"It felt good to win by more than one goal," midfielder Emma Brush '13 said. "I feel like we won decisively and that gives us confidence going forward."
With both teams fighting for possession, neither Dartmouth (4-4-1, 1-1 Ivy) nor Princeton (4-3-3, 0-2 Ivy) scored during the first half.
"All Ivy games are battles," Brush said. "Our mindset wasn't really defensive going in. We were planning to attack, but since it's such a battle neither side could have possession for very long."
Dartmouth broke through in the 52nd minute with a goal from forward Corey Delaney '16, who raced down left field and sent a sweeping shot sailing over the Tiger's goalkeeper for the first goal of the game. Less than ten minutes later, Brush scored off of defender Jackie Friedman '16's free kick from midfield to the Princeton box. Though Princeton proceeded to make two more shots on goal, keeper Tatiana Saunders '15 deflected both attempts to keep the Tigers off the board.
"Defensively, we were strong the whole game," midfielder Lucielle Kozlov '16 said. "We have a shut-out mentality, which was obvious in this game."
This was the Big Green's fifth shut out of the season and Saunders' third.
The Big Green adopted a 4-5-1 formation in an effort to crowd the midfield and create better opportunities to possess the ball.
"We sometimes try to adjust to what the other team is doing, and we adjusted to Princeton," Kozlov said. "We really worked on possession, which I thought we did a good job of, and made them tired and work hard to fight back."
Head coach Theresa Romagnolo said Dartmouth's varied attacks stood out.
"We did a good job of reading the play and deciding whether or not we should keep the ball or make a transition," Romagnolo said.
Dartmouth did not make many attempts on goal in the first half but made a commitment in the second half to take shots and test the keeper, Brush said. Delaney took on this challenge and scored on a long shot. Even so, the Tigers outshot the Big Green 6-4, as well as 4-1 in corner kicks.
Though a solid defensive strategy was at the heart of the game, the Big Green also sought revenge for their loss to Princeton during Ivies last season.
"A lot of last year's players had graduated, so vengeance wasn't quite so sweet," Brush said. "Maybe it will be if we win Ivies."
The home advantage and the unexpected arrival of new green and white striped jerseys helped pump up the team for the game.
"The jerseys were a lovely surprise and definitely added some fun to the game," Kozlov said. "Look good, play good."
Dartmouth takes to the road this week with a game at the University of New Hampshire on Wednesday and an Ivy match at Yale University on Saturday.
"At the end of the day, it's what we're going to bring to the table and how we're going to attack the opponent," Romagnolo said.
Romagnolo said she wants to see the team continue to improve on transition and possession, as well as maintain a tough defensive mentality.
"The takeaway from the Princeton game is a commitment to defense all over the field, as well as a wise offense with a focus on transition: knowing when to switch the point of attack on the field," Brush said. "After the Brown game, Princeton is a step toward redemption and Yale will be a good chance to show who we are and make a statement."
