The women’s ice hockey team fell to Harvard University in overtime on Friday evening at Thompson Arena. The team lost the tough battle 3-2.
The Big Green last faced the Crimson on the road as its first Eastern College Athletic Conference opponent of the season on Oct. 21. Harvard outshot the Big Green 26-22 during the game and handed Dartmouth a 3-0 defeat.
During Friday’s game, the Big Green dominated the first period. With nine shots at Harvard’s goal and only four taken at Dartmouth’s goal, the team truly gained its footing when Lauren Messier ’25 took a pass and scored approximately seven minutes into the game — setting the Big Green up with a 1-0 lead. Following the goal, a five-minute major penalty for boarding was handed to Dartmouth, and Harvard then tied the game 1-1.
Goalkeeper Maggie Emerson ’25 said the team’s mentality during the home game was beneficial.
“Having home ice is always a great advantage; I think our fans are awesome and always are supporting us,” Emerson said. “Our play against Quinnipiac [University] last weekend was so strong and really just rolled over into this weekend, and we went into it with a lot of confidence.”
Emerson excelled in the second half and blocked all but one of Harvard’s 15 shots. She continued her prowess into the third period, stopping a tough shot from the Crimson. Jenna Donohue ’24 started the third period strong with a goal — her seventh of the season — giving the Big Green a 2-1 lead. Donohue currently leads the team in goals. Harvard responded with another goal after a failed Dartmouth pass attempt. The regular game ended 2-2 and was sent into overtime.
Caroline Appleyard ’25 noted that the team has had many close games this season.
“We just haven’t been able to finish; we’ve lost in overtime a couple of times,” Appleyard said. “We’ve had a lot of one goal games, and our league, the ECAC, is one of the hardest leagues in the country. Every game that we play is always a good game and we can’t take any games lightly.”
Emerson defended the goal five times before Harvard found the back of the net. The game finished 3-2. Dartmouth has fallen to the Crimson in its last 13 games.
“We defended a lot better this game, and our D zone was a lot better,” Appleyard said. “In our last game against Harvard, once they scored a couple of times, our momentum went down, but the team fought until the end of this game.”
Kenzie Bachelor ’25 said the team’s dynamics have improved throughout the season — particularly in its ability to play highly ranked teams.
“I think collectively as a team we’re all playing really well,” Bachelor said, “And you can see that even though we’re not winning, we’re taking high teams, including Harvard, into overtime.”
Despite the team’s overall record of 5-14-0 and ECAC 1-11-0 record, the team is optimistic about the future and hopes to secure more success.
“This season has been another building season where we’re finally really seeing a lot of really good results,” Emerson said. “Our team has been bonding really well and through all the ups and downs this season.”
The team will next host Union College at Thompson Arena at 6 p.m. this Friday, followed by a matchup against the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Engineers on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Bachelor said that with small improvements, the team hopes to capture future wins — not only this season, but in the upcoming years.
“We’re just going to hone in on the littlest things, whether that’s showing up five minutes early to practice, getting in a couple more reps or going to bed early,” Bachelor said. “We’re almost there, and I think everyone has to bring more than a hundred percent to get these next couple of wins.”
