Women's soccer gets big win at Dartmouth, remains on top of standings

After an impressive 3-0 win at home against Yale last weekend where the players dominated their opponents, the Tigers (7-3 overall, 2-0 Ivy League) headed to Dartmouth with high hopes to continue their unbeaten start against Ivy League opponents. This was to be a tough matchup for the Tigers, however, as they have not been able to win at Dartmouth since 2007.

Dartmouth (7-2-2, 0-1-1) had also been in fine defensive form this season, having not conceded more than one goal in any of their matches this season. In fact, the previous time the Big Green conceded more than two goals was early last season against Washington.

However, this did not faze the Tigers, as they went out on the attack early in the game, and were soon rewarded when freshman forward Mimi Asom scored in the 14th minute after a fine assist from sophomore defender Katie Pratt-Thompson. However, the Tigers could not hold their lead for long, allowing Dartmouth to pull even in the 27th minute, before the Big Green added another one just before half time. Both goals were scored by Jill Dayneka and assisted by Brittany Champagne, and both came from corner kicks.

A 2-1 deficit did not prove to be an obstacle for the Tigers, as they roared out at half time. It was the same name on the sheet when Asom found the back of the net again, capping a wonderful performance as she opened her account for the Tigers in fantastic fashion. This time, the assists came from junior defender Jesse McDonough and sophomore forward Beth Stella.

Although the freshman has already impressed in earlier games, this was Asom's finest performance yet.

However, despite controlling the game and outshooting their opponents 17-10, the Tigers were unable to score again in regular time, so the game was forced to overtime. And this was when the Tigers' mettle showed through, with Natalie Larkin scoring in the 95th minute with a header after some scrappy play in the box to claim a 3-2 victory for the Tigers. This was Larkin's second goal in as many games, marking the first time in her career that she has scored in consecutive games.

The Tigers' fantastic offensive performance was quite impressive as this was the first time an Ivy League opponent has scored three goals against the Big Green since 2011, and it was Princeton's first time scoring this many goals against Dartmouth since 2004.

This was a fantastic result for the Tigers as it allowed them to remain on top of the Ivy League standings against perennial rivals Harvard, who defeated Yale 4-0 this weekend. Cornell is the only unbeaten team left in the Ivy League, but they have drawn one of their games, so it remains two points behind Princeton and Harvard.

The Tigers look to continue their fine run as they host West Point at home on Oct. 7 before heading out to Rhode Island to play Ivy League opponent Brown.