Kirsten Goldberg '12 scored her 100th career point on an assist to Sarah Plumb '12 against Syracuse University on Monday afternoon, but the No. 10 Dartmouth women's lacrosse team was no match for No. 2 Syracuse (9-2, 3-0 Big East), falling by a score of 22-4. The Big Green (8-2, 4-0 Ivy) struggled offensively in the tough road environment at the Syracuse Carrier Dome.
The win over Dartmouth marked the fourth time the Orange had defeated a top-10 ranked opponent this season. The first three victories came against No. 3 University of Maryland, No. 4 University of Florida and No. 9 University of Notre Dame.
Goldberg entered the game with 99 career points 82 goals and 17 assists and became the second Dartmouth player to reach the 100-point milestone this year. Plumb recorded her 100th point on March 3 against Yale University. Goldberg also scored the team's lone goal in the second half of the game, bringing her career total to 101 points.
"I don't really pay attention to those things, so that was kind of fun," Goldberg said. "It's obviously a great accomplishment for me. I've seen a lot of other players get to their milestone, and two of my best friends in my class have also gotten it, so it's nice to share it with them."
Plumb scored the Big Green's other three goals of the game, all in the first half. She also had eight draw controls, one away from her single-game record of nine, set on March 7 against Boston University. With a career total of 127, Plumb only needs three more draw controls to pass Whitney Douthett '07 for the Dartmouth record. Plumb's hard work contributed to Dartmouth's slight advantage in draw controls, 15-13.
"[Plumb] gets the majority of our draws in the game," Goldberg said. "When I see her in the circle, I have full faith that she will maintain control of the ball. She is very tall and has such a great reach that she can grab the ball with one hand, which not a lot of players can do."
Dartmouth struggled offensively from the start of the game and was held scoreless in the final 14:50 of the first half and the final 22:25 of the second half. Syracuse outshot the Big Green 35 to 17 and held the advantage in ground balls, picking up 17 over Dartmouth's eight. Syracuse's Michelle Tumolo scored a game-high eight points with three goals and five assists against the Big Green.
Defensively, Dartmouth had the tall task of defending the 17th-ranked women's lacrosse offense in the country. Goalkeeper Kristen Giovanniello '14 made five saves in 57 minutes of play for the Big Green. Julia Szafman '13 relieved Giovanniello for the last few minutes of the game and recorded three saves.
In 10 games this season, Plumb and Goldberg lead Dartmouth with 25 goals each. Plumb has 35 total points and Goldberg has 32.
"It's obviously a huge deal that both my friends in my class have reached this point of excellence in their careers," Hilary Smith '12 said. "It's a huge testament to their work ethic and to their dedication to the program that they've been able to reach this goal of theirs. They're both very modest people, and I think it's a huge testament to how hard they've been working for so long."
Dartmouth remains undefeated in the Ivy League after its 12-10 win against Cornell University on Saturday.
"Before an Ivy game, we really think about how we can best prepare for each individual game," Goldberg said. "We've just taken them one by one. That's what has enabled us to slowly gain our 4-0 record."
The team is looking to maintain its undefeated status this weekend when it hosts No. 8 University of Pennsylvania on Saturday at noon at Scully-Fahey Field.
"Going into this week, the next three days will be vital to our success," Goldberg said. "It is imperative that we take advantage of that practice time. We're all so excited to play Penn."