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 lacrosse team starts season with win over Hartford

The men's lacrosse team began play on Memorial Field to accomodate ongoing construction Scully-Fahey Field.
The men's lacrosse team began play on Memorial Field to accomodate ongoing construction Scully-Fahey Field.

The team was satisfied with the win but believes it has more promise for the season that will begin to take shape soon.

"It was an early season game so we were obviously a little rusty," captain Doug Rendall '09 said. "We played hard and we played well, especially considering the limited practice facilities."

The Big Green has been alternating between Memorial Field and Leverone Fieldhouse as resurfacing construction on Scully-Fahey field lags behind schedule.

"Everybody likes playing on [Memorial Field], but it's still a pain," Rendall said. "We have to walk over from our locker room which is by Scully-Fahey, which is kind of far, although the football team was generous enough to let us use their locker room for the game [against Hartford]."

Against the Hawks, Ari Sussman '10, last season's Ivy League rookie-of-the-year, led the Big Green attack with four goals, including two goals within 45 seconds of one another in the first quarter.

Dartmouth dominated the first period, though the quarter ended with a Hartford attack that allowed the Hawks to score their only goal of the first period with six seconds remaining on the clock, which cut the Big Green lead to 2-1.

During the second quarter, Dartmouth outscored Hartford 4-1. Sussman led the period off with his third goal just over two minutes into the quarter. Hartford retaliated with a goal, but Dartmouth captain Chad Gaudet '08 won the ensuing face-off, giving Dartmouth a 4-2 advantage.

Brian Koch '09 racked up three goals and two assists, leading the Big Green with five points. Jon Livadas '09 and Jimmy Mullen '09 also scored one goal each in the contest.

Dartmouth took a 10-2 lead in the third quarter before relaxing its offense, giving some playing time to the team's reserves. The Hawks responded with four straight goals and the game ended the game with the final score of 10-6.

Despite rotating the lineup in the fourth quarter, the Big Green managed to outshoot the Hawks 44-26.

Goaltender Mike Novosel '10 had seven saves in 48 minutes of play. Pat Marshall '09 added three saves in the fourth quarter.

Rendall said that the effort against Hartford is emblematic of the team's strengths this season.

"It was a team effort and everyone played well, which is probably going to be our trademark this season," Rendall said. "We definitely have a few really talented players, but our strength this season is going to be how strong we are as a group and how many guys we have that will contribute."

The win over Hartford is the beginning to what may be an exciting year for the Big Green men's lacrosse team. This year's team is led by captains Rendall, Gaudet and Ryan Orr '08.

Sussman and Koch return as the team's offensive leaders, as both players scored 33 goals for the Big Green last season. Livadas, Rendall and Chris Root '10 round out the team's top returning scorers with 11, three and three goals, respectively, last season.

This year's defensive side is also promising as last season's starters Gaudet, Andy Gagel '10 and Casey Hingtgen '10 will all return this season.

Although many of this season's starters are young, Rendall is confidant that the team has the talent to succeed.

"The team outlook is good," Rendall said. "We're definitely a very young team, but, that said, we have players who have a lot of important game experiences. We have sophomores that started every game as freshmen, so we have much more mature group of players than your average young team."

Rendall is cautiously optimistic about the team's chances in the Ivy League this season.

"The team goal every year is to win the Ivy League and go to NCAA's," Rendall said. "That said, the Ivy League is always one of the best conferences and there are a lot of really good teams in the conference, and we're definitely hoping we can win it this year."

The team resumes play on Tuesday, Feb. 26th at home on Memorial Field against Holy Cross.