W. Lax Still Winless in Ivies

The Harvard women's lacrosse team picked up its fifth Ivy League loss 10-6 against No. 10 Dartmouth last night on Scully-Fahey field.

Harvard (5-6, 0-5 Ivy) started out evenly with the Big Green (10-1, 5-1), but an offensive outburst in the second half led Dartmouth to the win.

"We stayed with [Dartmouth] well in the first half," said co-captain Alli Harper.

The Big Green took the first lead off of a goal from junior Allison Moulin at 23:34. Harvard retaliated with goals from sophomore Katie Shaughnessy and senior Lauren Corkery. But a Dartmouth goal two minutes later and another just 30 seconds before halftime gave the Big Green a 3-2 lead at the half.

Dartmouth carried its momentum into the second period of the game, with junior Jen Newitt scoring at 28:54. Fellow junior Amy Frazier added to the Big Green's lead just 20 seconds later with a tally off of a pass from freshman Lana Smith. Newitt added another tally at 23:36 to give Dartmouth a 6-2 advantage.

"Our transition defense wasn't strong," said co-captain Meghan Austin. "Dartmouth did a really good job of holding possession of the ball. When we did get the ball, we turned it over. [Dartmouth] possessed the ball for about three quarters of the game."

Harper broke up the Dartmouth run with an unassisted goal at 21:57. But that was the Crimson's only break in the Dartmouth string of goals.

"Overall, our defense did a really good job in the game," Austin said. "We had a lapse in the second half. That's something that we've been struggling with lately."

Dartmouth continued its offensive burst with four more unanswered goals, highlighted by Newitt, Smith and freshman Kate Killen, who notched a goal and an assist apiece.

With 5:26 remaining in the game, Corkery began a Crimson rally with a goal from a free position. Harper scored her second goal of the game from a pass from junior Lizzie Frisbie. Shaughnessy put another shot past Dartmouth goalie Sarah Hughes with 15 seconds left in the game, but the rally fell short as Harvard lost the 10-6 battle.

"We had two big problem points- our transitions and our settled attack," Harper said.

The Big Green outshot the Crimson, 32-15 and also led the ground ball count, 32-14.

Hughes, the Ivy League defensive player of the week, had eight saves while Harvard goalie Nora Guyer finished the game with 10 saves. Newitt scored a career-high three goals for the Big Green.

With the victory, Dartmouth stretched its win streak to eight games. Last Sunday, Dartmouth took a big 12-11 win against No. 13 Penn State. The streak sets the stage for the Big Green's game against No. 3 Princeton on Saturday.

"We really need to focus in the next two days," Harper said. "We need to get back to the basics and to playing as a team."

Harvard faces Columbia this Saturday still looking for it first league win.

"Sometimes we play down to other teams, but if we play our game, we should be fine," Harper said.