The Dartmouth men's soccer team put on a high-scoring show with the help of its freshmen on Saturday night, as the Big Green beat Cornell, 5-2, in Ithaca, N.Y.
Cornell's Matt Bouraee had a big night with two goals, but Dartmouth rookie Lucky Mkosana '12 did him one better, netting a hat trick as the Big Green pulled away for an important win.
After improving to 10-5-1 (4-1-1 Ivy), Dartmouth kept itself in the race for a piece of the Ivy League title and a likely at-large NCAA tournament bid. The Big Green is currently tied for second place in the Ivy League standings with the University of Pennsylvania and is just two points behind league-leader Harvard.
The Big Green wasted no time, as Mkosana put Cornell (1-14-0, 0-6-0 Ivy) in a deep 2-0 hole early with two unassisted goals in the first nine minutes of the contest.
Mkosana beat Cornell goalkeeper Luca Cerretani one-on-one in the sixth minute and then followed that up three minutes later with a low shot to the right corner.
"We knew we wanted to come out strong, and you can't ask for much more than two goals in 10 minutes," co-captain Sean Milligan '09 said. "This was a big game because we knew that if we lost, our upcoming game wouldn't matter."
Cornell responded in the 17th minute, when Kevin Viera found Bouraee, who beat goalkeeper Milligan one-on-one to cut Dartmouth's lead in half.
Dartmouth kept the pressure up several minutes before the break, however, when Austin Bowers '11 fed Adam Rice '12, who finished with a header past Cerretani at 42:17. The assist gave Bowers, who is in his first season despite being a sophomore, his first collegiate point
The Big Green dominated the first half, taking 16 shots to Cornell's three and building a 3-1 lead into the half.
Nonetheless, Cornell continued to press into the second half and cashed in on the productivity of Viera and Bouraee in the 53rd minute. David Browning sent a quick pass to Viera, who then found Bouraee for Cornell's second score.
Mkosana put the game out of reach when he completed his hat trick in the 78th minute. Craig Henderson '09 sent a long ball up to the rookie, who got around Cerretani for an open-net goal to make it 4-2.
Henderson added his own goal for good measure three minutes later when he blasted home his sixth goal from 15 yards out to make the final score 5-2.
Dartmouth dominated the hapless Big Red, out-shooting Cornell, 28-7. Lyman Missimer '11 also made his debut in goal when he relieved Milligan with five minutes to go. Milligan did not record a save, while Missimer notched one.
Noting the strong play of the freshmen, Milligan was quick to point out that this was not a surprising development. With only two starting seniors this year, Dartmouth has leaned heavily on its younger players all season. In fact, earlier this week Maarten van Ess '12 was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for his game-winner against Harvard.
"All our freshmen, right through the class, have really come in and made significant contributions," Milligan said. "It's been really important for them to get that experience and confidence now because in the tournament we will run into more senior-laden teams."
The Big Green will close out its season Friday in Hanover with a critical match against Ivy opponent Brown. With a win, Dartmouth will be in a position to take home a piece of the Ivy League title. Should Dartmouth defeat Brown, who lost its title hopes with a loss to Yale this week, the title will ultimately be decided when Harvard and Penn square off next week.
"We never wanted to be in the position that we don't control our own destiny," Milligan noted. "But that's the position we've put ourselves in, so we just have focus on Brown."
Kickoff against Brown will be at 8 p.m. on Friday night at Burnham Field. The game will be nationally televised on FOX Soccer Channel.
