Despite catching the Crusaders off guard with a goal within the first minute of play, Dartmouth field hockey could not maintain its early advantage as the Big Green fell to Holy Cross, 3-2, Sunday afternoon in Hanover.
Just 47 seconds into the game, Rebecca Sobel '11 broke open the scoring for Dartmouth (1-6, 1-1 Ivy), guiding the ball into the back of the net on a tip and claiming her second goal of the season.
The positive start seemed to add to the Big Green's rising momentum set off by the team's first win of the season against Brown on Saturday.
Dartmouth continued to pressure Holy Cross (3-5, 0-0 Patriot League) and keep the ball in the Crusader half of the field during the opening period. Nevertheless the visitors managed to generate enough offense to grab a 2-1 lead midway through the first half.
"I think in the beginning we came out with some really strong energy," McCormick.
Nine minutes after Hood's opening goal, Dartmouth goalkeeper Meagan Vakierner '12 managed to get a hand on the ball before Holy Cross' Kristin Schulz tipped it in for an equalizer, 1-1.
With seven minutes remaining in the first half of play, the Crusaders struck once again, with Kara Gonnerman stuffing in a rebound on a Schulz shot off of a corner penalty to put the Big Green in a 2-1 hole.
Kelly Hood '12 balanced the score at 2-2 with four minutes remaining in the opening period, as teammates McCormick and Virginia Peisch '11 earned the assists on the penalty-corner conversion.
Both teams cooled off offensively in the second half, but Dartmouth was not without chances to potentially earn its second win in as many days.
Just under 22 minutes into the second half, Claire Byrne '11 broke past the Crusaders' forward drive, intercepting the ball and passing it on to Hood, who drove it toward Peisch for a tip in that brushed right by the side of the box.
With less than seven minutes to play, Holy Cross used a player advantage to push through the Dartmouth defense.
The Crusaders' Courtney Callahan tipped in a pass from teammate Alanna Sikorski to put Holy Cross ahead, 3-2.
While Dartmouth persevered until the final whistle, Holy Cross kept its sticks down and let nothing through to secure the win. With a little over two minutes to go, a corner-penalty pass to Peisch -- the Big Green's final attempt at an equalizer -- skidded just outside the box.
"We picked up some great passing and put together some huge plays," McCormick said. "We were so close to getting more goals."
Co-captain Ashley Hines '09 chalked up Sunday's loss to a lack of cohesion but not a lack of effort from the Big Green.
"I think we were all working hard," Hines said. "We were just not connecting well as a unit."
McCormick hoped that the match gave the team an opportunity to learn from its mistakes.
"Our main problem," McCormick said, "was that we ended up matching up our tempo to theirs, as opposed to keeping them always on their toes."
Both Hines and McCormick also took into account the prior game against the Bears and the toll it had taken on the team vigor.
"Having played [on Saturday], we had to hustle harder but also be a little smarter," McCormick said. "I think we did a lot of unnecessary running, and we were not as efficient as we could have been. It's a matter of being smart and being confident."
While Dartmouth outshot Holy Cross, 19-14, the loss undercut any energy and motivation set off by the previous conference win -- the Big Green's first of the season.
"We wanted it, but we just couldn't find that spark," Hines said.
The Big Green will next take on University of Pennsylvania on Saturday, Oct. 4, at noon on Chase Field in Hanover.
