Dartmouth (8-7, 5-2 Ivy) never took the lead in the contest. Syracuse (13-4, 5-1 Big East) pulled ahead with a five-goal surge in the second period.
Greta Meyer '11 led the Big Green offensively with a season-high four goals, and even managed to briefly close the gap between the two teams with an equalizer eight minutes into the second half.
The 7-7 tie was short-lived, however, as Syracuse won the ensuing face-off to answer back within 18 seconds. Syracuse junior Jackie DePetris regained the lead for the Orange and sparked the five-goal rally that would prove to be too large for the Big Green to overcome.
Syracuse out-drew Dartmouth 16-7 in the game. Maintaining possession of the ball through draw controls, Syracuse did not give the Big Green many opportunities to score.
Head coach Amy Patton attributed the day's outcome to Syracuse's dominant performance in the center circle.
"We all thought our kids really fought hard today, and we had some really nice plays out there," she said. "The difference was the draws. That puts us on defense that much more. If we could have done a little better on the draws, then it would have been a much tighter game."
The Orange kept pressure on Dartmouth's defense and had the ball on attack for a significant portion of the game. On paper, Syracuse dominated possession time, and the Orange offense spent a good seven minutes running down the clock during the second period.
Syracuse cemented their victory with an insurance goal in the 23rd minute of play.
"We played a pretty good game today," said captain Katherine Chiusano '09. "We were a little slow in the first half but we picked up the energy in the second half. I'm pretty proud of the way we finished."
The game started slowly for the first eight minutes until Syracuse posted two goals in quick succession.
Meyer put Dartmouth on the scoreboard, converting a free position shot into the Big Green's first goal of the game. She continued to capitalize on Syracuse's fouls throughout the match, going two-for-three on free position shots.
Syracuse retaliated within a minute of Meyer's score, making the most of quick transitions around the net and recording three more unanswered goals.
Chiusano responded by connecting with Sarah Parks '12 to regain the Big Green's momentum with 15 minutes remaining in the period. Chiusano notched her 25th goal of the season, second only to Kat Collins '11, who has 37.
"The coach told us we need to get more excited, and I think that really helped us keep the momentum for a little while," Chiusano said.
Both teams found the back of the net again. Going into the second half, Dartmouth trailed the Orange by a slim two-goal deficit.
The Orange broke open the second period with an unassisted goal by junior Christina Dove, but Dartmouth answered back with a pair of goals.
Dana Brisbane '12 scored first from a free shot position and then found Meyer, who netted her third goal of the game.
"Syracuse is a very talented offensive team, and that's their power," Patton said. "They did get those three goals in four minutes, but we answered right back. There were some bright spots out there during the game. We did some things better than we did during the last few games, which is what we want to see."
Syracuse's defense held firm for the next 18 minutes, allowing the Orange offense to pull away from the Big Green, 12-7. Erin Massimi '12 and Meyer netted a pair of goals in the final five minutes of play, whittling the final score down to 12-9.
Syracuse took command of the shots, 30-20, but Dartmouth was able to stay aggressive in the groundball battle, nearly matching the Orange, 15 to 16.
Although she was tagged with the loss, Julie Wadland '10 had another strong game in the net, making nine saves.
The game marked the 11th meeting between the two schools. Dartmouth still holds the overall advantage in the series, 6-5.
The Big Green players will need to bring their best game in the coming days, Patton said, as the team closes out its season on Sunday with an on-the-road contest against the No. 5 Blue Devils.
"I know we have to play a pretty perfect game to beat them," she said. "But we've gone up against them before and did it. It'll be a great way to go down there and have another challenging game."
