Dartmouth women's soccer failed to come back from an early deficit in its 3-1 loss to Columbia University on Friday night in New York City.
The Lions (10-3-2, 3-1-1 Ivy) jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first eight minutes, and Columbia did not allow the Big Green offense to score all game. Dartmouth (7-6-1, 1-4 Ivy) did, however, get one on the board after an own goal by the Lions in the first half.
This game marks only the fourth time that Columbia women's soccer has beaten Dartmouth. The Big Green still lead in the overall match-up record with 17 wins.
"I think that [Columbia] came out with a much greater intensity than we did," junior defender Jenny Stone '10 said. "We were being thrown about the field a little bit, and it was hard to string passes together."
The Lions took the early lead and never looked back. A cross from Columbia's Liz Wicks in the fifth minute found the head of junior Sophie Reiser, whose shot went past Big Green senior goalkeeper Laurel Peak '09 and into the net for the Lions' first goal of the game.
The second goal came soon in the eighth minute of play, when Columbia's Ashlin Yahr fed the ball to Reiser, who found the back of the net from just 10 yards out for her second goal of the game and her 12th of the season.
The Dartmouth attack put pressure on the Lions' defense throughout the first half, forcing goalkeeper Rebecca Taylor to make five saves. Senior co-captain Becky Poskin '09 led the team with three shots in the first half, while junior midfielder Maggie Goldstein took two. Goldstein is a member of The Dartmouth staff.
The Big Green jumped on the board late in the first half, when a Big Green corner kick led to an own goal from Columbia.
Going into the half, Columbia led the Big Green by a 2-1 margin. This would not last long, however, as Reiser struck again in the 51st minute to complete her hat trick.
Peak managed to save Reiser's first shot, but could not get to the rebound first as Reiser's second attempt flew past Peak and into the net to seal the victory.
The Lions did not take the pressure off until the whistle blew, forcing Peak to make six saves in the final 20 minutes of play, including three more from Reiser.
Reiser leads the Lions offensively, as Friday's hat trick brought her to 12 goals and nine assists, for an impressive 33 points on the season.
She also leads the Lions with 67 shots taken, 37 of which were on goal, over three times as many as Dartmouth's leading shot-taker this season.
Big Green freshman Aly O'Dea '12, coming in off the bench, led the offense with four shots.
Peak finished with eight saves on the day.
The three goals are the most Peak has given up in a single game all season. She has allowed 14 goals on the season.
Junior midfielder Myra Sack '10 leads the team with three goals and four assists on the season, totaling 10 points.
The win moves Columbia up to second place in the Ivy League standings, tied with Princeton University. Harvard University leads the league with a 4-1-1 conference record.
The Big Green currently stand in seventh place, ahead of only Cornell University, against which the Big Green will play its season closer on Saturday, Nov. 8.
"I think what's great about this team is that we are still going to be able to get up for [Harvard and Cornell]," Stone said. "Even at this point, we still find ways to play for each other, and to get up our motivation for each game."
Dartmouth faces off against first-place Harvard at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 1 in Hanover for Senior Day.
