#18 Dartmouth Edges Hartwick in Thriller, 2-1

Saturday, September 20

Hanover, N.H.

3:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Hartwick

#18 Dartmouth Edges Hartwick in Thriller, 2-1

9/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

HANOVER, N.H. - The 18th-ranked Dartmouth men's soccer team gave a boisterous Burnham Field crowd all it could ask for with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Hartwick this afternoon.

The Big Green edged the Hawks on a last-minute goal when sophomore Andrew Olsen (Norwell, Mass.) buried a penalty kick to the left side after a handball inside the 18. Hartwick gave all it could in the final minute to push for the equalizer, but the Big Green stood its ground defensively to seal the 2-1 win.

Dartmouth held a distinct advantage in the first half, outshooting Hartwick, 7-1. The Big Green had its first real chance of the day when freshman Lucky Mkosana (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) sent the ball up to classmate Maarten van Ess (Marlborough, Mass.) for a sliding shot that was saved by Hartwick's Jeremy Vuolo in the 23rd minute. Less than a minute later Mkosana had a chance of his own but it was intercepted by a Hawks' defender. The Big Green kept the pressure on and Olsen nearly scored in the 26th minute after a free kick but his attempt went just wide.

Hartwick's only real scoring threat in the first came in the 41st minute when Dan Summers fired in a free kick but Milligan snagged the ball. Dartmouth responded just seconds later to gain an advantage before the break. Rookie Adam Rice (Manalapan, N.J.), playing in his first collegiate game, trapped the ball near the top of the box on the right side. He was looking for a cross but he got his first career goal when he buried the ball in the top far corner at 42:22. The Big Green held a 1-0 halftime lead though Hartwick made it a battle in midfield throughout the half.

The Hawks came out aggressively in the second half and their pressure paid off in the 47th minute after the Big Green was called for a handball just outside the box. John Paul Boyle stepped up to take the direct kick and looped it over the wall and up high to the left past a diving Sean Milligan (Westport, Conn.) to tie the game at 1-1.

Hartwick nearly took the lead in the 58th minute when Michael Cunningham collected the ball off a throw in and crossed it to Summers who headed it towards Milligan at point-blank range. Milligan deflected the ball but had to scramble to cover it and save the goal.

The teams went back and forth for much of the second half in a balanced contest. Hartwick would end up with a slight 6-5 advantage in shots for the period. Dartmouth got the pressure on late with three legitimate attempts in the final five minutes. Olsen nearly did his job early when he centered from 25 yards out and fired a shot just high in the 85th minute. He had another great attempt minutes later when he pulled the trigger from inside the box but Vuolo made an amazing diving save to his left.

Olsen would wind up finally getting his first goal of the season when he converted the penalty kick with 59 seconds left to play.

Dartmouth held a 12-7 shot advantage in the hotly-contested game. Milligan came up with three saves in goal to Vuolo's two.

The Big Green is back at it on Friday, Sept. 26. when it travels to Sacred Heart for a 3:30 p.m. kick-off.