On Saturday, Harvard put pressure on the Big Green right off the bat and struck first, less than seven minutes into the game, when freshman Maggie McVeigh pounced on a Dartmouth turnover in the circle. Big Green goalkeeper Ashley Heist '08 came out to challenge the shot, and the ball bounced around before it was deflected to McVeigh, who banged it in from the left side for an early 1-0 lead.
The Big Green had a key opportunity to score near the 14 minute mark on its lone corner of the day. Virginia Peisch '11 took a tricky shot from a foot off the ground, but Harvard keeper Kylie Stone just barely got her right leg out to make the spectacular save.
The Big Green was able to knot the contest with 7:33 left in the half. Ashley Hines '09 grabbed her sixth goal of the season to even the score. Hines took a pass from Leigh Rorick '10 and fired a low shot to the left and past Stone.
The tie lasted just over a minute. After a penalty corner and successive fakes by two Harvard attackers, freshman Chloe Keating was able to rip a shot past Heist and put Harvard on top for good.
Head Coach Amy Fowler noted some of the struggles that plagued the team.
"We started out flat and never really got things going," Fowler said. "We were too passive on defense and had too many people with off days."
Harvard got some insurance with 22 minutes left in the game when Kayla Romanelli tipped home a pass from McVeigh inside the left post and put the Crimson up by two scores.
The Big Green was dominated all around, being outshot 15-8 and having six fewer penalty corners than its opponent.
"While the defense let ourselves down, we still didn't generate enough attack," Fowler said. "We didn't find enough shots, and we certainly need more than one corner for an entire game."
In the second game of the weekend on Sunday, the Big Green was able to hold off the Holy Cross Crusaders. Dartmouth got on the board early, less than 10 minutes in, on Hines's second goal of the weekend. Hines got a pass from Stef Miller '09 and fired a shot from the right side for her seventh goal of the season.
The teams played at a stalemate for the next 50 minutes until Lizzie Bildner '08 gave the Big Green some critical insurance with just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. Bildner was able to retrieve the ball after a scramble in front of the net and push it past goalkeeper Erin Singleton. It was Bildner's team-leading eighth goal of the season.
But the Crusaders wouldn't go away just yet. Holy Cross came within a goal two minutes later when Courtney Callahan tipped in a pass inside the right post to cut the lead to one.
The Big Green was able to hold on due to Heist's efforts, including nine saves overall. The teams were even with 11 shots apiece, and Holy Cross held an 8-6 edge in penalty corners.
Hines was pleased with the team's overall play.
"What worked well today was everyone showed up to play," Hines said. "We all really wanted it. Our goalie had a great game, and we finished when we had to. We let down in the second half a little bit, so hopefully next weekend we can all show up to play for the full game."
Dartmouth will return to Scully-Fahey Field this Saturday, Nov. 3 at noon for its season finale against Ivy League foe Cornell.
"There will be plenty of emotions during practice this week," Fowler said. "We have five graduating seniors, and everyone will be working hard to bring our A game on Saturday. Cornell is a very good team. We would love to get another Ivy win and knock off a better-ranked team. It'll be a nice feeling to conclude the season on."
