Still, according to Sussman, it's not goals or point totals that matter: it's the wins.
"I work day in and day out to get Dartmouth a win," he said. "If you are winning games, everything falls into place."
For a player who describes himself as team oriented, Sussman has racked up impressive individual statistics leading the Big Green in scoring his freshman, sophomore and senior seasons.
He was Ivy-League Rookie of the year after a stand-out freshman season and has earned All-Ivy honors his sophomore and senior years.
Despite these awards, it is apparent to everyone around him that he is about the team, head coach Andy Towers said.
"He doesn't care about the points," Towers said. "He cares about the game."
Sussman has been drawing the opposition's first defender for as long as Towers who was an assistant when Sussman first joined the team as a freshman can remember.
"You don't shut down a player like Ari Sussman," he said. "I bet you could ask a lot of defensive coordinators out there, and their game plans would be at the mercy of Ari."
Towers says Sussman is a special player because if he does not score a lot of goals, he will still rack-up assists. Even without scoring, Sussman makes the defense work and enables opportunities for other players, Towers added.
"He is as good a player as there is in the country," Towers said. "He is arguably the best attackmen in the country."
Due to Dartmouth's poor records while Sussman has been on the team, he has not gotten the national recognition he deserves, Towers added.
Sussman, however, said again that he is not concerned with garnering attention. When asked about Dartmouth's upset of No. 6 Cornell University earlier in the season a game in which Sussman had four unassisted goals he attributed the success to his teammates.
"The Cornell game is where we put all the pieces together, which we haven't really done in previous years," he said. "To play and win like that against an Ivy opponent was really a phenomenal team effort."
Sussman also called goalie Fergus Campbell '12, who had 23 saves in the match, a game-changer.
According to Towers, Sussman is a relentless, consummate team player.
"He is incredibly confident but not at all arrogant," he said. "Just him being out there gives the rest of the team and the players around him confidence."
Sussman said the 2010 season was disappointing regardless of his point total. He pointed out that the Big Green was only three goals away from hosting the inaugural Ivy-League Tournament Dartmouth lost to Harvard University by two goals and Brown University by one.
"Being able to play against the top competition like that would have been a little more fulfilling," he said.
Beyond this season, it will be difficult to replace a player and leader like Sussman, Towers said.
"You can't replace a guy like Ari with just one player," he said. "He has irreplaceable leadership."
Towers added that Sussman's unselfishness makes him a great leader, adding that he is the height of character and leadership.
"It has been absolute pleasure for all of the seniors to work with coach Towers, [and assistant coaches Jon] Torpey and [Ryan] Danehy," Sussman said. "They make things great. They added a great conclusion to our college careers."
