The Bulldogs came out strong on Saturday afternoon, testing the Big Green from the opening whistle.
Yale's offense utilized headers as their means of attack, connecting with four crosses in the first half. When a ball came into the box from out wide 20 minutes into the game, freshman Charlie Paris headed it into the net from eight yards away at the back post to give Yale the lead.
Dartmouth shot eight times in the first half but was unable to get the ball on frame and score. Maarten van Ess '12, Lucky Mkosana '12 and Kevin Dzierzawski '13 all took two shots in the first 45 minutes of play.
Yale did not stop fighting after its opening goal, attempting three more shots and a corner kick before halftime. Alex Adelabu '15 had a good late chance for Dartmouth, but Yale's junior goalie Bobby Thalman scooped it up.
Dartmouth's defense faced another busy half after the break, as Yale attempted seven more shots in the second half. The Big Green attack had four looks at the goal including three shots by Colin Heffron '15 but was again unable to capitalize on scoring opportunities.
The best chance for Dartmouth came when Aaron Gaide '11 snuck behind the Yale defense, getting eight yards from goal before Thalman snatched away the ball.
Yale scored again in the 76th minute, when freshman Charlie Neil ripped a shot into the top-left corner just out of the reach of Dartmouth goalie Noah Cohen '14, whose fingers grazed the ball before it made contact with the back of the net.
Head coach Jeff Cook said the loss was largely a result of Dartmouth's play rather than a particularly impressive Yale performance.
"Yale played well and are now 2-0 in the League, but unfortunately I think we are capable of playing much better than we did," Cook said. "When we fell behind after Yale's goal in the 20th minute we were on the defensive for the rest of the game. There is a long way to go this season and a lot to come and although we are disappointed with the result we won't let this get us too far down. I know we can do better."
Mkosana said the team did not play with the same mentality and energy as it had previously this season.
"We didn't play as we did against Princeton and other teams we've beaten," he said. "We didn't show up for the whole game and Yale took advantage of that and outplayed us."
Mkosana added that Yale's ability to capitalize early put Dartmouth on the defensive, so it was difficult for the Big Green to get back in the scoring mindset.
"We need to step up when the other team scores first," Mkosana said. "We thought we'd come back but we started trying too late after halftime. When they scored the second goal we pretty much gave up and didn't put in enough effort."
Both teams committed 12 fouls during the course of the game, reflecting the intensity and rivalry that already exists in the League this early in the season. Yale is now tied for first with an undefeated Cornell University team, while Dartmouth, Brown University, Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania are all tied for third place with one win and one loss.
Cook said playing on the road this weekend posed a particularly difficult challenge for Big Green players.
"The experience of playing away is beneficial for us to learn the demands that it brings," he said. "It is always hard to play on the road and especially in the Ivy League."
The Big Green faces another road game next weekend, playing Penn (6-4-1, 1-1-0 Ivy) on Saturday in Philadelphia.
"I feel and hope we definitely still have a chance to be Ivy champs," Mkosana said.
