"We were shooting much better today, but unfortunately they played more intense than us throughout the game," co-captain Chris Costabile '13 said.
The Dartmouth men have lost every road game of the 2013 season to date.
The 10-goal effort was a marked improvement from the team's season-low of two goals in an 11-2 loss to the University of Pennsylvania on Saturday.
"We really pushed the ball in transition and dodged hard to the cage with confidence," goaltender Bernie Susskind '13 said.
The Crusaders scored the first two goals of the game before Costabile tallied his team-leading 20th of the season with the man advantage, cutting the deficit to one with just over six minutes remaining in the opening frame. Holy Cross tallied one more before the horn to establish a 3-1 lead after one quarter.
Despite doubling the Big Green in shots, the Crusaders could only score twice in the second quarter, matching the Big Green. After the Holy Cross lead stretched to three, midfielder JP Garry '13 netted his second goal of the season to cut the lead to 4-2. After another Crusader goal, midfielder Brendan Rotanz '14 started heating up with his first goal of the day to cut the deficit to 5-3 at the half.
The beginning of the second half was all Phil Hession '15. The midfielder scored just over 45 seconds into the half and assisted Costabile's second of the game just three minutes later. The Big Green could not keep up the momentum, however, as the Crusaders scored five goals in the final nine minutes of the quarter to establish a 10-5 lead.
"In the third, there was a stretch where they had the ball for, like, five to six minutes," midfielder Robbie Hoffman '13 said. "We would make a stop or force a turnover, but we weren't able to get the ball across midfield and complete the clear."
Dartmouth would not be deterred, mounting a furious comeback in the final frame. Just 11 seconds into the fourth, attacker Adam Fishman '15 beat the Holy Cross goalie. Two minutes later, midfielder Nikki Dysenchuk '13 put home his first goal of the game. The next nine minutes were back and forth, and neither team could find the net.
With just under four minutes left, Holy Cross senior James Kennedy notched his second of the game to push the lead back to three goals at 11-8. Rotanz then took over, scoring his second at the 2:25 mark and his third with 34 seconds left.
Rotanz is the fifth Big Green player to tally a hat trick this season, but the first one to do so against an unranked opponent.
"The fourth quarter comeback was good, but we should have never been in that situation to begin with," Costabile said. "That being said, coming back from five goals down in one quarter is a positive that we can take into this Saturday."
After pulling within one goal, the Big Green conceded a 30-second pushing penalty. Holy Cross gained possession and ran the clock out with the man advantage to cut short any hope of a comeback for the Big Green.
"The offense just played a much better game and things just seemed to click, especially at the end of the game when we made that run," Hoffman said. "Ultimately, the difference in the game was the turnovers and the failed clears we had that gave them chances we shouldn't have given them."
The Big Green was once again outshot, this time 41-31, but held an advantage on ground balls, however, 34-32. The Big Green's Achilles' heel was clear, as they went 18-25 getting the ball out of their defensive zone, which largely contributed to the team's 17 turnovers in the game.
"The weather was tough, and I think that really was tough on our sticks," Susskind said.
The Big Green forced the Crusaders into 18 turnovers. Susskind notched 11 saves in a losing effort.
"We just didn't value the ball today on clears," Hoffman said. "You should always have a man advantage clearing the ball because of the goalie. We were sloppy today and it cost us a bunch of goals and possessions."
The team returns to action Saturday at Scully-Fahey Field for their final game of the season against Brown University, where nine seniors will be honored for senior night. The game will be nationally televised on Fox College Sports.
"Saturday's still a big game for us because it's an Ivy League game, so there's pride involved," Hoffman said. "As a senior, we really want to go out on top. If we bring the offensive effort we brought tonight, especially in the fourth quarter, we can hopefully beat Brown. We all really need it since it's been a frustrating season."
