Cameli Leads #21 Dartmouth Past Harvard, 3-1

Sunday, October 29

Hanover, N.H.

11:00 AM

Dartmouth College

HARVARD

10/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Hanover, N.H. – Dartmouth senior Nicole Cameli (Brookfield, Wis.) scored two goals to lead the 21^st ranked Big Green to a 3-1 win over Harvard on senior day. With the win, Dartmouth improved to 11-4-1 (5-1 Ivy) while Harvard dropped to 3-12-1 (2-4 Ivy).

“I was happy with our performance today,” said Head Coach Angie Hind. “Harvard's goal was a great one and hard for anyone to stop but I was pleased with how we responded to get a goal in the first half.”

Dartmouth thoroughly controlled the contest except for one early-game moment for Harvard. The Crimson were awarded a free-kick from 30 yards out and with some help from the wind, freshman Lizzy Nichols nailed a pretty shot into the right hand corner of the goal in the sixth minute.

The Harvard goal seemed to fire up the Big Green, who took charge from that point on. Cameli got her first tally of the day with a hard shot after a scramble in front of the goal in the 37^th minute. Classmates Melissa Matulich (Santa Rosa, Calif.) and Emily Tracy (Belfair, Wash.) were credited with assists. The goal came at a critical time for Dartmouth, as the squads went into halftime tied, 1-1.

The second half started off slowly for both teams, but Dartmouth soon picked up the game-winner as Matulich assisted Cameli again. Cameli scored in a similar fashion, snagging the rebound and beating Harvard goalkeeper Lauren Mann at 56:41.

With a 2-1 lead, Dartmouth kept the pressure on the Crimson and would eventually put another tally on the board. Monica Martin de Bustamante (Los Altos Hills, Calif.) recorded her fourth goal of the season, sliding in to send home a cross from senior Sarah Johnson (Shorewood, Minn.).

Cameli was happy to get the win in her last home game, noting “it was a big day for all of us seniors...it's amazing to think that this is it, but to go out and play the way we did felt really good.”

The Big Green outshot the Crimson 22-3 in a dominant performance, controlling the ball well in the midfield and not allowing a single shot in the second half.

Dartmouth goalkeepers Samantha Sheppard (Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Amanda Webb (Danvers, Mass.) each recorded one save while Harvard's Mann had a solid game, making seven saves in goal.

The Big Green will play its final regular season contest on the road next weekend when it heads to Cornell. Dartmouth is still in the hunt for the Ivy League championship.

“We still have a chance at Ivies and next weekend is a must-win,” noted Hind. “We are feeling pretty good about our chances for an NCAA bid but would like to confirm that with a win.”