With the win, the Big Green (8-6-1, 2-3 Ivy) saved its chance, however slim, of making the NCAA tournament. If the team can win its final two games, Dartmouth will have 10 wins, which proved to be enough to earn the squad a berth to the NCAA tournament last year.
UNH (7-5-5) opened the scoring in the 28th minute when undersized freshman Robert Palumbo made an outstanding move about 30 yards out and rifled a shot into the upper left corner for the 1-0 lead.
For a while, it appeared the Big Green would follow the all-too-familiar script of controlling the game, outshooting UNH by a mark of 17-6, but falling short of scoring the necessary goals for the victory. UNH goalkeeper Chris Devine was impressive in this respect, as he made 10 saves, keeping his team in the game.
In the 80th minute, however, Lucky Mkosana '12 scored on a precise free kick into the top left corner for the 1-1 tie.
The game appeared headed for overtime which may have been an advantage for the Wildcats, as UNH has played 11 overtime games so far this season. The Big Green, however, had other plans.
On the Big Green's next possession only 30 seconds after Mkosana's goal, co-captain Daniel Keat '10 put away the go-ahead goal for a 2-1 lead on a beautifully delivered cross from fellow co-captain Andrew Olsen '11. Despite a frantic, last minute surge by UNH, the Big Green was able to hang on for the win.
"Andrew squared the ball perfectly across the box," Keat said. "I took a good first touch and managed to slide it into the corner of the goal."
Head coach Jeff Cook moved Keat into an attacking role for the second half, after a first half of dominating the possession, but no goals to show for the effort.
"We thought Daniel was instrumental in the second half," Cook said. "He was able to generate a lot of good possession and offensive play in the attacking third. He's one of the hardest-working midfielders in the country, and the determination in his play showed tonight with his late goal."
Cook said he believes the lack of early goals is not a reason for concern.
"I think the attacking side is always the most difficult to master," he said. "It has been an unfortunate pattern for us, but we are still creating great chances. The solution is not to press and panic. The last couple games we have been able to score the goals when we need to, and hopefully the confidence from scoring those goals will carry into our remaining games."
The final two regular season games are of utmost importance for the Big Green as the team vies for a spot in the NCAA tournament to be held in Santa Barbara, Calif., December 10-12.
The top 48 teams in the country will earn a spot, and although Dartmouth's RPI has remained in the top 50 for the majority of the year, Cook believes the final two games are vital in order to secure a post-season tournament berth.
"If we can turn our final results into more wins, we could show the NCAA committee that our body of work especially toward the end of the season when we were at the top of our form, deserves a spot in the top 48 teams in the country and therefore in the NCAA tournament," Cook said.
While he refused to speculate on the team's chances, Keat echoed the importance of each and every game.
"It keeps us alive," Keat said. "That's all we're really looking for at this stage, is to keep winning and keep believing that we have a chance," Keat said.
The Big Green will continue its pursuit of an NCAA tournament bid on Saturday when the team takes on Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.
The Big Red (4-7-4, 0-4-1 Ivy) will look to get its first Ivy League victory of the season. The team recently lost a close 2-1 match to No. 20 Princeton University and has proved difficult to defeat when at home.
