Yesterday in College Park, Md., the Terps overtook the Big Green and never relinquished the lead. Courtney Bennett '13 had Dartmouth's first goal and captain Hana Bowers '13 followed up with a pair of goals to bring the Big Green's halftime total to three, while Maryland finished nine times in the first half to lead by six going into the break.
Bennett fed Christine Lushefski '15 for a goal early in the second half. Gabby Starkey '16 and Sarah Byrne '15 each added a goal to the Big Green's second half tally, while Bowers netted another pair to bring her total to four. The Terps added an additional eight goals, bringing their game total to 17.
Goalkeeper Kristen Giovanniello '14 saved 12 shots against the Terps, a season high. Despite Giovanniello's valiant effort, the nation's second-leading scorer Alex Aust overtook the Big Green, scoring six goals for Maryland. Bowers scored four, the only member to score multiple goals for Dartmouth.
On Friday, the Big Green scored first against Penn, and the scoring alternated back and forth for the first 27 minutes of the half. Bennett caused a turnover and found Liz Calby '14, who finished on attack. Penn capitalized on a Dartmouth penalty to knot the score at one. Byrne retook the lead with an eight-meter shot five minutes later.
The Quakers again tied up the game following a Dartmouth foul. Jaclyn Leto '16 netted an eight-meter with less than three minutes to play, but the Quakers managed to put away two goals before time expired. Despite outshooting the Big Green 15 to eight in the first half, the Quakers only led by one going into the break.
Returning to the field, Penn netted an eight-meter to widen the margin to two. The Big Green closed the gap with a pair of goals from Calby and Lushefski, with Bowers and Byrne assisting. Penn worked the ball down and retook the lead with 17 minutes to play before Byrne tied up the game with her second goal of the contest.
The Quakers took advantage of another eight-meter and then worked the ball on offense to net two goals and be ahead by two with seven minutes on the game clock. Despite a flurry of offensive attempts, the Big Green was only able to find the back of the net once. Leto added the final goal with 22 seconds remaining.
In the cage, Giovanniello totaled 11 saves, with seven in the first half. Bowers secured three draw controls, Byrne picked up three groundballs and Bennett caused four turnovers.
Bowers felt the defense kept Dartmouth in the game against Penn.
"Our defense was unbelievable and did a great job stopping one-v.-ones from up top," Bowers said. "We were sliding well and working together. Kristen also had a phenomenal game in goal."
Maryland's speed and skill were challenging to stop, however.
"Maryland is the fastest and best team we play, and we got a little beat on defense," Bowers said.
Bennett explained that the offensive side of the ball was sloppier than usual against Penn but improved in Sunday's game.
"We had some silly turnovers on attack and had trouble executing our plays, she said. "On Saturday, we worked on being patient and getting through the plays and we were able to get more open looks and generate 27 shots against Maryland."
The team did, however, saw some improvements from Friday's game when playing on Sunday.
"We struggled a lot with breaking Penn's ride," Johnson said. "Before the Maryland game, the defense said that it doesn't count as a stop until we work the ball over our opponent's thirty into our attacking end. We made huge improvements and feel confident knowing we broke the ride against the number-one team."
These competitions help prepare the team for Ivy play, however.
"This weekend, with a big game on Friday followed by playing a top team on Sunday mimics the style we will see in the Ivy tournament," Bennett said. "Now we have a feel for the pace and how to click in."
With a week to regroup, the Big Green will return to Scully-Fahey Field next Saturday to take on Princeton for their sixth Ivy matchup of the season.
"We are looking to put our offense and defense together, so we are strong on both sides of the ball," Bowers said. "They're an athletic team, but we are going to go after it in practice this week to try and have an edge."
