Early Lead Holds as Dartmouth Wins Granite State Battle at UNH

Tuesday, November 3

Durham, N.H.

7:00 PM

Dartmouth College

New Hampshire

Early Lead Holds as Dartmouth Wins Granite State Battle at UNH

11/3/2009 9:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

Boxscore

Durham, N.H.- A goal in the seventh minute held up as the Dartmouth men's soccer team shut out a solid New Hampshire squad on the road tonight, 1-0.

Dartmouth snapped a three-game skid with the win, moving to 9-5-1 on the season while New Hampshire, America East regular season champions, dropped to 9-6-2.

New Hampshire held a slight edge in shots, 12-11, in the hotly-contested battle. Rookie goalkeeper Sean Donovan picked up his first shutout since Sept. 11, making two saves and helping to clear three corner kicks in a well-played contest.

The Big Green picked up the early lead in just the seventh minute, capitalizing on one of Walker Linares' (Santa Cruz, Calif.) trademark long throw-ins. Linares got the ball into the box where a scramble ensued. Daniel Keat (Wellington, New Zealand) was there to get a boot on it at the far post, though it ultimately deflected off a New Hampshire defender and past keeper Colin O'Donnell for the 1-0 lead. It was ruled an own goal by game officials.

The teams battled in the midfield for much of the first half as the wind picked up and temperatures dropped. The Big Green nearly got a second goal when Keat had his shot blocked in the 13^th minute and Lucky Mkosana (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) ripped one wide left in the 17^th. Dartmouth kept the pressure on before UNH had a flurry of activity with about 10 to play in the half. Alex Russell fired in the 37^th minute but Donovan was there for the save and Charlie Roche sent one wide just after that. Keat closed the half with a shot on goal saved by O'Donnell in the 42^nd.

Junior Andrew Olsen (Norwell, Mass.) had a good look saved in the 61^st minute before Dartmouth's defense came up big, with the wall blocking a free kick fired by Joe Corsello in the 64^th minute. The Big Green countered with an Mkosana attempt saved by O'Donnell before the Wildcats' Chris Banks hit the post in the 69th.

The Wildcats kept clawing for the equalizer as the minutes ticked down, including two headers by Roche that went wide in the final six minutes. The Big Green's defense kept UNH off balance, however, and the home team never found the back of the net, holding on for the shutout.

The win comes at a critical time for Dartmouth, which looks to get back on track in the Ivy League against Cornell this Saturday at 4 p.m. on Burnham Field. The Big Green currently stands tied for second in the Ivy League with Brown, both carrying nine points. Harvard is just ahead in first with 10 points.