The game opened slowly for both teams and, for the first time all season, Dartmouth was unable to score in the first quarter. Princeton (4-6, 2-2 Ivy) scored the lone goal of the period with less than five minutes left to play. The Tigers also had the clear shot advantage in the first 15 minutes, taking 16 attempts to Dartmouth's five.
Coming out of the first break, goalie Fergus Campbell '12 made a save and initiated a successful clear up the field. Patrick Resch '14 then snagged a pass from Kip Dooley '12 and struck to even the tally.
Princeton took advantage of a man-up situation, however, and regained the lead five minutes later. Evening the score for halftime, Dooley picked up a rebound and scored in the final seconds of the half.
Princeton dominated possession after halftime, and Dartmouth struggled to keep the ball. The Tigers reopened the scoring early in the half, taking advantage of another man-up play following a Dartmouth penalty. Princeton netted another goal before Dartmouth was able to strike in the second half.
The Big Green won the ensuing faceoff and Brendan Rotanz '14 slotted the ball past the Tiger's goalie. Princeton put one more in after a Dartmouth turnover before the third quarter expired. Entering the final period of play, the Tigers led the Big Green by two goals.
Another Dartmouth turnover early in the fourth quarter allowed Princeton to race down the field and score, despite being a man down. Jeff Perkins '14 was the recipient of a crisp pass and netted the final goal of the game for Dartmouth with just under 10 minutes left on the clock.
Coming out of a Princeton timeout, the Tigers scored again to widen the margin to three goals. Unable to connect in the final minutes, the Big Green had to chase the stalling Tigers, who scored one last goal before time expire.
Head coach Andrew Towers said he was pleased with the Big Green's physical effort, but that the team lacks consistency.
"We had six turnovers in the first half and 12 in the second half," he said. "The reality is if you turn the ball over that many times it's going to hurt you."
Co-captain Rhett Miller '11 said the team's stick work was its biggest problem.
"We missed a lot of opportunities because we dropped perimeter passes and also missed some easy shots," Miller said. "We had a tough time with groundballs and Princeton capitalized on our turnovers, which gave them second chances."
Co-captain Adam Boardman '11 added that the Big Green's transition and groundball games were weaknesses, although he noted that the team's defense was a strong point.
"We need to have better vision entering the boxes and capitalize on transition," Boardman said. "We play well six versus six but we need to keep the ball in our sticks and tighten it up between the boxes."
Princeton fired 39 shots during the game and Dartmouth managed 28. Campbell made 17 saves while Princeton's goalie made six.
Controlling groundballs has been a struggle for the Big Green all season. Princeton picked up 10 more balls than Dartmouth in Saturday's contest, which allowed the Tigers more possession especially in the second half when Dartmouth had 12 turnovers.
Dartmouth did secure two more face-offs than Princeton, but the Tigers cleared the ball nearly flawlessly (22-24) while the Big Green struggled slightly (16-22). The Big Green also could not capitalize on either of its man-up chances.
Dartmouth took some comfort in the performance of its freshman players, who scored three of the team's four goals in the game.
"They have stepped up and played well," Towers said. "They are all great players. I am happy to see them contributing but it is not surprising."
Towers said he will structure practice this week to work on the team's weaknesses, as well as prep defensively to stop the University of Vermont and the University of Pennsylvania's high-powered offenses.
Dartmouth returns home for the first time in nearly a month on Tuesday, playing Vermont (6-6, 1-2 America East) at 6 p.m. The team will be back on the road next weekend to play Penn (6-4, 3-2 Ivy) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
