The game marked Bryant's first win against the Big Green (1-4, 0-1 Ivy) and their seventh consecutive win this season. The Big Green began the game strong, peppering Bulldogs senior goalie Megan Hancock with shots, but she was up to task, turning away 10 of the 12 Big Green shots on goal. After a back-and-forth first half, Bryant finally broke through in the 28th minute.
"We've been having some trouble at the beginning of the games, so we definitely started out better this game," midfielder Victoria Tersigni '14 said. "They were putting a lot of pressure on us, but we held them off for almost all of the first half."
The Big Green expected a tough game from the Bulldogs, who are ranked 28th in the RPI Poll.
"They're generally a pretty physical and athletic team," forward Sam Anderson '14 said. "But we adapted to the style that they played and we got better as the game went on."
The Big Green also had to adapt as injuries forced some usual starters to the sidelines. Some teammates were moved to different positions, while some new players assumed larger roles.
When Bryant scored its second goal only minutes after its first, Maggie Scanlon '14 responded with a goal of her own just 28 seconds later and seven seconds before the halftime whistle. Her goal, assisted by Ali Savage '15, closed the gap with Bryant and left the Big Green behind only 2-1. "We definitely knew we were on the upswing," co-captain Olivia Quaglia '14 said. "We had to be a little creative because the goalie was taking predictable shots away from us."
The Big Green, however, could not sustain the momentum and mount the comeback for the remainder of the game. Midway through the second half, the Bulldogs broke through and put two goals in the net in just over two minutes, propelling themselves to a 4-1 lead.
"We were expecting them to come at us offensively and they definitely did," Tersigni said.
Although Quaglia scored her second of the season in the 65th minute off of a rebound by Brooke Van Valkenburg '16, the Big Green could not bridge the score gap by the end of the game. The game ended in a disappointing 4-2 loss.
Dartmouth held a clear advantage in both shots (17-15) and corners (12-6) throughout the contest. Goalkeeper Ellen Meyer '15 made four saves in a losing effort, but the Big Green could not consistently beat Hancock to keep pace with the Bulldogs.
"We had our bouts of momentum," Quaglia said. "We were hammering them with shots, but their goalie was taking everything she could."
The Big Green players showed improved cohesiveness during the game.
"Especially during the first half, I felt like we were playing as an entire team, and we weren't just rallying in one part," Tersigni said. "It felt like we were really unified, which was great to see."
Regardless, there are still aspects that the team can focus on in the future.
"I think we need to work on building confidence," Quaglia said. "We need to know that we trust each other and have each other's backs."
This weekend, Dartmouth will be on the road for two games, first against Brown University on Saturday and then against the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Mass., on Sunday afternoon.
"Heading into our first double weekend, we really want to prove ourselves in the [Ivy] League," Tersigni said. "I think we'll use this game as motivation."
The game against Brown will be especially important, as it is the second Ivy League game of the season. Last year, the team's only Ivy League loss came to Princeton University, who they lost to last Saturday in their Ivy opener.
"Before this weekend, we'll definitely be trying to regroup and focus on our game against Brown," Anderson said.
