Completed Event: Men's Lacrosse at Virginia on March 23, 2026 , Loss , 7, to, 18
Final
Men's Lacrosse
at Virginia
7
18
This Week in Dartmouth Men's Lacrosse
4/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse
Tuesday, April 16, 2008
HANOVER, N.H. ? With an Ivy League matchup against Yale on tap for Wednesday evening and a visit to No. 3 Virginia Saturday, this is a big week for the Dartmouth lacrosse team.
And it's one that got off to a great start ? even before the Big Green played a game.
On Monday afternoon coach Bill Wilson and his troops got out on the much-anticipated new FieldTurf surface at Scully-Fahey Field Monday for the very first time. Hampered by a record snowfall that delayed the project converting Scully-Fahey from Astroturf to FieldTurf, the Big Green had been practicing and playing on football's Memorial Field until this week.
“Scully-Fahey is one of the best facilities in the country, especially for lacrosse and it's great to be back,” coach Bill Wilson said. “It's a gorgeous field with a state-of-the-art surface.”
While most of the work on that surface was completed during the late fall, heavy snow that came early and stayed late delayed the placement of the rubber “infill,” pellets that make FieldTurf so forgiving on athletes' bodies. But according to the Dartmouth coach, it was worth the wait.
“In terms of injury and longevity during the season, you take a lot of punishment running up and down the field over the course of the season,” Wilson explained. “There's a definite disadvantage with Astroturf because your body does break down. Teams that are playing on FieldTurf often have fresh legs at the end of the season.
“Teams that play on Astroturf are often beaten up at the end of the season. You'll see shin splints, bone bruises or stress fractures in the legs and ankle problems. And just pain from pounding.”
In addition to the FieldTurf, the Big Green welcomed something else with its move back across the road: a spacious locker room in the new Sports Pavilion, a 4,200-square-foot building featuring handy locker rooms for the men's and women's lacrosse teams as well as public rest rooms. A sports medicine room and additional locker room space may be added in the future.
The lacrosse team had previously dressed in the Boss Tennis Center.
“Until this week our guys were walking from there to Memorial Field and back,” said Wilson. “It's not far, but this does give us a little more time. To be able to step your foot out the locker room door and 20 steps later be on Scully-Fahey is exciting for the guys. Plus there's more space.
“The new locker room is a home for us, and it's close by our field, so if the guys want to spend a little time in that locker room before or after practice they have the ability to do that, whereas in the past they might have raced in and raced out. It affords our players the chance to be a closer team and spend more time together.”
The FieldTurf on Scully-Fahey and the opening of the new locker rooms on Lessing Plaza are the latest chapters in a dramatic facilities revolution on the Hanover Plain.
According to Athletic Director Josie Harper, the improvements represent a commitment to athletics of “close to” $100 million in the last decade alone.
“This has impacted every one of our programs,” said Harper. “Think of it this way. It's as if we've gone from doing the best we can with good, hard recruiting of middle-of-the-pack kids and then all of a sudden there appears a real blue-chip athlete. Every ... single ... year! That's the kind of impact this has.”
The most visible symbol of facility improvements at Dartmouth is Floren Varsity House, which includes a 10,000-square foot varsity strength training center, a 130-seat tiered smart classroom with Internet and advanced video capabilities, a study lounge, meeting rooms and coaches offices.
“There are a lot of people to say thank you to for that,” Wilson said in his Alumni Gym office. “It has one of the nicest weight rooms you will find. With the 14,000-square-foot, cardio-fitness center upstairs here, and 10,000 square feet in Floren, we have some of the nicest facilities in the country, not just the Ivy League. Instead of being in there for an hour and a half you can get through your workout with two people per rack instead of 3-4. It's a beautiful facility with a first-rate strength staff that does a tremendous job. “I know the energy when you walk into (the Floren weight room) is different. It was always excitable and passionate in the old weight room, but you can see the student-athletes are really proud of Dartmouth and the facilities that were built in the last few years and they treat them well.”
Like his athletic director, Wilson can't help but marvel at everything that has been built and everything still on the way, including a new FieldTurf baseball park and new home grandstand for Memorial Field.
“It's exciting,” Wilson said. “When people look at Dartmouth they can see there's a tremendous commitment to athletics from President (Jim) Wright's time on campus. A $100 million commitment is sizable. I use the word fortunate a lot, but that's what we are with a home field like Scully-Fahey, with Floren for team meetings, the smart classroom and weight room.
“When students come back from even just two years ago they see the dorms that have been built, the athletic facilities, the construction all through town and around the college. It's a sign of strength in the college and the athletic department. Some of their jaws drop and they wish it had been this way when they were here. But it's progress and they are proud and excited about their school. It's exciting for alumni of all teams and it speaks well for the future.”
Last Week in Dartmouth Lacrosse
Josh Gillam scored six goals while Brian Koch had 2-3?5 and Ari Sussman 2-2?4 as the Big Green dropped a 16-11 decision at Cornell.
The loss dropped Dartmouth to 4-6 overall and 0-3 in the Ivies. Cornell, No. 4 in this week's national poll, is 10-2 overall and 4-0 in the conference.
The Big Green was within 13-10 in the fourth quarter before the home team scored three consecutive goals to claim breathing room.
“We definitely showed we can run up and down the field with Cornell,” said Wilson, a former Big Red assistant. “Our players played hardrd. They created turnovers in the middle of the field and moved the ball. We scored in transition and we scored in 6-on-6 situations.
“We proved that we can be successful for stretches of the game against a very good Cornell team that will compete for an Ivy League championship. We showed we can play at that level and what we have to take into the rest of our games is doing it from the first minute of the game.”
This Week in Dartmouth Lacrosse
The Big Green kicks off a busy week with a 6 p.m., Scully-Fahey encounter with Yale (3-7 overall, 0-4 Ivy) before traveling to Charlottesville for a 1 p.m. showing against the Cavaliers (10-2), ranked No. 3 this week.
“We have four games left and there's plenty of strong teams on the schedule that can afford us the opportunity to get a big win under our belts,” said Wilson. “And to also come out of the season above .500.
“We can do that. We are getting better and better and better as the season goes on. We just need to get one together for 60 minutes and it starts with Yale. It's a big game, an Ivy League contest against a team in a similar situation to us. They need a win and we need a win. It's going to be a battle.”
Note: Admission for the Yale game is $6 with kids 14-and-under charged $3.
Players Mentioned
Men's Lacrosse Postgame vs Cornell 4-18-26
Saturday, April 18
Men's Lacrosse Postgame vs Yale 4-4-26
Saturday, April 04
Men's Lacrosse Postgame Media Availability vs Penn 3.28.26
Saturday, March 28
Men's Lacrosse at Boston University Postgame 2.15.26
Sunday, February 15
