Big Green head coach Amy Patton said Albany (17-0) exhibited the kind of solid and steady play that warranted a victory.
"My hat's off to Albany," Patton said in a press conference after the game. "They played a really poised and disciplined game. We got outplayed they definitely deserved to win."
Albany succeeded in maintaining composure and pushing Dartmouth (11-4) out of its comfort zone to secure the win, Albany head coach John Battaglino said in the press conference.
"[Dartmouth] has well-coached, extremely talented players," he said. "We just tried to get them to shoot the ball where they weren't so comfortable shooting."
Patton confirmed that Albany's defensive approach proved difficult to counter, and its offense succeeded in maintaining possession of the ball, which wore down Dartmouth's own defensive players.
"It had our attack uncharacteristically make some passes and do some things they hadn't done all year," she said.
Despite weak moments, Sarah Plumb '12 said it was not defense's fault that the goals made contact with the back of the net Albany played well and was able to capitalize on Big Green mistakes.
To start the game, Dartmouth came out with a fiery attitude and scored three unanswered goals, two from Greta Meyer '11 and one from Kirsten Goldberg '12. Despite this run, Collins said Albany stayed focused and slowly chipped away at the Dartmouth defense until it had tied the game.
"They didn't get frazzled even that three-goal run did not seem to rattle them," she said. "We let them back into the game."
By the end of the first half, Albany had one-upped the Big Green, bringing the score to 4-3.
Going into the second half, the locker room talk was positive and the Big Green's goals were to re-work the defense and to follow through on attacking opportunities, according to Collins.
"Defensively, we changed our positioning," she said. "On attack, we wanted to wait for the good look rather than force it."
Hana Bowers '13 christened the second half with the tying goal, and when Albany responded with a goal of its own, she made contact with the back of the net again just moments later. Hilary Smith '12 took back the lead for Dartmouth at 6-5 with 17:03 left to play in the half.
Albany responded with a crippling five-goal run that sealed its victory. The first goal came at 15:25 to tie the game, and at 13:54 Albany took back the lead.
Great Dane Jodi Battaglia put in a beauty of a buffer goal at the 11-minute mark that was pivotal to maintaining team momentum.
"It was a great feed-in from [freshman attack/midfielder] Persy Sample, and I had no choice but to put it in," Battaglia said in the press conference.
Albany focused on maintaining possession for the next 10 minutes in order to run down the clock, and its efforts proved successful. Although they were not particularly excessive, Dartmouth's turnovers still came at inopportune times that demoralized Big Green players and provided the Great Danes with some key scoring chances.
With little time remaining, Big Green players started to chase Albany players in order to get possession. Although this could have opened a lane to goal in some instances, this strategy was the only way to put pressure on the ball, Patton said.
"I knew that we were going to have to go after them and that we'd be vulnerable in doing that," she said. "Our thinking was that we could at least get back to draw."
With Dartmouth struggling to regain possession, Albany struck again with two more goals in the last minutes of the fourth quarter. Although Meyer managed to sneak a goal in with 33 seconds left, the Big Green still trailed by three when the game-ending buzzer sounded.
Albany chalked up the win to its season-long strategy of adapting its playing methods to each teach, Battaglino said.
"The theme of the year and before this game in particular is that we find a way," he said. "It proved true again."
Battaglia credited the Great Danes' team mentality as the overarching reason behind the win.
"I think that everyone stepped up at different times when we needed it," she said.
Patton said that although the season is over, she is proud of the team for what it has accomplished. She especially applauded the seniors for getting the women's lacrosse program back on track after tragic Ivy League title losses in the past.
"The Ivies and the NCAA championships are now something we can realistically try to attain every year," she said.
