Looking to get back on track after a disappointing week, the Dartmouth men's soccer team will finish up its three-game road trip against the University of Vermont on Wednesday. The regional rivalry game is the Big Green's (4-3-1, 0-1 Ivy) last opportunity to work on the poor finishing and sloppy defense that marred otherwise strong performances against the University of Massachusetts, Amherst College and Princeton University before the Ivy League season kicks into high gear.
"The Vermont game is a local rivalry, so the intensity of the game is elevated," head coach Jeff Cook said. "They are going to try and close us down very early try to unsettle us. The game comes at a time where we're looking to recover from last week's results, so it is a chance for us to play a quality opponent and exercise some frustrations."
Last season, Dartmouth entered its match against Vermont in a similar two-game slump. In that game, Daniel Keat '10 carried the Big Green to victory, scoring a goal and assisting two others in the 3-1 blowout. Now a co-captain in his final season of eligibility, Keat is looking forward to the rematch.
"[Vermont] always wants to beat us we're a big game on their schedule," Keat said. "It's nice after a loss to be able to get back out straight away and sort out our problems. We're looking to get back to our winning ways"
The Catamounts (6-2-3, 1-0 America East) enter the game having earned two consecutive victories, including a 1-0 victory over the University of New Hampshire on Saturday. Vermont has faltered against higher-ranked competition, however, losing 3-0 at home to No. 17 Brown University.
"Vermont is an extremely physical team," co-captain Andrew Olsen '11 said. "They like to go into tackles pretty hard. We need to match their physicality."
After getting torched for three goals on Saturday, the Big Green defense will have its hands full with Vermont's powerful junior forward Nick O'Neill. In his first season since transferring from perennial top-25 program Creighton, the 6'2", 195-pound O'Neill has been a force to be reckoned with scoring five goals and assisting three more in just 11 games.
"We saw them play last week against Brown," Cook said. "Our forwards and midfielders need to close down the supply into number nine [O'Neill]. If we cut off the passes into him, we cut off the danger."
Defender Teo Larsson-Sax '13 is poised for a breakout game against Vermont, according to Cook.
"He's been playing very consistently," Cook said. "The final piece of his development will be assuming more leadership and organizing the defense. He's capable of it, and we're looking for him to step up on Wednesday."
The team has been trying to recreate game situations on the practice field and make sure that training is competitive in order to improve its preparation and efficiency, according to Cook.
Last year, the Big Green won games with its efficient scoring and stingy defending, scoring 1.72 goals per game and earning six clean sheets. This year, the team is yet to match last season's impressive marks, scoring only 1.5 goals per game and recording one shutout.
The team's defensive letdowns and failure to capitalize in the attacking-third are costing it victories, according to Cook.
"We outshot UMass and Princeton," Cook said. "At worst, the loss was an even game and we wound up on the wrong end of the score line."
While the midweek fixture is leading Cook to "consider line-up changes in order to keep everyone fresh," he does not believe the scheduling will affect the outcome. The match is the Big Green's fourth in the last 11 days.
"Sometimes it is a little difficult to have the same motivation for a midweek game as for an Ivy, but we're coming off of a defeat so the motivation should take care of itself," Cook said.
The Big Green will travel to Burlington, Vt., to take on the Catamounts on Wednesday at 3 p.m.
