The Dartmouth field hockey team battled hard during their games last weekend despite ending the weekend 0-2. On Oct. 9, the team lost 4-0 to nationally-ranked No. 10 Princeton University, followed by a tight 3-2 loss in their first overtime game of the season against Quinnipiac University on Oct. 11.
In the Big Green’s game against Princeton, the team played an impressive first quarter against the Tigers, keeping the game scoreless.
“We’ve done a lot of work on being really stable and deep defense,” midfielder and defender Ella Bowman ’27 said in an interview with The Dartmouth. “We look at staying compact, covering each other’s shoulders, making sure we move as a unit. I think that really helped us in the first quarter.”
Bowman made a key defensive save — the fourth in her career — that prevented Princeton from scoring.
For most of the second quarter, Dartmouth continued on their defensive run. However, they conceded two goals leading up to halftime.
Goalie Kylie McKinley ’27 made eight saves in the second half out of her total of 13 for the game. It was a busy game for the goalie and the Big Green’s defense, with the Tigers outshooting Dartmouth 27-0 by the end of the game. There were also a total of 14 penalty corners against the Dartmouth defense.
Despite yielding two additional goals in the second half to make the final score 4-0, McKinley is second in Ivy League rankings in both save percentage and total saves.
After playing against a high-ranked team like Princeton, Bowman said the team has a clear takeaway for future games.
“It’s a pace benchmark,” Bowman said. “It’s really good for us to go and play at a higher tempo, have to raise our level to that, and then that gives us kind of we can benchmark against that top level.”
Forward Riley Dumigan ’27 agreed with Bowman.
“We always play better against better teams and rise to their level, so it’s always good for us to see that and then we can play at that level,” she explained.
After their loss to Princeton, Dartmouth started their next game against Quinnipiac with a completely different type of play.
At Quinnipiac Field Hockey Stadium in Connecticut, the Big Green opened strong against the Bobcats. Dartmouth outshot Quinnipiac substantially in the first quarter and earned two penalty corners within the first 15 minutes of the game. However, the Bobcats’ defense held strong, resulting in a scoreless first quarter followed by two goals for Quinnipiac in the second.
The team did not let the score bring them down. Bowman scored two minutes into the third quarter and then assisted Dumigan in the fourth to tie up the game. This was Bowman’s third goal of the season and Dumigan’s first. Ava Russo ’29 also helped assist Dumigan’s goal.
The senior duo kept their energy up throughout the entire game and found until the end.
“We try and make our hard practices harder than a game,” Dumigan said. “So that’s really what prepares us for that. Making decisions when we’re exhausted.”
Bowman credited head coach Jason Klinkradt with helping the team prepare for high-pressure situations like the game against Quinnipiac.
“Last year we kind of had a ‘fourth quarter fall off’ situation, but I don’t feel that way anymore, and we came back against Quinnipiac, so that kind of that operation,” she said.
The Big Green offensively dominated the game, outshooting Quinnipiac 19 to nine. However, they could not hold off the Bobcats in overtime, resulting in a 3-2 loss.
The team takes their two recent losses in stride.
“The disappointment we’ve had in the last few weeks is what’s going to inform our success in the next few weeks,” Bowman said.
This Saturday, the team will continue Ivy League play against Yale University at 3 p.m. at Chase Field. With a 1-3 conference record so far this season, the Big Green is excited to continue at a competitive level.
“Yale’s a good team, and I think they’ll push us to like that higher level that we were talking about,” Dumigan said. “And, we’re home. We always play well at home, so I think everyone’s excited.”
