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The Dartmouth
March 28, 2024 | Latest Issue
The Dartmouth

Field hockey breaks out of slump, tops Davidson, UNH

Allison Weinstock '10 maneuvers through the defense with the ball.
Allison Weinstock '10 maneuvers through the defense with the ball.

The Dartmouth field hockey team finally pulled itself out of a month-long slump, topping UNH to end a six-game losing streak. Yet after losing six straight during that span, the Big Green finally found its winning ways.

After Wednesday's thrilling shootout victory over UNH, the team was able to pull off a split in the weekend series against Davidson (7-5) and 12th-ranked Boston College (9-5). The Big Green (4-8) summoned enough firepower to cruise to a 3-1 win over visiting Davidson but was unable to do the same in a 2-0 loss to Boston College.

"I'm very pleased with our play from Saturday and Sunday," Coach Amy Fowler said. "Saturday was a nice win for us, as Davidson had a winning record coming into the match. BC is a very good team, regionally and nationally. We had some quality chances, but it just didn't fall for us."

On Saturday, the Big Green put out one of its strongest showings yet this season. It had been over a month since the offense last scored two consecutive goals in a game. This time the team responded with three unanswered scores to seal the game.

The defense was tested early and often by the Davidson Wildcats and appeared a bit shaky at the start. The team had trouble clearing the ball out of its own defensive circle, giving the ball right back to the Wildcats more often than not.

Just after the 10-minute mark, Davidson converted its first goal to open the scoring. Britti Himelfarb drove into the circle and converted on an unassisted score.

The Big Green's dry spell ended when Katy Hagy '08 tied it up with three minutes remaining in the half. She got the ball on the left side of the cage and broke in front of her defender tie up the score.

A minute later, Ashley Hines '09 pulled Dartmouth ahead off a penalty corner. Captain Megan Strout '08, who was a defensive stalwart for the Big Green, pushed the ball in to Stef Miller '09, who held the ball for Hines for the go ahead score.

Allison Weinstock '10 provided some insurance less than one minute into the second half. Following an aggressive pass into the circle, there was a scramble directly in front of the net and Weinstock eventually found the back of the net for a goal.

Dartmouth was in control throughout the game, using a fast paced attack to hold a 20-16 advantage in shots and a 7-6 edge in penalty corners.

With a convincing win under the belt, Strout felt that the team's efforts were finally rewarded.

"This weekend was a step in the right direction for our team," Strout said. "After the streak of losses we really needed a few games to show us that we are really good and that we were just in a funk."

On Sunday, despite ultimately losing 2-0, Dartmouth held up pretty well against the nationally-ranked Boston College Eagles. The Eagles' continuous pressure on both the offensive and defensive ends prevented the Big Green from moving the ball up the field. Dartmouth was out shot 17-5 and only earned three penalty corners to BC's 11 in penalty corners. Eagles goalkeeper Julia Berkowitz did not get challenged and had no save opportunities.

The Big Green was able to keep BC off the scoreboard until ten minutes remained in the half, when Caitlin Young scored off her own rebound. Dartmouth remained within a goal until Crystal Frates was able to tip home a long pass from Katie Quaglia just by goalkeeper Jordan Sedlacek '09 with seven minutes remaining in the contest.

"The entire team stepped up and played the game plan exactly as we had discussed," Fowler said. "I couldn't have asked for anything more from the team; they really should be very proud of [the] effort [against BC]. Despite the loss...our play in the last three games should give us positive momentum heading into the final three weeks of the season."

The field hockey team gets a mini-break this week before hosting Columbia on Saturday at noon in the homecoming match-up at Scully-Fahey Field.

"Columbia is going to be an equally matched game, but we have a whole week to work out the kinks that we had in the BC game," Strout said. "I have complete faith that if we show up and play on Saturday like we did this week against all three teams, we will be victorious."