Get yourself to Providence, R.I., on Saturday. Save the excuses. I don't want to hear about your moderately long government paper or a capella rehearsal or that the trippee reunion you've been talking about since freshman Winter is finally happening. It's Saturday. Act like a normal person and save your work for Sunday after the second airing of "How to Make it in America." Borrow a car. Rent a car. Steal a car. Whatever you do, make sure you're in Providence on Saturday at 4 p.m. when the men's soccer team takes on the Brown (Turds! Got 'em!) Bears in a winner-takes-all matchup with the Ivy League Championship hanging in the balance.
Before I continue, I'll address the inevitable cynics. I know this isn't Alabama, and I know Saturday's game isn't the Fiesta Bowl. I realize that this is futbol and not football. This game will not be brought to you by Pennzoil, and Brent Musberger will not be sitting in the press box above Brown's Stevenson Field. But this is the last game of the year, folks, and we can't hold anything back now.
Dartmouth is not only playing for the League title, but also for an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which it has participated in each of the past three years. Last year, after earning an at-large bid, it made an incredible run into the Sweet 16 before its hopes were dashed by a heartbreaking goal at the end of regulation against the University of California, Los Angeles. This year, a group of seven seniors will take the field looking not only to extend their collegiate careers one more game, but also to cap an impressive legacy that speaks volumes about the caliber of soccer at Dartmouth.
Because soccer traditionally lacks in fan popularity at most colleges across the country, it can be hard for some of us to put the achievements of a team like Dartmouth in proper perspective. Football is America's game, and collegiate football, I'll be the first to admit, is one of the greatest things about the fall. Sometimes we get caught up in misleading logic: Since we go to an Ivy League school and cannot compete against major football programs in the Bowl Championship Subdivision, many of us assume that all of our sports play at a lower level. This is simply not the case.
When you watch a Dartmouth soccer game, you are watching some of the finest collegiate soccer being played in the country. The Big Green consistently stacks up against some of the nation's biggest programs both in terms of student size and financial means and win. Earlier this year, Dartmouth faced off against the University of South Carolina and the University of South Florida (schools of 30,000 and 47,000 students, respectively), winning the first match and tying the second. This year, South Carolina's athletic budget was $79 million. Considered one of the "small guys," South Florida's was $40.4 million. On top of that, neither team has to deal with the academic standards Dartmouth holds itself to. Not bad for a small New Hampshire college.
Recently, Dartmouth has produced professionals playing in both the United States (Dan Keat '10 of the Los Angeles Galaxy) and Europe (Craig Henderson '09 of Mjllby AIF). They have represented their clubs and countries in competition, playing against the likes of players many of us would recognize from casual games of FIFA on XBOX. This year, co-captains Lucky Mkosana '12 and Nick Pappas '12 will likely hear their names called in the MLS draft as two of the top college prospects in the country.
Mkosana became Dartmouth's career leader in goals and points, breaking a record that has stood since the 1950s, on Saturday night. Being the best offensive player in over half a century at a given institution is nothing to thumb your nose at. Every time he steps on the field, Dartmouth history unfolds, and this Saturday will be no exception.
Dartmouth has a long way to go until it can be considered a national powerhouse in anything. Frankly, with the recruiting regulations and lack of athletic focus in the Ivy League, it is nearly impossible to contend for a national title in any major NCAA Division I sport.
One of the most charming aspects of soccer is how despite any odds, a team's fate can change in a single moment. One well-timed pass, a benevolent deflection or an immaculately hit ball can change the course of a team's fortunes. Last year, a miraculous bomb off the left foot of Andrew Olsen '11 propelled Dartmouth into the Sweet 16. Against UCLA, a similar stroke of misfortune in the game's waning moments ended Dartmouth's run.
The Big Green will step onto the field at Brown on Saturday just looking for the next goal, putting one foot ahead of the other. It's a time to be a part of something larger than yourself. Go Big Green.
