"Last year was a heartbreaker, but we're a different team now," co-captain Kat Collins '11 said. "That's our big goal to go all the way."
The second Ivy League Women's Lacrosse Tournament in history begins Friday, as second-seeded Dartmouth faces off against third-seeded Harvard University at 4:00 p.m. at Penn's Franklin Field.
The Big Green last battled the Crimson a week ago, pulling out a 14-7 victory to claim a share of the League title.
Despite the lopsided score, co-captain Greta Meyer '11 said Harvard is still a worthy opponent.
"They're a great team," she said. "They'll be a huge challenge, but we're definitely up for it."
Shannon MacKenzie '11 warned that this Harvard game may be a bigger challenge than the last.
"It's always hard to beat a team twice, but I think we have a lot of confidence," she said. "I think it's going to be a much closer game, but I think that we're up for it."
Collins said the Crimson will likely step up its game in response to its crushing loss last week.
"Harvard is definitely going to adjust their game plan," she said. "We're definitely not going to see the same Harvard this weekend."
The semifinal round will conclude with a matchup of Princeton University and Penn at 7:00 p.m. on Friday.
The winners of each Friday game will fight for the Ivy Tournament title and automatic NCAA bid on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
The Big Green expects to win both games and go all the way to the NCAA tournament, according to MacKenzie.
"We definitely are going down to Penn this year to win the tournament," she said. "It would definitely be a nice accomplishment for the team. I think everybody is really excited and hopeful that we're going to pull it off."
Meyer said the Big Green's success in the tournament would have great significance not only for the current team, but for the entire Dartmouth women's lacrosse program.
"Hopefully we can win through this weekend so we can win the NCAA bid for the first time in six years," Meyer said.
As the Dartmouth women enter postseason play, the senior captains reflected on the team's incredible performance this year. Many seniors interviewed by The Dartmouth said receiving a share of the League title was a freshman-year goal that finally came to fruition for the Big Green.
"This is why I came to Dartmouth because I wanted to win the Ivies and it's kind of been a journey to that," Collins said.
Mackenzie said she valued her lacrosse experiences during the past four years and is happy that the team is ending the season on a strong note.
"It feels great," she said. "We've had a rocky road for the last few years as a class, so it's amazing to know we're going out on a high note."
The team has grown continually and is fortunate to be peaking at this point in the season, according to MacKenzie.
"I think that the regular season was very successful, mostly because we got better as the season went on," she said.
Dartmouth's regular season came to a close on May 1 with an unbelievable 9-8 overtime win against the University of Maryland. The victory gave the Big Green a surge of confidence, MacKenzie said.
"It's pretty incredible, but I think that it just gives our team the sense that we can play the best of the best in the country," she said.
The Big Green finishes the regular season with an 11-3 record and a 6-1 record in the League.
