Failing to capitalize on its late-game opportunities, the Dartmouth men's soccer team lost consecutive games at the Southern Methodist University Invitational in Dallas, Texas over the weekend. Dartmouth (1-3-2) fell to SMU, 1-2, in the team's third overtime game of the season before losing, 3-2, to the University of Tulsa in the last minute of regulation.
SMU (3-3-0) came out quickly against the Big Green, scoring its first goal just three minutes into the game when two Mustang attackers connected on a long cross into the penalty box.
Dartmouth responded later in the first half, when Kevin Dzierzawski '13 took a hard shot that rebounded out to almost the top of the box. Aaron Gaide '11 was waiting for the scoring opportunity, evening out the tally at one goal a piece in the 23rd minute of play.
Neither team scored again before the end of regulation, and the game headed into overtime.
The Mustangs were allotted a free kick following a Dartmouth penalty and capitalized on the path to the goal. After the initial strike, the ball deflected into the net with a little over two minutes into overtime.
Captain Lucky Mkosana '12 had a season-high eight shots and goalkeeper Noah Cohen '14 stopped a career-high 10 shots. Dartmouth had 14 shots total and several good chances throughout the game to pull ahead, but was unable to connect on many of its efforts.
Dartmouth played another nail biter against Tulsa (4-3-0) just two days after the long game against SMU. Despite scoring the first goal of the game and having the halftime lead, Dartmouth was unable to hold on for the win.
In the 10th minute of the nailbiter, Alex Adelabu '15 sent a pass to Mkosana, who finished the ball with a finesse touch into the goal.
Tulsa answered with a goal midway through the first half, before Patrick Murray '14 gave Dartmouth an advantage going into the halftime break by securing and then finishing a loose ball 30 yards away from the goal.
Tulsa evened the game at 2-2 when freshman Stephen Roberson slotted the ball behind Cohen after a scramble in front of the goal. Although the Big Green had several late chances, the Golden Hurricanes held on and the two teams remained tied for the next 30 minutes.
Dartmouth must have felt dj vu from its first tournament game when, with only 48 seconds left on the clock, the referee awarded a free kick to Tulsa, which it scored for the win.
Head coach Jeff Cook said the games highlighed many positives in the soccer team's expanding skillsets, despite the upsetting results.
"We were facing two difficult opponents so the games were great experience for the guys," Cook said. "We showed many positive signs and while I felt we deserved more as a result, it will have long-term payoff."
Cook said the team's biggest strength is currently its competitive mentatlity, which carries from practice into games.
"We have the desire to compete well and create many scoring chances," he said. "Even when Tulsa scored with one minute left we still created another great opportunity in the box before the end of the game."
While Mkosana acknowledged that the team "lacked concentration" towards the ends of the two games, he said the team played well against a high level of competition.
"We need to stay more focused the entire game and stay together as a team until the end," Mkosana said.
Dartmouth will next play against the University of Massachusetts on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Burnham Field. Ivy League play will open the following weekend, when the Big Green faces Princeton University.
Cook and Mkosana both noted that Dartmouth must improve defensively if it is to produce a successful record against its regular season competition.
"We have not been defending as a team," Mkosana said. "We need to stay more compact and not let any balls go through us. We will keep testing other teams and challenging ourselves."
