yale on Wednesday, April 18.