Following a difficult 5-1 loss to the University of Pennsylvania last Sunday, the women's soccer team bounced back in a big way on Tuesday, defeating the University of Vermont, 3-0. The win came in dominating fashion, with the Catamounts (1-11-3, 1-3-2 America East) getting just one shot off in the game.
"We had a tough weekend," Becky Poskin '09 said. "We wanted to go out and get a little revenge, and Vermont got the end of that."
For the first few minutes of the half, both sides appeared to be evenly matched, but the Big Green (7-6, 2-2 Ivy) set the tone for the evening when Myra Sack '10 found the net in the ninth minute after a pass fired by Kelsey Quick '10.
One goal was not enough for the Dartmouth women, who continued to apply nearly continuous pressure on the Vermont defenders. Just five minutes after the first score, the Big Green had another opportunity when Aly O'Dea '12 just missed the net with a looping kick from outside the box that dinged off the crossbar. Another Dartmouth scoring chance came in the 21st minute when Poskin made it behind the defense, but a long pass by Grace Best '13 was batted down before Poskin could control it.
The Big Green soon capitalized on the fatigued Catamount backfield as Poskin controlled a pass from Sack in the 26th minute and launched the ball into the net. Sack recovered quickly from a trip and was able to find Poskin, who was too quick for Catamount netminder Eliza Bradley.
Peyton Tata '11 capped off the scoring for the Big Green when she received a pass from Ali Hubbard '10 and took a shot that increased the Big Green's lead to three.
Dartmouth continued to outplay Vermont for the remainder of the first half, keeping the ball on the Catamount side of the field until the whistle blew. In the first half, Dartmouth had 15 shots, nine of which were on goal, while Vermont had yet to tally a single shot.
This supremacy allowed head coach Angela Hind to give less experienced players a chance starting the next half, she said.
"We wanted to go ahead and score more," Hind said, "But we also really wanted to get more players in the game."
The Big Green kept the pressure on in the second half. Three minutes after the starting whistle, Poskin and Jennifer Williams '12 both had great scoring chances, but both times Bradley was there to make the save.
In the 58th minute, a shot from the right side actually made it past Bradley, but a Catamount defender positioned on the back post was able to clear the ball.
The highlight of the game for Vermont came in the 68th minute, when junior Lindsey Mucia managed to kick the ball towards Dartmouth's goal. This would end up being the Catamounts' only shot of the game.
The Big Green continued to out-hustle Vermont for the rest of the game, with both Libby Hamlin '13 and Sack creating scoring opportunities. Even after Catamount players began walking to loose balls, the Dartmouth women played like they wanted to erase a bad memory and worry about the present.
"We were hurt a little bit on Sunday," Hind said. "We just wanted to get back on track."
The Big Green will look to continue this type of play against its next opponent, Ivy League rival Columbia (6-5-3, 2-1-1 Ivy) this Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at Burnham Field.
