Football Beats Harvard University for First Time in 15 Years
In front of a formidable crowd of students and alumni, the Big Green beat Harvard 24-17 during homecoming for their first win against the Crimson in 15 years and their first at home since 1993. Memorial Field was cold and wet on the historic Saturday afternoon, and, accordingly, the Green and White played most of the game on the ground.
Dartmouth’s two quarterbacks, Jared Gerbino ’20 and Derek Kyler ’21, threw for a combined 11 passes, 4 of which were completed for just 49 yards. The Big Green rushed for 320 yards, including a career-high 183 from Gerbino. Rashaad Cooper ’19 also rushed for a career high, posting 117 yards on the game. The Big Green scored 21 of their 24 points in the first half. Cooper was on the board first, rushing 82 yards for the Big Green’s first touchdown on their second play from scrimmage. Later in the first quarter, Kyran McKinney-Crudden ’18 Th’19 forced a fumble, and DeWayne Terry ’21 picked up the ball and ran it 62 yards into the end zone for the Big Green’s second touchdown of the afternoon. This was only one of Harvard’s five first half fumbles that the Big Green were able to capitalize on. With less than two minutes left before the intermission, Gerbino ran the ball 20 yards into the end zone to secure a comfortable 21-point lead heading into the second half.
In the second half, the Crimson cleaned up their offense, scoring two touchdowns and a field goal without any turnovers. Connor Davis ’22 knocked in a field goal to give the Big Green a little more of a cushion, and the Green and White held onto their lead to secure the win.
“The energy was crazy, and I think [beating Harvard] meant a ton to me; but especially to the seniors, having been here for four years and not had a chance to beat Harvard, it meant everything,” Davis said. “Fifteen years is a long time to go without beating a team, and it’s been 25 since we beat them at home — I mean, that’s a quarter of a century. So I think it just speaks a lot to this team we have.”
Women's Soccer Double-Overtime Winner in Season Finale to Earn First 10-Win Season Since 2012
The women’s soccer Class of 2019 hung up their cleats last Saturday, but not before a memorable double-overtime win against Ivy League competitor Cornell University. The Big Green dominated the game, accumulating 12 shots on goal compared to the Bears’ two shots on goal. Dartmouth earned 8 more corner kicks than Cornell, continually providing itself quality opportunities to score. However, the Cornell goalie’s 10 saves kept the game competitive.
Despite Dartmouth’s unwavering attack, the Bears scored the first goal of the match and, heading into halftime, the Big Green trailed by one. But the women in green were not ready to accept defeat, especially for those playing their last games in their collegiate soccer careers. The underclassmen had a different motivation — to give justice to the contributions their captains and older teammates had given to this program.
Just when the game seemed over, Remi Borinsky ’20 sent a beautiful cross to teammate Hayley Soriano ’20 who placed the ball in the back of the net with under two minutes left in regulation time. With the 90 minutes gone but no winner decided, the Big Green still had some work to do.
The first half of overtime saw little action and fatigue was setting in on both sides of the field. However, the Dartmouth women rallied to find one last goal in the 2018 season. In the 104th minute, Izzy Glennon ’22 scored the game-winning goal.
This impressive double-overtime performance in Ithaca gave Dartmouth their fourth win in the Ivy League, to end the season with a 4-2-1 record in the conference and a 10-5-2 record overall. When the players in the Class of 2019 stepped off the field at the end of their first collegiate seasons in 2015, the Big Green had just one conference win to show for their season. Three years later and the mood is quite different. The Dartmouth women recorded their first double-digit win count since 2012 and finished 3rd in the Ivy League — the highest they have placed win the rankings since 2014. The Class of 2019 has set a new standard for the Dartmouth women soccer teams of the future to follow.
The Big Green had increased the intensity over the last two weeks of the season in its matchups against Harvard and Cornell after a difficult 1-0 defeat versus Columbia University, which hurt any chances the Big Green had for postseason play. After this difficult loss, the Big Green responded with a 3-1 win over Harvard on Senior Night. The next weekend, on the road, Dartmouth’s exhilarating finish was driven by the team’s effort to honor the graduating seniors and give them a win in their last game playing for the Big Green. The Class of 2019 leaves Dartmouth with a legacy that will be challenging to fill.
Women's Swimming and Diving Tops Cornell University for Team's First Win at an Ivy League Meet Since 2012
On Saturday, Nov. 10, the women’s swimming and diving team defeated Cornell University in Ithaca for its first win at an Ivy League meet since 2012. The Big Green edged past the Big Red 152-148, while losing to Harvard 114-186 in the same conference tri-meet.
The Big Green placed first in six individual events, as well as one relay. Mia Leko ’22 led the team with three individual wins: in the 200-yard freestyle, the 200-yard butterfly and the 500-yard freestyle. She was also the anchor for the team, who finished first in the 400-yard freestyle relay. With a time of 10:27.05, Sarah Minnigh ’22 also began her collegiate career well, placing third in the 1000-yard freestyle. Mackenzie Stumpf ’21 secured the Big Green’s other two individual wins, taking first in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke. While the Crimson had a clear lead over both the Big Green and the Big Red, the meet came down to the final relay for the latter two teams. In the final leg of the relay, Leko finished two-hundredths of a second ahead of Cornell’s anchor, bringing home the win for the Big Green.
At the 2018 Ivy League Championship in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cornell finished 131 points ahead of the Dartmouth team, who rounded up 475 points in the meet. The Big Green’s ability not only to top the Big Red in its home pool, but to close the skill gap shown at last year’s championship shows an exceedingly hopeful future for the Big Green.
With a promising group of freshman swimmers, the Big Green will look to end a five-year streak of placing at the bottom of the Ivy League. After a win against the University of New Hampshire in their first meet of the season and splitting in the tri-meet, the team has a winning record (2-1), and will look to continue its success into the rest of the season.
