Dartmouth (4-8, 1-3 Ivy) led Yale 11-6 at the start of the fourth quarter, but allowed the Bulldogs to tie the game midway through the quarter after uninspire Dartmouth defense allowed five consecutive goals. The Big Green fell behind 13-12 with three minutes remaining, but a goal from Ari Sussman '10 with 54 seconds left sent the game into overtime.
In the extra period, co-captain Brian Koch '09 netted his 21st goal of the year to win the game for Dartmouth. Kip Dooley '12 was credited with the assist. It was the second overtime win of the season for the Big Green.
"It was a great goal," Dooley said. "It was huge for the team and the season, and it showed the grit this team has."
Koch led the way for Dartmouth with a game-high three goals and an assist, while Sussman added two goals and two assists. Jimmy Mullen '09, Towny Swiggett '10 and Josh Gillam '10 also added two goals each.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, got three goals apiece from both junior Brendan Gibson and senior Michael Karwoski.
Yale came out strong to start the game, grabbing a two-goal lead within six minutes. Gillam late halved the deficit off of a feed from Sussman.
Undeterred, Yale quickly added two more goals to make the score 4-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Dartmouth entered the second quarter a different team. Koch found the net within 36 seconds of the whistle to begin the scoring, before Mullen added another goal three minutes later. Sussman tied the game at four soon after on an unassisted goal.
Jack Steele '11, Swiggett and Ian Ferrell '10 all scored before the end of the half, capping a dominant quarter in which the Big Green outscored the Bulldogs 6-0. The score was 7-4 at the break.
"In the first quarter, we were really tentative for some reason," Dooley said. "But then we clicked, started making plays. We scored as the clock expired, which was huge, and it gave us the momentum going into the second half."
The Big Green began the second half with its seventh consecutive unanswered goal, Koch's second of the game. The Bulldogs were able to respond this time, with two straight goals from Karwoski and Gibson. However, Yale looked beaten after Dartmouth posted three consecutive goals, from Gillam, Philip Killian '09 and Swiggett, to make the score 11-6 entering the final quarter.
Dartmouth looked extremely poor at the start of the final quarter, allowing five straight Yale goals, including two within a thirty-second span. After Mullen helped the Big Green regain composure with his second tally of the game, the Bulldogs scored two straight to take a 13-12 lead.
"It was tough because we had the lead earlier," Dooley said. "But we had a good defensive stop. When we went into [overtime], we were feeling confident that we would win, since we had the momentum."
Sussman's late equalizer saved Dartmouth from a 0-4 league start, and a loss that would surely have had a hugely negative effect on the team's morale, Dooley said.
"I think at points we were really demoralized," Dooley said. "We had tough times this season, but at a certain point in the game, we said we weren't going to lose. It showed a lot of spirit from the team."
Face-offs continue to be a problem for the Big Green, as the team was only able to win 10 of 29 on the afternoon, four days removed from having claimed only eight of 28 against Cornell last weekend. The Bulldogs also outshot the Big Green 38-35 in a game where both defenses seemed absent for long stretches.
"It was definitely a game of momentum," Dooley said. "It was really frustrating, but it was great that we were able to stay composed."
Dartmouth will face arguably its biggest test of the season when it travels to Charlottesville, Va., to face the No. 2 University of Virginia on Saturday. The Big Green will be wary of former teammate Chad Gaudet '08, who is now a face-off specialist for the Cavaliers. The game starts at 12 p.m. and can be seen on CBS College Sports Television.
