The game signaled the end to this season's Ivy League matchups for the team.
The win also helped the team clinch a final third-place Ivy League standing, trailing No. 3 University of Pennsylvania and No. 6 Princeton, who ended the season in first and second place, respectively.
Dartmouth's scoring leader Kat Collins '11 delivered with four goals, and co-captain Katherine Chiusano '09 secured a hat trick, her third of the season.
"I think that what helped us win the game was our defense and how we broke the ball quickly out of the defensive end," midfielder Greta Meyer '11 said. "We got a lot of fast breaks and that definitely helped us a lot."
The Big Green was neck-and-neck with the Lions in the first half, entering intermission tied at six apiece, thanks to a last-second shot from Chiusano.
Dartmouth broke ahead in the second period, however, and struck quickly with four goals in four minutes.
Columbia's 16 shot attempts in the second half were not enough to get past co-captain and goalie Julie Wadland '10, who posted nine saves in the game, and made up for Columbia outshooting Dartmouth, 29 to 22.
"I think that our defense just worked really well together; we played as like a cohesive unit, and that was the biggest thing that helped us," Meyer said.
Collins opened up the scoring, beating Columbia's goalie Emma Mintz three minutes into play. Chiusano soon followed, scoring her first goal of the game off of a Sarah Parks '12 assist.
The Lions retaliated, capitalizing off of their 10 draw controls in the first period, as compared to Dartmouth's four, and 13 shots on goal, to lead 6-5 with only 2:14 remaining before halftime.
But the time constraint did not hamper the Big Green's resolve, as a yellow card handed to Columbia's Holly Glynn resulted in a three-minute one-player advantage.
Chiusano took action and, with only one second remaining in the first period, was fed by Alex Huestis '10 to score and tie the game at 6-6 at the half.
Again taking advantage of an extra player, Chiusano scored six minutes into the second period to reopen a Big Green lead. Rookie Erin Massimi '12 struck just 20 seconds later, scoring her first collegiate goal unassisted.
Abigail Holden '11 and Parks each contributed with one and two goals, respectively, to bring the score to 11-7.
With 19 minutes remaining, the Lions scored twice but could not progress further to secure a lead. Collins ended the game with a goal to ensure the win and capture her 37th goal of the season.
With only one day to prepare, Dartmouth will have to repeat its winning performance to defeat No. 8 Syracuse University in the team's last home game this Tuesday.
After losing the Ivy League title to Penn, and falling behind Princeton, the remaining two games will not help Dartmouth's chances of entering the postseason NCAA tournament, but that doesn't change the importance of the upcoming matches, Meyer said.
Tuesday's game is scheduled to start at 3 p.m.
