Under the guidance of head coach Alexander Magleby '00, back from his commitments with the U.S. national sevens team, the Big Green easily defeated the Raiders on Saturday. Dartmouth dominated the game from start to finish, scoring at ease and at regular intervals, leaving the Raiders in a 44-5 hole at halftime. Kevin Clark '14 opened the scoring with a try early in the game, while two penalties and a second try from captain Paul Jarvis '12 put the Big Green up 18-0 within the first 15 minutes of the game.
Starting locks Dylan Jones '14 and Nate Brakeley '12 each scored a try for the Big Green in the first half. Clark finished the day with four tries, while fullback Madison Hughes '15, prop Lawrence Anfo-Whyte '13, center Bill Lehmann '12 and wing Justin Ciambella '13 all contributed to the score sheet on a day when it seemed that nothing could stop the Big Green from getting back into the try zone again and again.
"The game against Shippensburg was a great win for the team," forward Simon Greenberg '13 said. "All the guys came out with a lot of energy and focus, and the result definitely reflected that. We got off to a quick start, and I think that helped set the tone for the rest of the game."
Greenberg also commended the performance of rookie fullback Hughes, who came to Dartmouth with several rugby accolades already to his name, having been selected to the U-19 U.S. All-American team in high school.
"[Hughes] has been a big part of our team all season", Greenberg said. "His play was a huge factor in the team's performance on Saturday."
Sunday saw Dartmouth match up against a tougher opponent in Stony Brook. Coming off an exciting two-point win against Northeastern University on Saturday, the Seawolves gave Dartmouth all it could handle in the quarterfinal contest. The Big Green did not get off to as fast a start as they did on Saturday and allowed Stony Brook to take an early 12-0 lead.
"We came out a little flat against Stony Brook," Greenberg said. "They are a tough team, and we really had to work for any kind of advantage early on. As the game progressed, though, we began to find our groove and started to force the issue. It was a difficult game, and we're happy we came out on top."
Tries by Clark Judge '12 and Brakeley tied the game at 12, and a penalty kick by Hughes gave the Big Green a three-point lead. After taking a 22-12 lead at halftime, the Big Green defense shut down the Seawolves attack in the second half to secure an eventual 30-point margin of victory.
"We played well this weekend, but there are still some things that we'll be looking to tweak moving ahead to the final four," Quinn Connell '13 said. "For one, playing at a more competitive level, we gave up a lot of penalties. We'll be looking to eliminate those and build on our momentum from this weekend going into Utah. This weekend was a great effort all around, particularly from a strong senior class."
Over the next few weeks, the Big Green will prepare to take on No. 1 Davenport University in the national semifinal matchup. The two semifinal games will be played on May 18, with the winners of the two games playing in the final round the next day.
