Co-captain Kelly Hood '12 said the final result was disappointing given Dartmouth's relatively strong performance throughout the game.
"The game was kind of frustrating," Hood said. "Offensively, we definitely outplayed the other team. We had a ton of shots but we couldn't put the ball in the net enough."
Dartmouth outshot the Catamounts (6-4) by a 25 to 16 margin, but its offensive line proved no match for UVM sophomore goalie Stephanie Zygmunt, who finished the game with 11 saves.
The scoring began 8:13 into the game, when Lisa Masini '13 recorded a goal assisted by Ali Savage '15. The Big Green did not hold the lead for long, however, as sophomores Colleen Slaughter and Sally Snickenberger scored goals for the Catamounts shortly after.
With UVM leading 2-1, Hood broke through the Catamount defense to score her Ivy League-leading 10th goal of the season. Masini set up the goal for Hood, who pounded the shot from the top of the circle. Slaughter then scored again for UVM, giving the Catamounts a one-goal advantage at halftime.
The second half began with a 20-minute scoreless drought. With 14 minutes remaining in the game, Savage scored for Dartmouth, tying the game at three.
Just when it seemed the match was destined for overtime, senior Emily Bastiaanse scored with just under a minute left to give UVM a 4-3 lead. Despite the Big Green pulling its goalie in favor of an extra attacker in a last-ditch attempt to score, the Catamounts left the field with its second consecutive win.
Hood said Dartmouth's defensive performance was its biggest weakness.
"I think we just had a couple of breakdowns," she said. "We're going to work on staying more connected in practice."
Co-captain Kerry Bracco '11 added that Dartmouth was partly unprepared for the Catamounts' complex offensive system.
"On defense, they played a tough system for us to defend against," she said. "We weren't as disciplined as we had hoped we would be."
Although the loss was a dissapointing setback, Bracco noted that the team is happy for the experience in a non-conference match.
"We're disappointed, but it's good that the kinks are out of our system in a non-League game," Bracco said. "Hopefully we got it out of our system, and we have two more days of practice before our game against Penn to get back on track."
Wednesday's game punctuates what has been an exciting week so far for the stand-out Savage. She received her second consecutive League Rookie of the Week award on Tuesday, and on Wednesday she was named as the female Athlete of the Week by DartmouthSports.com.
The Big Green will hold its practices in a different venue for the remainder of the week to prepare for its Saturday game against the University of Pennsylvania, whose home field is made of field turf instead of the traditional astroturf. Hood said the surface will present an unusual challenge.
"Hopefully that practice will help us out a little bit," she said.
The Big Green will play at Penn (1-6, 1-1 Ivy) at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
