Big Green visits Class of 1952

Coming off their shocking 9-5 loss Wednesday night to the Quakers, the Tigers must retain their focus as they head into tomorow’s 12:30 p.m. face off with the Big Green, especially considering that Dartmouth has won three of the last four matches between the two squads. After ending a 12-game home winning streak Wednesday, the Tigers have just a few days to prepare to try to start a new one with a win against the Big Green.

Dartmouth (6-6 overall, 2-4 Ivy League) is currently in seventh place in the league and suffered its own loss to Penn last Saturday. Dartmouth fell to the league-leading Quakers 8-5, slightly better than No. 2 Princeton’s (10-1, 4-1) four goal margin in Wednesday’s loss. Penn (11-1, 6-0) has clinched at least a share of the Ivy League title and the league’s NCAA bid for the second consecutive year. With just two conference games left in the season — Saturday’s game against Dartmouth and next weekend’s matchup against Brown in Providence, R.I. — the Tigers need to win both to have any hope of battling for a share of the title should Penn fall to Brown in its last conference game this weekend.

The Tigers have been allowing their opponents to get quick starts and early leads in their recent games. While both teams were slow to get on the board Wednesday, the Quakers dominated possession in the first half and drew first blood. They won four of five draw controls in the first half and led 3-1 at halftime.

The Tigers will have to have to reverse this trend and have a quicker start against the Big Green. Dartmouth freshman Greta Meyer won the first draw when Dartmouth faced Penn, and sophomore Eliza Bennett followed up with a free-position goal just 36 seconds into the game. Bennett also struck first in the Big Green’s 11-7 win over Harvard to give her team a 1-0 lead. Dartmouth took advantage of domination on the draw, winning 16 of 21 draw controls against Harvard to secure the win.

Dartmouth has relied on these young players, with 15 freshmen and sophomores on its 21-player roster, however the Big Green has a veteran leader in senior Kristen Barry, the team’s leading scorer, with 29 goals and nine assists. The offense has also leaned on sophomore Eliza Bennett, who has 23 goals and four assists this season, and freshman Kat Collins, who has 19 goals and five assists.

Dartmouth’s most significant weapon, however, is not an attack or midfielder. Goalie Julie Wadland will look to build on her impressive performance in the Big Green’s win over the Crimson on Wednesday. Though Harvard had a 24-19 shot advantage, Wadland made 10 saves and grabbed three ground balls in the victory.

The Tigers will not be able to take Dartmouth for ganted. Senior midfielder Katie Lewis-Lamomica is out with an ACL injury until the playoffs, and junior corpmate Kristen Schwab is recovering from an ankle sprain, which may explain the Tigers atypically anemic offense. If Princeton can sync-up, however, it should be able to dominate the Big Green’s young team, as long as the Tigers don’t spend too long warming up and playing defense. The real battle tomorrow may prove to be a mental one. The Tigers will return to the field Saturday looking to start a new winning streak with a strong finish to the season.