W. Lacrosse Bucked by Dartmouth

The Harvard women's lacrosse team held the Ivy League co-leader Princeton scoreless for the second half in a 6-4 loss last Saturday.

The Crimson had hoped the momentum from that defensive effort would carry into yesterday's matchup with the Ivy's other top team Dartmouth. (9-1, 5-0 Ivy)

It didn't last thirteen seconds.

At 29:47 in the first half, Dartmouth sophomore midfielder Jacque Weitzel beat junior goaltender Kate Schutt for the first of Dartmouth's 20-goal barrage en route to a crushing 20-7 defeat of Harvard (3-7, 1-4).

"They were a talented team, but we did not at all show what kind of team we were," said acting Coach Liz Berkery Drury '93. "If we had played like we did on Saturday, we would have beaten them."

The Crimson managed to keep it close for the first fifteen minutes. After Dartmouth built a 4-1 lead, the Crimson defense tightened, which allowed both sophomore attacker Ashley Birch and junior defender Claudio Asano to score and bring Harvard within a goal.

But the Crimson would draw no closer.

"We started to play our game, getting physical and competing for ground balls," said Drury. "But when [we] got down, [we] hung our heads and backed off."

Harvard certainly got down.

At 7:34, Harvard was whistled for the second of numerous three-second violations. Big Green freshman Amy Zimmer took the free position and blasted a shot past Schutt to widen the Dartmouth lead to 5-3.

Zimmer's goal started a six-goal run for the Big Green which lasted the remainder of the half. While Dartmouth dominated play, Harvard was victimized most by its own mistakes. Four of the Big Green's six goals in this stretch came directly after three-second violations.

"We weren't quite focused, our game sense wasn't there," said captain defender Keren Gudeman. "Our defense just didn't communicate."

Despite trailing 10-3, Harvard had thoughts of a second-half comeback. Eleven seconds into the period, freshman attacker Erin Aeschliman's quick goal attempted to spark a rally.

"We came out in the second half ready to come back," said captain attacker Honor MacNaughton. "I don't think anyone had given up."

Dartmouth quickly dashed all hopes when Weitzel promptly responded, dashing up the middle of the Crimson defense to make the score 11-4.

Dartmouth expanded its lead to 11 goals before Harvard tallied again when Aeschliman darted in from the top of the circle to net one.

"We are an attacking team; that's our strength," said Dartmouth Coach Amy Patton. "Once we got our transition game going, we rattled off some goals."

Throughout the game, Harvard was unable to contain the ball control of captain attacker Jen Greene and sophomore attacker Emily Fenwick. The two frequently set up behind the net and "played catch," patiently waiting for a teammate to free herself in front of the goal.

"We weren't double-teaming," said Gudeman. "The help defense just wasn't there."

Greene led all scorers with five goals and an assist, while Fenwick added two tallies and an assist for the Big Green.

However, the numbers understate Fenwick's impact on the game.

"[Fenwick] had a field day out there," Drury said. "She was all over the place. We did not adjust to her at all."

Aeschliman and Asano led Crimson scorers with two goals. MacNaughton and sophomores Ashley Birch and Kim Weeks each added a goal. And freshman Jennifer Lee had the Crimson's lone assist of the day on Weeks' goal.

"We just couldn't get it going in transition," said MacNaughton. "We went when we shouldn't have and didn't go when we should have."

With eight minutes left in the game, Drury replaced Schutt with freshman Keltie Donelan. Donelan stopped the bleeding and did not allow any more Dartmouth goals.

It has been a difficult season for the young Crimson. The team has suffered several close defeats against superior clubs. This blowout just adds one more hard loss to the mounting list.

The Crimson hope to get back on track this weekend against Columbia and Notre Dame.

"We've really been up and down this season," said Gudeman. "I think this team can win this weekend, we just have to get refocused."

DARTMOUTH, 20-7 at Lacrosse Field Dartmouth  10  10  --  20 Harvard  3  4  --  7

G: Dart--Greene (5), Weitzel (4), Graw (3), Morril (3), Fenwick (2), Frazler, Merrit, Zimmer; Har--Aeschliman (2), Asano (2), Birch, McNaughton, Keeks. A: Dart--Morril (2), Fenwick, Greene, Merrit, Zimmer; Har--Lee. S: Dart--Carlson 3, Leahy 3; Harvard--Schutt 13, Donelan 1.