"We are all really excited about the win," co-captain Grace Dowd '11 said. "We've been putting in a lot of work and it's really exciting that it's finally paying off. We have a lot to work on this week to get ready for next weekend, but overall we feel good. It's a phenomenal opportunity, and I think we have a high chance of making it to Nationals."
In the final qualifier, the Big Green got off to a slow start. Team president Melanie Pastuck '11 and Megan Thorn '12 both scored tries to account for Dartmouth's only points in the first half. Buffalo came back to score on a 70-meter drive, however at the end of the half.
These points would be the last for Buffalo.
Despite going into halftime with a 10-5 lead, head coach Debra Archambault said she thought the team needed to change things around.
"The team knew that we were having issues, and halftime gave us a moment to regroup," Archambault said. "We had a good game plan, but we weren't executing it properly. We should have scored more tries in the first half but couldn't finish. In the second half, Buffalo's defense actually improved, but were able to get things done. We switched a couple of people around and were [then] able to execute the plan."
In the second half, the Big Green came out strong and put the game plan into action. Flanker Daniela Valdes '13, wing Molly Manning '12 and Ashley Afranie-Sakyi '13 each scored tries. Annie Jones '11 also contributed to the offense by converting a try. Dartmouth finished the game with 27 points, while Buffalo scored only the five from the first half.
"I think we realized that we could actually lose this game, and we did not want that to happen," co-captain Kristen Liu '11 said. "We realized that we had to step up our game, so we made some changes and were able to pick it up."
The 27-5 win over the Bulls puts Dartmouth in the NRU finals next weekend at Bowdoin College in Maine. The Big Green is slated to go up against Brown University in its first game of the finals. Dartmouth faced the Bears in league play earlier this season, but fell 42-7. According to Archambault, the team should fare better this time around.
"We really believe that we can beat Brown," Archambault said. "They beat us once by a pretty hefty score, but we didn't have many of our starters. With the extra practice and the improvements we have made since the Brown game, as well as the return of our starters, I think we can beat them."
If the Big Green beats Brown, the women will play the winner of the game between Army and Cornell University. If they lose, they will play the loser of that contest. Either way, Dartmouth has a good chance of making it to the National Championship tournament this spring. According to Archambault, as a region, New England will get three and possibly even four bids to the national tournament. Because the New England conference is so tough, the top two seeds from New England generally have the best placement in the tournament bracket.
According to Dowd, the team's desire to win goes beyond just wanting a bid to the national tournament.
"Obviously, we want to go to Nationals and we want to beat Brown," Dowd said. "We played them earlier in the season, and we've been waiting for the chance to play them again The whole goal is not only to make it to Nationals, but to make it to Nationals with a good seeding. We don't want to go to Nationals just to go. We want to go to Nationals and be a competitive team. Beating Brown this weekend will help us to do that."
Archambault echoed Dowd's sentiment.
"We only have one week left and we still have a lot of work to do, but I think we have a good chance," Archambault said. "I think we have a terrific team and I enjoy coaching this group of players. We have strong leaders and dedicated athletes, and I think with some work we can be competitive on a national level."
