Saturday will represent the 10th time in team history that Dartmouth will make an appearance in the NCAA tournament.
"We're thrilled to be at home," Head Coach Jeff Cook said, thanking those in Collis who had come to view the selection ceremony live with the team Monday evening. "It is a great mark on Burnham Field in its first year to have this game played there."
The winner of the Dartmouth-Vermont first-round match-up will face the No. 3 seed, UConn.
"The NCAA tournament still brings regional considerations into play [when designing the bracket]," Cook said. "I thought it would be BC [the tournament's top seed] or UConn that we'd see pretty quickly."
Dartmouth has shared a long history with Vermont, including a game played at home on Sept. 29. The Big Green was able to edge the Catamounts in a thrilling 1-0 affair, as Ben Salmon '10 scored the game-winner with just under six minutes to play.
Nevertheless, Cook does not plan on spending much of the upcoming week using game tape from the September contest to aid preparation.
"We're both very different teams now," Cook said. "We really have to start over this week."
Asked in which ways specifically his team has changed since its victory over Vermont, Cook simply pointed to a recovered roster.
"We're a lot healthier today," the coach said. "Back when we played [Vermont] the first time, we didn't have Dan Keat ['10] and Brian Lappas ['08], one of our team's captains, had just returned to the lineup. We're a better attacking team, much more dangerous."
Before the regular season finale against Princeton, Dartmouth had placed 18th in the most recent RPI rankings. Only sixteen teams are seeded, and receive first round byes, in the NCAA tournament.
"I thought there was a chance of being seeded," Cook said.
The team's final regular season game at home on Saturday featured a first half goal by Craig Henderson '09 which put the Big Green on top for good, as the strong Dartmouth defense kept the Tigers scoreless. Dartmouth goalkeeper Sean Milligan '09 set a school record for shutouts in the process.
Dartmouth began the game against Princeton with a strong offensive showing. The Big Green forced three corner kicks in the first four minutes, followed by four more corners later in the half. Dartmouth forwards peppered Princeton's keeper Joe Walter with a barrage of shots, forcing him to make seven saves in the first half.
However, it was not until the 30th minute that the Big Green finally found the back of the net. Dani Rothenberg '08 connected with a cross from Keat. Princeton's keeper was able to deflect the shot, but Dartmouth striker Henderson quickly finished for a goal, drawing first blood in the game. The Big Green finished the half with a 13-1 shot advantage.
Princeton returned in the second half with a different game plan, moving the majority of its players forward in an attempt to even the score.
"They pushed a lot of their players forward and gave us space because of their positioning," Matt Carroll '09 said. "In the first half, we exploited the way they played. In the second half, we were playing nervous for no reason. We didn't want to give up one little mistake. Our first option was to clear it, rather than make some easy passes and control the game."
Princeton managed to outshoot Dartmouth 7-3, but yet another solid defensive effort by the Big Green held the Tigers at bay.
"They threw everything at us in the beginning of the second half," Derek Stenquist '10 said. "They had nothing to lose and it can be hard to play against a team like that, but Sean came up with a few huge saves, and his shutout record is a huge accomplishment."
Sean Milligan's three saves in the half contributed to his ninth shutout of the season, which broke the school record for the greatest number of shutouts in a single season. Milligan is now seventh on Dartmouth's career shutout list.
"It was nice to break the record, but it is really a testament to the whole team," said Milligan. "I am definitely proud of it, but having [Alejandro Frischeisen '08] and [Tom Lobben '08] make it a lot easier. Our defense is one of the best in the country."
Despite Princeton's aggressive efforts, Dartmouth took the win at the end of 90 minutes.
Princeton ended its season at 5-10-1, going 3-4 in league play.
The victory in Hanover on Saturday allowed Dartmouth to edge out rival Harvard for second place in the Ivy League standings. The Big Green finished the season with 16 points, just a single point in front of Harvard. Brown captured the league title, going undefeated in the Ivy League.
The timing of the team's first-round contest with Vermont is not ideal, according to Cook. Falling at the tail-end of the Thanksgiving break, student support will most likely be limited despite the game being played at home.
"I hope some students might consider an early return, get a head start on studying," the coach said, with a smile. "We're lucky to have a great soccer community in the Upper Valley, so hopefully they'll be out to support us on Saturday.
Game time for Saturday's first-round match-up will be announced tomorrow. The official start will be posted on dartmouthsports.com.
