Big Green ahead for good.
Dartmouth improves its record to 6-1-1 with the victory and extends its unbeaten streak to seven games, while Vermont falls to 3-7.
The first half was a physical battle that featured very few chances for either side, as both teams struggled for possession in the midfield.
Head coach Jeff Cook stressed the importance of playing well in the midfield during physical contests, and praised his midfielders.
"In this kind of game, it's more about competing than anything," Cook said. "I think Brian Lappas ['08] and Salmon did really well, they did a lot of the dirty work to help usout."
It looked as if the Big Green would open the scoring in the 10th minute, when Nick Christman '08 played a beautiful through ball into Matt Carroll '09, which forced Vermont goalkeeper Tom Critz to charge forward. Carroll then passed to Mike Ordonez '08 who had
a shot at an empty goal, but the shot was deflected away by a Vermont defender.
Vermont's best chance in the game came during the 21st minute, when forward Matt Hennessey earned a penalty kick for the Catamounts. Panos Georgiadis stepped up to the spot to take the penalty, but his low drive to the right side found Milligan's chest instead of the back of the net.
As the second half began, Dartmouth stepped up offensively, putting pressure on Vermont's shaky defense. The Big Green began the half with several shots by Pumi Maqubella '10 and Christman, but none found the back of the net.
However, just like in the first half, it was Vermont who had the golden opportunity, as a pass found forward T.J. Gore all alone down the right side of the pitch. Gore only had Milligan to beat, but Milligan stepped up once again and denied the Catamounts with a textbook save.
Just when it seemed like the Big Green would have to go to overtime, Dartmouth struck gold in the 84th minute when Ordonez's corner kick found Craig Henderson '09 in the box. Henderson sent the ball to teammate Salmon, who took advantage of the opportunity to put a header past the diving Vermont netminder for the first goal of his collegiate career.
Captain Tom Lobben '08 was satisfied with the overall performance of his team.
"We just try to go out there, keep things simple and help each other out, and I think we did that today," Lobben said.
Dartmouth outshot Vermont 14-8, and Milligan made four saves for his fifth clean sheet of the season.
Cook was happy with the result and the way his team played in the second half.
"In the first half, we really struggled against their style of play," Cook said. "I think we could have made better decisions and put more pressure on the opponent, but I was very pleased with how we responded in the second half and created some chances."
Yellow seemed to be the color of choice on the day, as seven players, including five for the Big Green, were booked.
"I think that for a team which has only had two yellow cards, five in one game is an awful lot, but it is a big rivalry and maybe this is what happens in this kind of a game," Cook said.
The Big Green will be back on the pitch on Wednesday, Oct. 3, when the squad will travel to Durham, N.H., to take on the New Hampshire Wildcats in a match-up of Granite State rivals.
New Hampshire is 2-3-3 overall, and is coming off of a 1-0 victory against Holy Cross.
According to Lobben, the Big Green men expect to find themselves locked in another physical battle.
"In the next game, we want to keep the ball more," Lobben said. "New Hampshire is going to be a similar kind of opponent, because they are very scrappy, and it will be important to control possession."
