"You forget you need to score when goals come so easy," captain Kelly Foley '12 said, referring to Dartmouth's seven collective goals against Cornell University and Colgate University last weekend. "There wasn't as much desperation because we were outplaying [St. Lawrence and Clarkson]."
The Big Green dominated play against St. Lawrence, but was unable to get on the scoreboard in the first period. The puck rarely got deep into the Dartmouth defensive zone, and the Big Green peppered St. Lawrence freshman goalkeeper Carmen MacDonald with 14 shots in the period.
The second period experienced a continuation of this trend, as the Big Green ripped 13 shots in the period. The team also had several good chances, putting a few shots off the post or just wide of the net.
Dartmouth posted 11 shots in the third, but still could not capitalize on its scoring opportunities. The Saints were able to score despite only taking six shots on goal in the period. With just over 11 minutes left in the game, junior Brooke Fernandez slipped the puck past goalkeeper Lindsay Holdcroft '14 to tally the first goal of the game.
With time winding down, the Big Green pulled Holdcroft for an extra attacker, but was unable find an equalizer. The Saints added an empty-net goal to seal the victory.
Despite the loss, the Big Green racked up strong individual statistics. Foley took nine shots, and Lauren Kelly '14, Reagan Fischer '12 and Sasha Nanji '13 all contributed impressive overall performances.
Clarkson narrowly escaped with a 1-0 win in Hanover on Saturday. Although this game was more even than Dartmouth's contest against St. Lawrence, the Big Green also had its moments of domination.
With about five minutes left in the first period, the Golden Knights scored on a power-play goal from junior Danielle Skirrow. Skirrow was camped in front of the net and deflected a shot over Holdcroft's shoulder.
The rest of the game was hard fought and even. Clarkson finished with 27 shots while the Big Green took 26. Dartmouth had several opportunities in the second period, hitting multiple shots off the post. Holdcroft played strong between the pipes again, but the offense was unable to finish due to a combination of bad luck and the Golden Knights' suffocating defense.
Foley said the performances over the weekend were "frustrating" because "when you're in a low-scoring game, it means you're doing almost everything right."
"That's a good sign," she added. "We just couldn't bury the puck."
Foley said that the team's coaches were not disappointed by Dartmouth's performance. Although the coaches said they were proud of the players, everyone agreed that the Big Green needs to get "grittier on offense," Foley said.
With the weekend sweep, the Big Green's overall record fell under .500, and it currently sits fifth in the Eastern College Athletic Conference standings. The team travels to Cambridge, Mass., on Wednesday to face Harvard University in an important rivalry game.
"It's the most intense game every year," Foley said.
