Despite scoring four goals in the final two minutes of its game against Yale University on Saturday, the Dartmouth men's lacrosse team was unable to beat the 17th-ranked Bulldogs (7-2, 2-2 Ivy), losing the road matchup, 9-7.
Yale opened the scoring two minutes into the game, before co-captain Rhett Miller '11 netted an unassisted goal 5.5 minutes later to even the score. The Bulldogs put one more goal in the back of the net by the end of the quarter and went into the first break with a one-goal lead.
Yale added another goal just a minute into the second quarter.
Less than two minutes later, Kip Dooley '12 ripped a shot in for a goal off of a pass from Drew Tunney '12. Yale immediately responded with another goal, but Brendan Rotanz '14 connected with Chris Costabile '13 to add a point for the Big Green (4-5, 1-2 Ivy). Yale ended the half with two more goals, making the halftime score 6-3.
Yale defended particularly well in the third quarter, and Dartmouth was unable to find the back of the net. Although Yale's only goals scored in the third quarter came in the first two minutes of play, the Big Green trailed by five goals entering the final frame.
Everything turned around in the fourth quarter. Yale tallied its final goal just over a minute into the quarter, before a nearly 12-minute long period in which neither team scored. But in the final minutes of the game, four Dartmouth players added goals to narrow the deficit.
Co-captain Adam Boardman '11 began the streak, scoring his first goal of the game unassisted with under two minutes on the clock. Rotanz added the second goal a minute later. Fourteen seconds later, Nikki Dysenchuk '13 put the ball past Yale's goalie, narrowing the Bulldogs lead to 9-6. In the game's final goal, Patrick Resch '14 scored off a pass from Tunney, who earned his second assist of the game.
Dartmouth won the last face-off of the game but turned the ball over before team players could run down and score again.
Head coach Andrew Towers said that, although some players on the team are inexperienced and others have had recent injuries, the Big Green gave a full-fledged effort in Saturday's game. "While [the team's inexperience] is sure to help us in the future, our focus is on right now, and sometimes inexperience can make a team hesitant and if you hesitate against a good team for too long you will pay the price of losing."
Fergus Campbell '12 had an outstanding day in goal and recorded 15 saves Campbell's fourth recording of double-digit saves.
Yale controlled possession for the first 58 minutes of the game. The Bulldogs outshot Dartmouth, 48-31, picked up 16 more ground balls than the Big Green and won 14 of the game's 20 faceoffs.
Neither team managed to capitalize on any of the 11 total man-up situations.
Towers said many factors contributed to Dartmouth's early problems.
"Yale won the faceoffs and played with great intensity, especially in the first half," he said. "We struggled to clear the ball effectively and didn't capitalize on some transition opportunities when we had them. We played great six versus six defense, but were victimized in transition."
Boardman said the Big Green suffered from a lack of consistency.
"We need to limit turnovers and execute all four quarters," he said. "Yale really defended us for 58 minutes well. We need to pick up groundballs and be perfect clearing the ball."
Miller added that Dartmouth lacked energy for much of the game.
"It was a tough day today because we didn't come out with the intensity that we would have liked," he said. "Yale came out and played hard and we just showed up too late. We will have a big practice on Monday and are looking forward to a win on Tuesday."
The Big Green plays the 18th-ranked University of Delaware on Tuesday in Danbury, Conn., a neutral site.
Although Dartmouth only has one practice to prepare for the game, Towers said he is confident moving forward.
"We'll try to familiarize our team with Delaware's offensive tendencies," he said. "The focus will be on defensive prep, as always, but the key to all of these games is playing with intensity, executing with passion and staying unified. If we can do those three things to finish, then we're tough out for anyone."
