The Dartmouth women's lacrosse team delivered the heat to Yale University on Saturday, earning a 12-5 victory for its fifth consecutive win this season.
The Big Green (5-1, 2-0 Ivy) were able to build off the team's recent upset of No. 6 Syracuse University, using the momentum against the Bulldogs (4-5, 1-2 Ivy).
"We felt prepared and confident coming off of such a big win at Syracuse, but we knew that we still had to show up," co-captain Julie Wadland '10 said. "Yale has a good team and they're getting better every year."
In the first half especially, the women stuck to their game plan of confidence and, as Wadland described, "smart" aggression.
Recording six saves, goalie Wadland kept Yale's offense to only five goals with help from the defense. The Big Green dominated ground balls in the backfield, with Sarah Plumb '12, Erin Massimi '12 and Colleen Olsen '10 scooping up six, five and four ground balls, respectively.
Olsen also forced three turnovers, and collectively the defense shut down the Bulldogs' top scorer, Freshman Devon Rhodes.
Goaltender Whitney Quackenbush of Yale had 12 saves but also allowed 12 goals. The Bulldog defense was unable to harness the Dartmouth offense, particularly in the first half.
Kirsten Goldberg '12 and Hana Bowers '13 both earned hat tricks to catalyze the offensive outburst. Plumb and Massimi each added two goals, while Hilary Smith '12 and Dana Brisbane '12 each chipped in a goal.
Within the first two minutes of the game, Plumb and Massimi had already planted one goal each, both of which went unassisted. Barely a minute later, Goldberg added her first of three goals on the game, launching the Big Green to an early 3-0 lead.
Yale responded with a long offensive possession capped off by Yale attacker Caroline Crow putting the Bulldogs on the board with over 18 minutes remaining in the first half.
The Big Green responded and sank seven unanswered goals before halftime.
Massimi assisted Bowers' first collegiate goal at the 16-minute mark of the first half. Crow then attempted to get the Bulldogs back on the scoreboard but was denied by Wadland. Carrying the ball all the way downfield for the goal, Plumb then notched her second goal of the game.
With a mere three seconds left, Sarah Parks '12 assisted Massimi, who ensured the Big Green hit double digits before retiring for the half.
Dartmouth started the second half with the same intensity, as Bowers capitalized on an assist from Greta Meyer '11 only after 50 seconds.
The Bulldogs finally responded to the Dartmouth onslaught, catching the Big Green off guard.
"We steered away from our game plan, and as we got tired, we let down a little bit," Wadland said. "We weren't being as crisp as we should have been."
Turnovers allowed the Bulldogs to score three goals within the next six minutes to tighten the deficit to 11-4.
Halting Yale's momentum, Brisbane drew a foul which she subsequently converted into her first goal of the season. The Bulldogs would only add one more goal, succumbing to a final seven-point deficit.
Overall, Dartmouth outshot Yale, 32-16, although the Bulldogs outshot Dartmouth, 11-10, during the second half. Yale also suffered from its 21 turnovers.
Despite the second half slow-down, the Big Green came away from the win feeling confident.
"We were disappointed by our performance in the second half, but it's good to know that playing only okay in the second half, we still pulled out the win," Wadland said.
The women look to extend the winning streak to six when they confront Boston University, who already lost to the Bulldogs, this Wednesday at 4 p.m. in Hanover.
"We want to play 60 minutes of our lacrosse no letdowns," Wadland said.
