"It was very disappointing, but I think that what stands out to me is that New Hampshire outplayed us," head coach Amy Patton said. "We really only played well in the last 10 minutes a little too late to finally kick into gear. It was a tough loss for us, but we can learn a lot and move forward."
The Wildcats outshot Dartmouth, 21-16, while edging out the Big Green in ground balls, 14-9. Wildcat sophomore JoJo Curro scored three goals and had two assists against Dartmouth.
"Obviously it didn't turn out the way we wanted it to, but we treated it as something to move forward from," co-captain Colleen Olsen '10 said. "We're taking what we need to learn from this game to the rest of the season."
At the end of the first half, Dartmouth trailed 5-2, with Abigail Holden '11 and Hilary Smith '12 scoring the goals.
At the start of the second half, Greta Meyer '11 posted a goal, but the Big Green couldn't maintain the momentum. New Hampshire's Hayley Rausch scored for the Wildcats less than three minutes later to bring the differential to 6-3.
After a 12-minute scoring hiatus, Sarah Parks '12 scored, bringing the score to 6-4. Parks and Meyer were the top scorers for Dartmouth, with three points apiece.
During the final 11 minutes, both teams achieved scoring surges. With just four minutes left on the clock, Dartmouth made a last strong push with three goals by Parks, Kat Collins '11 and Meyer. The Big Green came up one goal shy of tying the Wildcats.
Co-captain Eliza Bennett '10 said the stream of goals scored towards the end of the game shows the team's potential.
"We just kind of came out flat in the first half," she said. "It shows that we do have a ton of scoring power and defensive power we just need to make it happen earlier."
The team hopes to bounce back from the upset loss to the Wildcats and focus on the schedule ahead, Patton said.
"As I watched today's game, it's really about playing with confidence," she said. "We need to regroup on Monday and concentrate on better preparation and feel confident for the next opponent."
The Dartmouth squad has 11 starting players returning this season. New Hampshire came in with a clean slate, bringing back only four starting players under the direction of new head coach Michael Daly.
"We have depth and we have a lot of people to contribute," Olsen said. "Everyone on our team has different strengths and has a lot of experience."
A highly anticipated game this season for the Big Green will be against eighth-ranked Notre Dame University on March 7 in South Bend, Ind.
"We have always had one of the toughest schedules in the league," Bennett said. "The Ivies are all tough this year, and we're also playing a lot of out-of-conference games. It's kind of standard for us, and shows we can play at a national level."
In the 2009 season, the women finished ranked third in the Ancient Eight. This year, the Big Green's Ivy season begins with a game against Columbia University on March 17.
"I think that the main thing we are hoping to accomplish is that we show up to play every day, even at practice," Patton said. "We shouldn't be thinking about Ivy Championships but focusing on the little things do the little things well and big things will happen."
Bennett and Olsen echoed their coach's sentiment and are setting their team goals on a game-to-game and practice-to-practice basis, they said.
"The hard work everyone has put in at every grade is really showing and we're excited to get the games going to see the fruits of our labor," Bennett said.
Dartmouth will look to gain momentum at its first home meet of the season against the University of Vermont Catamounts at 3 p.m on March 3 at Scully-Fahey Field.
