The Big Green women’s lacrosse team lost a tight game 11-10 to Cornell University on Saturday in the second period of overtime, which was sudden death.
Dartmouth (5-5, 2-2 Ivy) scored twice in the last minute of the first overtime to tie the game and force another period. Then Cornell (5-5, 2-2 Ivy) managed to score a sudden victory with 1:17 left on the clock, ending the game. Midfielder Jaclyn Leto ’16 netted both of Dartmouth’s goals in the first overtime.
Leto scored five goals over the course of the game and achieved a career-high with five draw controls.
“We were pleased with the way we played,” captain and defender Bailey Johnson ’14 said. “But it was unfortunate that we didn’t come out with the win since it was an important game going forward.”
The team went into overtime with a strategy to gain possession, attacker Lindsey Allard ’14 said, and everyone on the field contributed.
Leto’s first goal in overtime was set up by the defense, which regained possession despite Cornell’s attempt to stall, goalkeeper Kristen Giovanniello ’14 said. Giovanniello deflected eight shots in the game against Cornell, bringing her seven shy of the 500 marker, a figure reached by only two players in Dartmouth history.
“The team was connected, and the attackers who were holding the line were very encouraged and gave us a lot of energy,” Giovanniello said. “It was our first game this season that was a total team effort.”
Offensively, the Big Green started off strong, bringing the score to 5-1 within a 10-minute stretch in the middle of the first period. However, Cornell came back before the halftime break by scoring three goals in the last 1:52 of the opening half.
“We came out playing well in the first 20 minutes, and then we had a lapse, which they were able to capitalize on, and unfortunately it hurt us in the end,” Johnson said. “But that’s something we’re conscious of and we’re looking to improve on.”
Players said that the initial 20 minutes of focused play was the longest period of consistent play that the team has had so far.
“Our lapses in focus were huge for our momentum going into the second half,” Allard said. “We’re better than we have been, but, going forward, we definitely need to concentrate being focused for the entire 60 minutes.”
After coming into the second half trailing only by one, Cornell managed to tie the game in little more than two minutes. From then on, the contest stayed close — neither team lead by more than one at a time.
It looked as if Dartmouth was going to secure the win when attacker Sarah Byrne ’15 scored with 4:05 left on the clock, bringing the Big Green ahead 8-7. Dartmouth’s lead did last long, though. Byrne’s third goal of the contest was matched a minute later by a goal from Cornell’s Catherine Ellis.
The game was Dartmouth’s first overtime action of the season. The Big Green last went into overtime in the 2013 Ivy League Tournament semifinal against Princeton.
“Last year we had a lot of double overtime games and I think we were pumped because we were thinking ‘we’ve got this,’” Allard said. “We’ve seen these situations before, and it showed our mental toughness.”
The defense played a crucial role, Giovanniello said. Defenders ultimately decide where shots come from, she said.
The game proved that the Big Green is able to turn the game around quickly and score, Giovanniello said.
“That was huge for people to see that even if we’re down that there’s still time to score,” she said. “One of our coaches said that this was the best that we’ve done at executing transitions against Cornell.”
The Big Green will return to the field on Saturday for its final home Ivy contest of the season, against the University of Pennsylvania.
