I sat down with Bryan Giudicelli '11 the day after he headed in the game-winning goal against the University of New Mexico soccer team with less than 10 minutes left to give Dartmouth a 1-0 win. Coincidentally, it was the same day as his 21st birthday. In front of 1,725 fans on Saturday night, the senior's late goal propelled the Big Green to a 4-2 start to their season before they begin a stretch of three straight away contests.
The Dartmouth men's squad will return to Burnham Field on Oct. 9 to take on Yale University under the lights as they begin their quest for another Ivy League Championship and a spot in the NCAA tournament.
What's better: scoring the game-winning goal against New Mexico or celebrating your 21st birthday on the same night?
BG: Scoring the goal for sure.
Some fans were disappointed you didn't come celebrate your goal in the student section. Is there anything you want to say to them?
BG: (Laughs) I always tell myself that if I score a goal I will celebrate with the fans but when the ball actually goes in, the excitement takes over and I just ran the direction I was facing when it went in. So to the fans that may have been disappointed, sorry, I'll celebrate with you guys next time.
How important was Saturday's win over New Mexico?
BG: We needed that win after our tough loss to Creighton [ranked 14th] because we know we are a nationally competitive program and that was our opportunity to prove it to people outside of our team.
A New Mexico player went down with a pretty nasty injury What's the attitude on the field when something like that happens?
BG: It's always tough to play after a bad injury like that, but during the break in the game we reminded each other that we had a great opportunity to win. We had to stick to our game and refocus so we could pull out a big win.
What kind of expectations do you guys have for not only your Ivy League season but also where you want to finish nationally?
BG: Like I said, we know we are a nationally competitive program so we have very high expectations for the season. We just have to use the momentum from the big win to get off to a good start in the Ivies and I think Ivy League champions and a deep run into the national tournament is a very good possibility.
How does this year's team compare to last year's and the one that won the Ivy League two years ago?
BG: We are a much more experienced group than the past couple years. We have nine seniors who will be playing their last collegiate game when this season is over so we are going to make sure the season lasts a while.
There were a ton of people out for the game on Saturday, but you guys have a lot more big home games coming up in the next few weeks. Does it help to have big turnouts or can it be distracting with all the noise?
BG: It helps us out a ton when we get a good crowd. Our home record of 22-3 proves that the crowd really helps us to pull out big wins like the one on Saturday night.
What are some games to circle on the calendar and look forward to?
BG: Every Ivy League game is going to be a battle, but a couple huge ones coming up are Harvard over Homecoming weekend (10/30) and Brown for our last game of the regular season (11/13).
