It was the first loss against UVM the men's lacrosse team has suffered in over ten years.
Dartmouth (1-3, 0-0 Ivy) was within one goal on two separate occasions in the fourth quarter, but a poor showing in the third quarter by the Big Green proved too much for the team to overcome. Vermont improved to 2-0 with the win.
Dartmouth got off to a flying start as co-captain Brian Koch '09 scored just 53 seconds into the game. The Catamounts responded, however, as a pair of goals from senior Andrew Kelleher gave them a 2-1 lead at the end of the quarter.
A pair of goals from Ari Sussman '10 and Rhett Miller '11 in the second quarter gave the lead back to the Big Green. The Catamounts snatched the advantage right back, however, with two consecutive goals. Another goal from Koch sent the game to halftime tied at 4-4.
"Timmy [Daniels] really led the way for us," Sussman said. "He's vital to our success as a team. His intensity wears off on the rest of the team, and he pushes everyone to work harder. I think his play against Vermont exemplified his leadership."
Both teams continued to play tight throughout the third quarter. A goal by Colin Delaney '12 gave the Big Green a 6-5 lead with 9:55 left, but a series of defensive lapses allowed the Catamounts to dominate play and score three consecutive goals to take a 9-7 lead, the first two-goal lead of the game.
Daniels scored twice in the fourth quarter, but both times the Catamounts immediately responded and restored their two-goal advantage.
The Big Green was not able to contain Kelleher, who notched a career-high five goals. The UVM midfielders were continually able to pass around the Dartmouth defense and get Kelleher open looks on goal.
"Obviously [Kelleher] had a good game, but we didn't approach him any differently from other players," Delaney said. "We focus on team defense and feel that if we execute we can effectively stop any offense."
Statistically, the Big Green was level with the Catamounts in nearly every category, and if not for some slack defending in the third quarter might have come away with the win.
On Saturday, Dartmouth lost on the road to No. 8 Notre Dame, 19-7, in a high-scoring matchup. Kip Dooley '12 led the Big Green with three goals.
The Big Green played well throughout the early parts of the game but did not have enough firepower to compete with the Fighting Irish (3-0, 0-0 Great Western) in the end. A seven-goal drubbing in the second quarter essentially ended the game before halftime.
"Notre Dame was a very solid team," Delaney said. "Offensively and defensively -- and on face-offs -- they outplayed us. They aren't necessarily better than us, but they definitely played better and executed better on that day."
Dartmouth came out of the gate slowly, allowing two goals in the first three minutes. Consecutive goals by Daniels and Sussman, however, tied the game midway through the quarter. After this, the Irish put some distance between themselves and the Big Green with five consecutive goals, each from a different scorer. Though Dartmouth responded with two more goals, another score with less than a minute remaining gave Notre Dame an 8-4 lead at the break.
The Big Green grabbed the first goal of the second quarter a minute in, before conceding seven straight, leaving the score 15-5 at halftime. The poor defensive effort from Dartmouth in the opening half may have had to do with a lack of familiarity playing on an indoor surface, Sussman said.
"The crowd wasn't as much a factor as the facility," he said. "Most of our players had never played a game indoors before, so visibility was definitely an issue for some of our players."
Dartmouth looked considerably better in the second half. In the third quarter, the Big Green played good defense, allowing just two goals. The Dartmouth men, however, could not muster enough offense to get themselves back into the game. In the fourth quarter, Dartmouth again held Notre Dame to just two goals, but as in the third quarter, the Big Green could not garner enough offense to get back into the contest.
"Defense is always something we focus on, it's probably the most important part of the game," Delaney said after Tuesday's game. "Today I think we played good defense at times, but we struggled offensively throughout. We didn't possess the ball for as long as we would have liked, and that definitely hurt the defense."
Despite the losses, the Big Green has shown in performances that it is a team capable of winning the Ivy League and making the national tournament, Sussman said.
"We wan to compete for an Ivy League title and a tournament birth," he said. "Non-conference play is vital to the improvement of our team. I think we will get better with every game."
Dartmouth will look to return to winning ways this Saturday as it hosts Lehigh University. The game will start at 3 p.m. at Scully-Fahey field.
