Dartmouth came out with a fighting spirit in the first half, attempting to intimidate the Yale team right after the whistle. Early in the game, midfielder Ally Dutton '12 had a scoring opportunity with a header, but junior goalie Adele Jackson-Gibson saved the ball. Much to the Big Green's chagrin, Jackson-Gibson soon saved another shot, this time by Aly O'Dea '12.
Emma Brush '13 led Dartmouth's offensive attack, recording three shots and one goal. Brush's first goal of the season came in the middle of the second half, briefly diminishing Yale's momentum and bringing the score to 3-1.
Brush's unassisted shot came from 33 yards out and raised the team's moral. Yale emphatically sealed its victory, however, when Bulldogs junior forward Mary Kubiuk beat the Dartmouth defenders and goalie to take an open shot just minutes after Brush scored.
A few costly mistakes by the Big Green allowed the Bulldogs to capitalize.
"We had a few mental lapses in the game that created the attack for Yale," co-captain Erin Fleischli '12 said, adding that Yale is not a signficantly more competitive team than any of the other League squads Dartmouth has faced so far this season. "Our defense came out strong and united in the first half."
The team was thrown off after Yale freshman Melissa Gavin scored midway through the half. Later in the period, Yale junior forward Kristen Forster split the Dartmouth defense and put the ball past goalie Colleen Hogan '12 and inside the far post, which Flieshli said was one of the many errors from which Yale benefited.
"We're moving forward, but not ignoring what happened during the game," Flieshli said.
O'Dea said Dartmouth played better than the score indicated, and that the team remains optimistic despite its early losses.
"We are learning from our past experiences and working to fix what went wrong," she said.
O'Dea added that Dartmouth had the same conference record at this time last season, before coming back to finish in second place in the League. Going into its fourth game last season with just three wins overall, the Big Green proceeded to tie the University of Pennsylvania in double overtime and beat Columbia University, Harvard University and Cornell University.
"We're just looking forward to the next game so that we can move forward," O'Dea said.
Hogan said Dartmouth focused on its attack in practice last week, hoping to improve on an area that has been lacking this season. Although the Big Green did create some chances to score, it also gave up too many unforced chances on defense. There has only been one game this season in which the Dartmouth squad has scored more than one goal.
"We plan on working on fixing those opportunities that we created for them," Hogan said.
This week the team plans to focus on fundamentals like holding possession, attacking the goal and using midfielders and backs to switch the ball.
Dartmouth's goalie rotation has also been in flux this season, largely due to its level of competitiveness. The team has four capable goalies, most of whom have seen significant playing time this year.
During the game against Yale, Hogan had one save in her 63 minutes of action, while Sam Fearer '14 played 27 minutes in her first game of the season. Hogan also had three saves in the Big Green's 1-0 win against Princeton. Tatiana Saunders '15 has started multiple games for Dartmouth, and had four saves in the team's overtime loss against Rutgers University last month. Fleishli, who said the competition for the starting spot has refreshed the Big Green, called some of Saunders' performances "very strong."
"Every game the position switches," Fleishli said. "It's been great to see them push each other."
Fleishli added that several other freshmen have had a significant impact on the team.
"The freshmen class is very dynamic and strong," she said. "Despite their age, they make a difference."
Forward Tasha Wilkins '15 has scored two of Dartmouth's six goals this season.
Dartmouth continues League play against the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday at 5 p.m in Philadelphia.
While the Big Green will need a surge if it is to finish high in the conference, Dartmouth players are confident they can redeem their record and prove to be a formidable force within the League.
"It's not over 'til it's over," O'Dea said.
