Dartmouth Holds Off Crimson Assault; Stickwomen Lose Second Straight, 2-1

It was right out of the Preppy Handbook. With tailgate parties lining the way to Soldiers Field and the stands filled with L.L. Bean products, the women's field hockey team outplayed Dartmouth Saturday morning, but ended up on the short end of a 2-1 score.

The loss lowered the stickwomen's record to 1-2 in the Ivy League and 2-4-1 overall. It was the second straight time that the Crimson lost by a single goal.

Neither Dartmouth nor Harvard played with any intensity in the opening half, as both teams seemed content to pass at midfield without attacking the net.

Good Morning

The Big Green woke up first, scoring 11 seconds before the halftime horn. Dartmouth forward Carol Trash took the ball on a short pass from the corner and slapped it past the outstretched leg of goalie Juliet Lamont for a 1-0 Green lead.

When the second half opened, Dartmouth continued to pressure Harvard's defense, and forward Kathy McCormack beat Lamont only three minutes into the period. Taking the ball at the top of the circle, McCormack faked to her left and then fired into the upper right-hand corner of the Crimson net.

The Harvard squad finally asserted itself after the second Big Green tally. While the defense completely shut down the Dartmouth passing game, Kate Martin and Tania Huber were instrumental in keeping the ball near the Dartmouth goal.

Senior Ann MacMillan put the Crimson on the scoreboard with 14 minutes left in the game. Forward Ellen O'Neil brought the ball upfield on the play, and passed to Huber, who shoveled the ball to MacMillan in front of the goal.

Just Short

The Crimson continued to apply offensive pressure but couldn't repeat MacMillan's act. With five minutes left to play, the stickwomen were awarded three successive short corners but were unable to convert on any of them. Big Green goalie Frances O'Donaghue made several clutch saves in the closing minutes to insure the Dartmouth victory.

Despite the loss, the stickwomen played a solid second half. Sweeper Beth Mullen had some impressive hits, repeatedly knocking the ball completely up the field, and forward Jennifer White made some fine passes to keep Harvard on the attack.

The stickwomen travel to Amherst Thursday to play UMass, and on Saturday will face the Princeton squad that beat Dartmouth, 5-0, early in the season.