Lady laxers wax Crimson, set up showdown with Princeton
Women's lacrosse made the Crimson's drive back to Cambridge a long one.
By Heita Miki, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Friday, April 20, 2007
On a cloudy day at Scully-Fahey Field, the Big Green women's lacrosse team got back to its winning ways, and one of its standout players came one step closer to owning a school record. Dartmouth trounced Harvard 20-10 in a game where the outcome was never in doubt.
In the process, co-captain Whitney Douthett '07 tied the school's all-time assists record, 92, formerly held by Jen Greene '98. Douthett's accomplishments are even more impressive considering the fact that she is a midfielder who plays both offense and defense - most players on the all-time assists list are attackers who are offensive specialists. Douthett, who is also the third-leading scorer in school history, has at least four more games to crack the record.
At home, the Big Green (8-4, 4-2 Ivy) is 5-1, with the only loss coming at the hands of No. 2 Maryland. Harvard (2-10, 0-4 Ivy) is stuck in the conference cellar, along with Columbia.
In the beginning of the game, Dartmouth scored four straight goals and never looked back after that. Jen Pittman '07 won 15 of 20 face-offs in the first half and jump-started the Big Green attack.
The Big Green defense, led by co-captain Margo Duke '07 and Michelle Shortsleeve '07, swarmed to the ball all day and made it difficult for the Crimson to connect passes. The Crimson offense looked out of sync, and Harvard did not have a single assisted goal all game.
At the half, the Big Green had scored a game's worth of points and led the Crimson 14-5.
Co-captain Margo Duke '07 commented on how the team maintains focus with a big lead.
"We have to get physically excited for every goal," Duke said. "It doesn't matter if it's the second or 19th goal of the game."
The second half was not much different, with the Big Green scoring the first four goals once again. The cushy lead allowed head coach Amy Patton to make substitutions in the second half, so the entire team saw action.
"It was nice to be able to get everyone in at the end, as you could tell by the cheers from our girls," Patton said. "They all played a part in this today, which is really nice."
Offensively, Dartmouth had a huge edge, taking 35 shots to Harvard's 15. Leading the way for the Big Green was Kristen Barry '08, who had six goals, matching her career high. At one point, it seemed as though she would outscore the entire Crimson offense.
Sarah Szefi '07 and Douthett both contributed six points on three goals and three assists to help out the Big Green cause. Douthett also created four turnovers and picked up three ground balls to cap another great all-around game for her.
The newcomers on the team made contributions as well. Eliza Bennett '10, in just her second game back from a leg injury, scored two goals and Kate Fauth '10 added another.
A five-goal effort by Harvard junior Tsara Schoen was overshadowed by the lopsided score. Coincidentally, Schoen and Bennett were high school teammates.
In goal for Dartmouth, Julie Wadland '10, who played the first 25 minutes, was credited with a win. Chelsea Kirk '10 and Ashley Heist '08 also saw action on the day, but the three combined for just three saves on the day.
Patton was pleased with the effort of her team for the most part.
"I have to give credit to Harvard, they played well the second half, and we got a little sloppy at the end, but I think we played 50 minutes of quality lacrosse today," Patton said.
This Saturday, April 21, Dartmouth will face off against traditional rival No. 15 Princeton (6-5, 2-2 Ivy) at home at 1 p.m. to close out the Big Green's Ivy League schedule. The game will have serious implications for both Dartmouth's and Princeton's prospects for earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.
The University of Pennsylvania wrapped up the Ivy League title with a 14-10 win over Princeton, so both the Big Green and the Tigers will be looking to add wins in hopes of an at-large bid. The Ivy League has traditionally gotten three teams into the NCAA tournament, and the winner of Saturday's game will finish in third in the conference.
Duke, as well as the rest of the team, is ready to take on the Tigers.
"I'm definitely excited because Princeton's always a lot of fun to play," Duke said. "We're going to focus on fixing some of the things we didn't do well in the next couple of days. It should be a great game."
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