Although the game saw back-and-forth action between the two teams, Dartmouth (2-1, 0-0 Ivy) never managed to build a lead over UMass (2-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10), and the longest time Dartmouth could hold onto a tie was for just over four minutes, after the team's first goal at 25:06 in the first period, by Kat Collins '11.
"It just came down to basic concepts," co-captain and goalie Julie Wadland '10 said. "Our throwing and catching was a little off, but most importantly, I think we realized we need to work on our connection on the field as a team. UMass wanted it, and it showed."
The Big Green finished the first period trailing 6-3. Dartmouth was able to close that three-goal deficit multiple times in the second half, but was unable to regain the lead.
The women kicked off the second period with three straight goals, the first of which came just under two minutes into the half when Sarah Parks '12 tied the match at 6-6.
Parks led both teams with four goals, capitalizing on all four of her shots.
The second half brought with it a sense of urgency for both teams, as the back and forth action increased, Wadland said.
Once tied up again, the game catapulted into continual action on both sides of the field, as the teams traded scores over a 12-minute period that saw eight goals.
The rush of continual scoring from both teams allowed Dartmouth to tie the game four times.
Co-captain Katherine Chiusano '09, who provided two assists in the first period, contributed to the second-half flurry of scoring with two unassisted goals, while Collins added two more to her tally of three on the game.
After Parks' last goal, however, Dartmouth spent the last 10 minutes of play trying to hold off a strong attack from UMass, which scored its final three goals between 9:00 and 7:25 remaing in the game.
Only one yellow card was handed out in the game -- to Greta Meyer '11 at 28:50 in the first period -- and Dartmouth committed a total of 27 fouls, compared to 11 by UMass. The Big Green only had eight draw controls, while UMass had 18.
A relatively young group, the Big Green lacrosse team includes seven freshmen, all of whom experienced their first collegiate loss on Wednesday.
"All of the freshmen reacted [to the loss] in different ways," Wadland said. "There is a lot to learn in Division I lacrosse, and they just bring it everyday and want to get better and take advantage of everything this program has to offer."
Dartmouth entered Wednesday's game against UMass coming off of a 10-8 victory over the No. 14 University of New Hampshire (3-1, 0-0 America East) on Saturday. That game saw seven different women put their name on the stat sheet, led by Collins with three goals.
Leading 8-4 at halftime, Dartmouth had trouble widening the gap in the second period, and after a UNH goal at 7:53, the Big Green was barely holding on to its lead at 9-8. Dartmouth pulled through, with Collins closing out the game at 3:20 with an unassisted goal.
"I think Saturday was a big step for us, and we really wanted to carry through with the momentum we showed and translate it into 60 minutes [on Wednesday], but it ended up being more of a learning experience that we thought," Wadland said.
Heading into Saturday's home game against No. 11 Notre Dame, the team will look to build off the lessons learned in the loss, Wadland said.
"We really just realized how much we need to work on our field connection and that it is also important to turn our efforts in practice into consistency in games," she said. "That will be a big challenge for us, but it is a good thing we can get a game back just as easily."
