Dartmouth women's soccer bounced back from last week's disappointing loss to Princeton by crushing America East opponent University of Albany, 5-0, on Tuesday night in Hanover.
The Big Green (5-4-1, 0-2 Ivy) scored five goals off of 23 shots, while holding the Great Danes (3-12) to only four shots in 90 minutes of play. Goalkeeper Laurel Peak '09 recorded the shutout, making three saves, including a spectacular save on a breakaway in the 47th minute.
"It's fun scoring goals. I think we forget that sometimes," midfielder Kelsey Quick '10, who notched two goals on the day, said. "I feel like after the big loss on Saturday against Princeton we were all dying to play again. We linked nicely all game to score five goals, and it felt really great."
Dartmouth jumped onto the board in the 20th minute, when a corner kick from co-captain Becky Poskin '09 was headed into the net by Meagan Tibbo '11 for the first goal of her collegiate career.
Nine minutes later, the Big Green struck again with a rocket off the foot of Quick, which made its way to the far corner of the goal. Midfielder Myra Sack '10 set up the goal for her fourth assist of the season.
Dartmouth held the momentum going into halftime, enjoying a commanding 2-0 lead after out-shooting Albany, 15-2, in the first half.
While the Great Danes came out of the break fired up, the Big Green defense was able to preserve the shutout.
In just the second minute of the half, Albany's Katie Grant beat a Big Green defender for a one-on-one opportunity with Peak. Grant shot from about 20 yards out, and Peak stretched to punch the ball out of bounds and away from the goal.
Dartmouth's third goal was scored in the 58th minute by Maggie Goldstein '10. Goldstein took a long-range shot from the right side off of a feed from Caitlin MacDonald '09 that sailed over Albany keeper Amber Maisonet's head and into the back of the net. Goldstein is a member of The Dartmouth Staff.
The Big Green increased its lead again only seven minutes later, when Sack fed the ball to Quick, who was able to squeeze the ball past Maisonet on a breakaway for her second goal of the game.
Dartmouth kept firing away, and only three minutes later, struck again. This time, off of a pass from Poskin, Sack kept the ball and fired a bullet from the center of the 18-yard line that got past Maisonet for Dartmouth's final goal.
"I think last night we proved to ourselves that we can score five goals in one game, which is something that we had yet to do this year and never did last year," Quick said. "I think last night's game was a huge confidence booster."
The last time Dartmouth women's soccer scored five goals in one game was September 17, 2006, during a 5-0 shutout of the University of Iowa.
It was a rough night for Albany keeper Maisonet, who saved just as many goals as she allowed over the course of play.
The Big Green's large lead allowed for many substitutions, as 20 Big Green players got a chance to play. Tibbo made her first career start as a sophomore, recording her first goal of the season.
Sack also had a productive game, passing for two assists before finally scoring a goal of her own. On the season, Sack leads the Big Green offensively with two goals, four assists and 23 shots.
Quick has also been productive in the attack, with two goals, three assists, and 16 shots this year.
This Saturday, Dartmouth will face off against Ivy League rival Yale (5-5-1, 0-2 Ivy) at 7 p.m. at Burnham Field in Hanover.
The Bulldogs were recently beaten by Harvard (4-3-3, 1-1 Ivy), 3-1. The Bulldogs also lost their Ivy opener to Princeton (7-1-1, 2-0 Ivy), who is currently tied for first place and unbeaten in the league.
The Big Green has yet to beat an Ivy opponent but looks forward to the opportunity to tally its first Ivy win and keep hopes of an Ivy Championship alive.
"Last night's game has gotten us more excited to get on the field again," Quick said. "We'll take a little of what we left on the field and pick it up on Saturday [against Yale]."
