The Big Green ended the match in dramatic fashion, as Andrew Olsen '11 drilled a last-minute penalty kick to seal the match. The victory moves the red-hot Dartmouth squad to 3-1 overall (0-0 Ivy).
Dartmouth played the match with several key players out due to injury -- most notably midfielder co-captain Craig Henderson '09 -- and had to start several freshmen: forwards Maarten van Ess '12 and standout Lucky Mkosana '12, defenseman Nick Pappas '12 and midfielder Michael Donelan '12.
For the first half of the match it did not appear that the outcome would be close. The Big Green kept the pressure on the Hawks (1-3-4, 0-0 MAC) throughout the half, with a 7-1 shot advantage going into the break, including good looks by Mkosana and van Ess. Hartwick's only real scoring chance came on a free kick in the 41st minute.
Dartmouth finally found the net when Adam Rice '12 made his Dartmouth debut with style, lofting one to the top corner in the 42nd minute and sending Dartmouth into the half up 1-0.
The Hawks came out battling in the second half and tied it up almost immediately in the 47th minute when Hartwick's John Paul Boyle took advantage of a free kick.
The Hawks played Dartmouth even throughout the rest of the half but had several point-blank chances rejected by Big Green goalkeeper Sean Milligan '09. The game appeared deadlocked until Olsen came through with his penalty kick in the last minute after Hartwick was called for a handball inside the penalty area.
Despite the result, Milligan was quick to point out that the game really should never have been close.
"We really made it hard on ourselves, especially starting the second half sloppy and giving away a free kick like that," he said.
In addition, Milligan noted that the team had trouble at first adjusting to Hartwick's strategy of hanging back on defense. Most teams have tried to put heavy pressure on Dartmouth.
While the team expects to be close to full strength for its next match, getting the younger players involved early should help Dartmouth in the long run, as injuries are seemingly unavoidable throughout the season.
But even as the team gets healthier, Milligan recognizes that the early success has put a target on its back.
"Don't get me wrong -- it's certainly better to have been winning than losing those games," Milligan said. "But we haven't even started our conference games yet, and we have a pretty young team. It's a long season."
The Dartmouth upperclassmen know just how long a season it can be, after suffering a loss to Vermont in last year's NCAA first-round game on penalty kicks.
After opening this season with a 2-1 loss to Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., the team wanted to make a point.
"When we played Indiana, we knew we had a chance to get a signature win, and we made a statement," Milligan said in reference to Dartmouth's 4-0 victory over No. 14 Indiana. The Hoosiers were ranked No. 3/6 at the time of the match.
"Now we know that we're on the other side of that, and we don't want to be another team's big win," Milligan said. "It gets us up for every single game."
The team has another busy weekend ahead, as they travel to Fairfield, Conn., to face Sacred Heart on Friday, Sept. 26. The Big Green then returns to Hanover to square off against San Diego State on Sunday before opening Ivy League play against Princeton on Oct. 1.
