The Dartmouth women (2-0, 1-0 Ivy) struggled to maintain their initial lead throughout the game, but the Big Green women said they were content with the outcome overall.
"We didn't have a very consistent game, but there were definitely moments of brilliance," Dana Brisbane '12 said.
Co-captain Sarah Plumb '12 brought her A-game, scoring the winning goal her sixth of the game with 2:12 left in the second half and leading all players with four draw controls and caused three turnovers.
"Overall, we were able to pull out the win, and I think that is a real testament to the heart of this team and our desire to really gut it out and get the job done," Plumb said.
Starters Liz Calby '14 and Hana Bowers '13 also found the back of the net for the Big Green, and Erin Massimi '12 entered the game off the bench to score for the first time this season. Lindsey Allard '14 and Frances Bird '15 each added assists.
For the Bulldogs, freshmen Cathryn Avallone and Kerri Fleishhacker scored two goals each.
Goalkeeper Kristen Giovanniello '14 was a stone wall, successfully saving seven Yale shots and scooping up four ground balls.
By 9:15 in the first half, Plumb had scored two goals to help give Dartmouth a three-goal lead. By halftime, the senior had scored three more, including one from a free position with just a second left, to help maintain a 6-4 advantage.
Calby opened the second half with a score to restore the lead to three, but the Bulldogs (1-1, 0-1 Ivy) tallied four of the next five goals to tie up the game at 8-8 with 12 minutes remaining.
Brisbane said some of the lost momentum was the result of mistakes in transition, but "the people who made mistakes wanted the ball the next time around," she said.
For 10 minutes, the teams battled fruitlessly, each trying to score the game-winning goal, until Plumb finally broke the deadlock with just over two minutes to play in the game.
Dartmouth played smart lacrosse at the end, which served it well in the close game.
"We didn't panic and played with a lot of poise, getting the draw, working the ball on attack and waiting for a really good look at goal," Brisbane said.
Dartmouth won the next draw control following Plumb's goal, keeping possession despite Yale's ferocious defense. The Bulldogs were looking for a turnover they would never get, however, as the Big Green ran out the remaining seconds to seal the victory.
Yale has now lost to Dartmouth four times in a row.
Moving forward, Plumb said the team will learn from the game "how to really put a team away in the second half rather than letting them hang around like we did with Yale."
Dartmouth will take to Scully-Fahey once again on Wednesday, when the team will face Boston University at 3 p.m.
