This weekend proved successful for the Big Green field hockey team, with a win over Harvard University and a close loss to the University of New Hampshire. The team now eagerly prepares for this weekend, when it will play its final game of the season.
Friday, the Dartmouth women (7-9, 3-3 Ivy) traveled to Cambridge, Mass., to face the Crimson (7-9, 1-5 Ivy), and emerged with a 4-2 victory.
Although the women had to make some changes due to a player’s injury, they were able to adjust successfully. “We had to do some shifting in our lineup, but it was awesome how we were able to adapt even when things weren’t perfect,” forward Sam Anderson ’14 said.
The first half of the game featured back-and-forth play as both teams struggled to take the lead. The half opened with a goal by Eliza Becker ’16 assisted by co-captain Olivia Quaglia ’14 in the 17th minute. This goal was matched by a Harvard goal at the 21st minute.
Only six minutes later, midfielder Jenna Schwenk ’17 scored her first goal as a Big Green athlete and gave Dartmouth a temporary advantage. However, another goal from the Crimson left the score tied 2-2 at halftime.
In the second half, the Big Green women were able to secure a path to their third conference win of the season. At 47:02, Quaglia scored a goal off a penalty stroke, putting the Big Green ahead by one point. Becker returned for a second goal off of an assist by forward Ali Savage ’15 at the 53:51 to put the final score at 4-2.
“We had a really good defensive game, as [Harvard] put a lot of pressure on us, and we held them off really well,” midfielder Brooke Van Valkenburg ’16 said. “On the flip side, we capitalized on our few offensive opportunities.”
Throughout the game, Dartmouth excelled defensively, with goalie Ellen Meyer ’15 matching her career high by deflecting 13 goals. In the second half, Meyer stopped all eight of the shots she faced.
“[Harvard] put a lot of pressure on us in the second half, but they weren’t able to score,” midfielder Victoria Tersigni ’14 said. “We improved a lot from the first half, and I think we were proud of that.”
On Saturday, the Dartmouth women had a quick turnaround, heading back to Hanover to face UNH at home.
“We came out of the [Harvard] game with a high and were eager going into our game against UNH on Saturday,” Anderson said.
The Wildcats (13-6, 5-0 America East) began aggressively, scoring a goal only five minutes into the game. They continually pushed Meyer, and she would finish the game with 11 saves.
“We changed our pressure on the front line a little so that we conserved our energy and let them make the mistakes,” Anderson said. “That was probably the smartest thing for us to do.”
In the 50th minute, midfielder Maggie Scanlon ’14 broke through the Wildcats’ offense on a set corner play and scored a goal. The shot, assisted by Quaglia and midfielder Janine Leger ’15, was the first the Big Green scored on UNH since Oct. 13.
At the 63rd minute, the Wildcats notched another goal and sustained the lead for the remainder of the game, leaving the final score at 2-1.
“I think we did really well against a high-ranked team,” Van Valkenburg said. “Going in, we were definitely the underdog, and we were tired coming off of our game on Saturday, but we fought through that.”
This Saturday, the Big Green will conclude the season with a home game against Cornell University, but not before running some extra drills.
“I think we’ll be working on execution in our attacking circle and trying to keep play in the offensive end,” Van Valkenburg said.
As the team’s final Ivy League game and its seniors’ last home game, the women are hoping to go out with a bang. A win would make the team’s current 3-3 Ivy League record a winning record.
“The entire team is excited to end on a good note and get a win against Cornell, and a winning record within the Ivy League,” Tersigni said. “I think playing well this weekend against Harvard and UNH has given us a lot of confidence going into this.”
