On Saturday, the Big Green got off to a slow start against the Crimson but powered through to secure a big win.
"It was a lot of really simple stuff like dropping the ball," co-captain Paul Jarvis '12 said. "It was really frustrating to see that sloppiness."
Madison Hughes '15 put the Big Green on the board with a try that followed several close calls for the Big Green. Dylan Jones '14 also added a try, and after Hughes hit the conversion, the Big Green had a 12-0 lead. Harvard cut the Dartmouth lead to 12-7 with a converted try, but from there the Dartmouth defense buckled down and kept the Crimson off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest.
"We knew that Harvard would come out and throw a lot at us, but after the first 10 minutes or so, it settled down and things became more cohesive," Jarvis said.
Jarvis was determined not to let the Crimson take the game, and the captain embarked on a journey that would take him through several tackles and culminate in a successful try to increase the Dartmouth lead to 12. As time was winding down in the first half, Jarvis added another try to make the score 24-7.
Jarvis said that the long bus ride and struggles of being on the road might have contributed to Dartmouth's slow start against Harvard.
Co-captain Derek Fish '12 added that the team's early struggles also might have come from the familiarity of playing the same teams.
"We see these teams a lot, so they know what's coming from us," Fish said.
The Big Green kept its foot on the gas in the second half, shutting out the Crimson, 27-0, to bring home the win. Lawrence Anfo-Whyte '13 carried the standard in the charge, scoring twice on mammoth runs from over 40 meters out, weaving his way through defenders up and down the pitch. Hughes converted the first of these tries but failed to convert the second.
Jarvis iced the game with his hat trick, and the Big Green closed it out for a 51-7 win and moved on to face the Tigers on Sunday.
"The way we win these games is by taking away what they have and controlling the territory and pressure of the game," Jarvis said.
The Big Green came out strong against the Tigers and dictated play from the beginning. Mike McDavid '15 scored a try within a minute of the start of the game, and Jarvis scored next, quickly bringing the score to 10-0.
The Tigers remained tough, attempting to stifle every Big Green advance, and they were successful in stopping many rushes. The hosts got on the board with a penalty kick to make it 10-3, but the Big Green broke through the Tigers' stingy defense and shattered any momentum that Princeton had built with a strong final few minutes of the first half.
Nate Brakeley '13 picked up a turnover and rushed in for the successful try just a few minutes later. Hughes pitched in a successful try and conversion, capping a big weekend for the freshman.
The second half was more of the same for the Big Green, which went undefeated in Ivy League regular season play last fall. Fish, Jarvis, Kevin Clark '14 and Ryan Milligan '12 all scored tries wto provide the final 50-3 margin.
The national tournament consists of 16 teams, 13 of which won their respective conference titles. The Big Green is the only team from the Ancient Eight to make the tournament.
Dartmouth's opponent in the round of 16 is Shippensburg University, which emerged victorious from the Eastern Pennsylvania League. Stony Brook University, which upset St. Bonaventure University, Division I-AA's top regular-season team, to win the Empire League crown and Northeastern University, champions of the East Coast Rugby Conference, round out the Big Green's four-team regional, which will be played in Hanover April 28-29.
"We don't see these teams that often," Fish said. "It's one-and-done from here out, and we're playing all conference champion teams. We can't look at what they've done, but we need to just play our game of territory and ball control."
If the Big Green emerges victorious from the Hanover regional, the team would advance to the final four, which will be held in Sandy, Utah May 18-19.
