Big Green field hockey re-established a winning record with its 6-3 win over the No. 19 University of Massachusetts on Wednesday.
The Big Green (8-7, 2-2 Ivy) connected well on the field and was able to execute its game plan.
Dartmouth head coach Amy Fowler said she was pleased with the team's play.
"It was our most successful 70 minutes of field hockey all season," she said.
Massachusetts is always a formidable opponent, but one which Dartmouth especially enjoys beating, co-captain Chelsea Dodds '10 said.
"UMass is always a really tough game, so it's a sweet one to win," she said.
Dartmouth stepped onto the pitch equipped with a gameplan to overcome the Minutewomen's strengths, athleticism and quick forwards.
Because the Minutewomen tend to hit the ball from their defenders straight up to their offense, the Big Green defenders focused on intercepting as its main strategy, Fowler said. Dartmouth's efforts proved successful.
"We were very proactive in our team defense," Fowler said. "We came up with a lot of interceptions and ended up in our attacking end."
"We did a really good job connecting passes, following through on plays and staying disciplined all around the field," she said.
After Massachusetts' Makaela Potts scored the first goal of the game, the Big Green stepped up and never looked back.
After assisting Kelly McHenry '11, who sank Dartmouth's first goal of the game, Rebecca Sobel '11 went on to score a goal of her own, giving the Big Green a 2-1 lead.
Shortly after, Kelly Hood '12 capitalized on a penalty corner and scored her 15th goal of the year. A Minutewomen defender tipped Hood's shot into the goal in an attempt to block it.
The first half concluded with Dartmouth on top, 3-1.
The second half was much of the same. Dartmouth immediately struck when Claire Byrne '11 found Samantha McPherson '13, who scored the team's fourth goal of the game from inside the circle.
The Big Green's scoring streak didn't stop there. Hood and McPherson soon combined to score a fifth, as Hood sent one across the crease that McPherson finished. Hood returned to the scoreboard with just under 25 minutes left to play with another goal.
"I was pleased that we had a focal point of scoring from the field as opposed to from corners," Fowlersaid.
Only one of Dartmouth's goals came on a penalty corner.
The Big Green experienced a slight lull in the second half after coming out of a time out. The Minutewomen came at the Big Green and succeeded in scoring two goals.
Nicole Cordero scored the first, and Massachusetts freshman Kim Young followed shortly after on a penalty corner.
Fowler said that despite a slower second half for the Big Green, Dartmouth maintained dominance over the Minutewomen.
"We had a couple of lapses defensively, but we held them off in the end and re-took control of the momentum," she said.
Dartmouth outshot the Minutewomen, 21-15, and both teams took six penalty corners.
The Big Green will try to add to its momentum at Harvard this Saturday.
Fowler said she believes a win is possible.
"Having played as well as we did attacking-wise gives us a lot of confidence going into the weekend," she said.
The team is aware, however, that it will not be an easy match-up, Dodds said.
"It's always a really good game [against Harvard]," she said. "Last year, it came down to one goal, and the same with the year before."
At this point in the season, everyone is set in their ways and as experienced as they're going to get, so the win will go to whoever is more ready to play and whoever successfully executes, Fowler said, adding that College President Jim Yong Kim has been a strong motivator for the team as it heads to Cambridge.
"I think we're all motivated from hearing President Kim's speeches about beating Harvard to do him proud and win," she said
The game is set to start at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Cambridge, Mass.
