Color War in Ithaca as #9 Women's Lacrosse Heads to Cornell

The #9 Dartmouth women's lacrosse team puts its unbeaten Ivy record on the line this Saturday when it travels to Cornell for a 12 p.m. showdown with the Big Red.

Dartmouth at Cornell Complete Game Notes (PDF)

Game 10: #9 Dartmouth (8-1, 3-0 Ivy) at Cornell (3-6, 2-2 Ivy)
Date: Saturday, April 10, 2010 • 12:00 PM
Location: Ithaca, N.Y. • Schoellkopf Field
Multimedia: Livestats • Radio (Free) • Live Video ($)

Dartmouth - Cornell Series: Dartmouth leads, 25-5
Last Meeting: 4/4/09 • Hanover, N.H.
Result: Dartmouth 12 - Cornell 8
Streak: Dartmouth +1
Dartmouth won 10 straight from 1992-2001, then three straight from 2003-05. The Big Green has not won in Ithaca since 2004, with Cornell home wins in both 2006 and 2008.

FIVE MINUTES WITH COACH PATTON

Dartmouth is scoring goals at a fast clip of 14.22 per game, with seven 15+ point scorers and seven 10+ goal scorers. When asked about her team's offensive efficiency, with four players shooting better than 50 percent and a team shooting percentage of 50.2, coach Patton went right to her defense.

"First and foremost, I have to give a lot of credit to our keepers, Wadland and Chelsea Kirk (Hunt Valley, Md.), because they challenge our shooters in practice every day and their styles are different," said Patton. "We did a lot of work this fall and in February on shooting and that has been a payoff for us. Also, we're also a patient team and we like to work for what we call a 'good look' and I think you have a 50/50 chance then."

Dartmouth has played a grueling schedule in the last three weeks, with the Siena game on April 6 marking the fifth game in a 14-day stretch and the Cornell match-up makes it six games in 18 days. It's part of life in Ivy lacrosse, which starts later than other teams in the nation and Dartmouth must also take a break for final exams in March. While not every game in the stretch has been pretty, Dartmouth has consistently found a way to win, which pleases, but doesn't surprise the coach.

"It's something you try to prepare them for all year, but thus far they have been just gutting it out," said Patton. "We've had games where we've been ahead but recently we've had to come from behind. Their belief in their training and preparation this year has helped them battle through."

"A lot of what is happening now we tried to prep them for in the fall or February. Back then, it would be our sixth practice in a row and we'd say we know you're tired and your legs hurt but this is how it will be in March-April. It's been working and we can only hope they continue to find a way to battle through it."

During the Big Green's current eight game winning streak, three of its victims have been nationally ranked, including two wins on the road against top-10 foes (#8 Notre Dame and #6 Syracuse) and a recent win over #18 Boston University. Impressively, Dartmouth has won its games against ranked teams by an average margin of +5.33 goals. Though that clearly says something about the Big Green this season, Patton says her squad looks at much more than the W, the L or the score to determine the success of an outing.

"We really don't look at the score as much after a game, as much as the feeling of it. Did we stick to the game plan and did we execute? It's pretty clear whether we did or didn't, regardless of the score," said Patton. "Against BU, I don't think our defense played very well and didn't execute well but our offense picked it up. It had been the defense getting it done but in that game our offense did."

Lastly, with 27 players on its roster, certainly not every player is getting into every game, but the team effort has really been evident. From the balance in goals to draw controls to caused turnovers on the field to the boisterous cheering on the sideline. Each player has a role and is contributing to the team dynamic.

"The energy and chemistry on this team is carrying us through the toughest part of the schedule," said Patton. "It's not just the players on the field but the team as a whole, as they start to feel tired the energy they gain from those around them has been a key."

COLOR WAR IN ITHACA
#9 Dartmouth looks to stay unbeaten in Ivy play this Saturday at Cornell when the Big Green squares off against a Big Red squad fresh off a huge win at Princeton last weekend. A win would keep Dartmouth atop the Ivy League standings while a loss, though not devastating, would make next Saturday's game against Penn a must-win for the Green. While Dartmouth has a stronghold on the all-time series against Cornell, the Big Red has won two out of the last three meetings, both in Ithaca.

SAINTS SENT PACKING
MAAC contender Siena was no match for #9 Dartmouth in a midweek tilt at Scully Fahey Field, as the Big Green took an 18-6 victory over the Saints. Dartmouth once again employed a balanced attack, with eight players recording a point and seven scoring a goal. Each player to score a goal also recorded at least one assist to a teammate as well. Sarah Parks led the offense with six points (3g, 3a) while Greta Meyer (4g, 1a) and Abigail Holden (2g, 3a) each added five points to the cause. Dartmouth stormed out to an early 5-0 lead and after letting the Saints get one on the board, scored three more for an 8-1 advantage. The Big Green outscored Siena 4-2 in the balance of the half for a 12-3 halftime lead. Dartmouth got the running clock just 52 seconds into the second half and extended its lead to 15-3 just six minutes in. Each team ultimately got three more goals for the 18-6 final, in a game in which 21 Dartmouth players saw action. Hilary Smith had a great day off the bench, scoring four points (3g, 1a), grabbing six ground balls and causing four turnovers.

DARTMOUTH STAYS PERFECT IN IVIES
The ninth ranked Big Green took a 9-7 victory over Brown this past Saturday to move to 3-0 in Ivy League play, its seventh straight win overall. It was not Dartmouth's sharpest outing of the season, held below 10-goals for just the second time this season. The first half was back-and-forth, starting with a 1-0 Dartmouth lead before Brown took a 2-1 advantage. The Big Green answered right back with two to go up 3-2, but Brown got two in a row to take a 4-3 lead before Dartmouth's Greta Meyer tied it going into the half. Dartmouth's second-half effort was sound, going on a 5-0 run to lead 9-4 with 8:39 to play, with two goals each from Sarah Parks and Sarah Plumb. The Bears did close with three goals in the last six minutes but it would not be enough to overcome the Big Green.

STAYING IN THE TOP-TEN
Dartmouth remained at ninth in the IWLCA Coaches poll this week after jumping seven spots on March 29. This is the first top-10 ranking for the Big Green since early in the 2007 campaign. Inside Lacrosse looks even more favorably on the Big Green, putting it at seventh after sitting anywhere from 11th to 14th during the month of March. Six Dartmouth opponents are currently in the IWLCA Top-20 with three in the top 10. Five are ranked by Inside Lacrosse and a sixth, BU, is receiving votes.

A LOOK AT CORNELL
Cornell (3-6, 2-2 Ivy) got a new lease on life last Saturday when it defeated Princeton, 11-8, for its first win over the Tigers in 22 years. One must look beyond the record for the Big Red's true story, as it has played a slate that ranks 12th in the nation for strength of schedule. Cornell has won close games, with its three victories coming by one, two and three goals each. Today's game marks the third straight ranked opponent for Cornell, which lost to #6 Penn, 15-6 on March 28 and the win over #17 Princeton. Jessi Steinberg is the go-to gal for coach Jenny Graap, leading the Big Red with 26 points on 24 goals and two assists. Libby Johnson is the Big Red's other 20-point scorer with 11 goals and nine assists. Three different keepers have seen action for Cornell, though Kristen Reese (218 minutes) and Kyla Dambach (312 minutes) are the main two. Dambach will likely get the nod against Dartmouth after her 12-save win over Princeton. She sports a 9.40 goals against average and .467 save percentage, which gives her the edge on Reese's .308 save percentage and similar 9.87 GAA.

HOMECOMING FOR FARRELL
Dartmouth first-year assistant coach Courtney Farrell, is a 2008 graduate of Cornell and will be returning to the Big Red wearing Dartmouth Green. Farrell was one of the finest ever to play for Cornell, leading her team to an Ivy title in 2006 and earning first team All-Ivy and All-Northeast honors three times. She was an All-America selection as a senior in 2008.

WATCH OUT FOR SNIPERS
As a team, Dartmouth shoots an impressive .502 percent, but Sarah Parks and Greta Meyer stand out from the crowd with some staggering numbers. Parks has been absolutely deadly in front of the goal this spring, scoring 22 goals on just 25 shots for a sizzling 88.0 shooting percentage, which leads the nation. Since the Boston University game, Parks has not missed when shooting, scoring 11 straight on 11 shots. Even more impressively, just two of her goals have come off free position shots, with three attempts total. Meyer is hot in her own right, shooting 67.6 percent, which ranks second in the nation only behind Parks' ridiculous numbers. Meyer has scored 25 goals on 37 shots and is almost automatic on a free position, converting 6-of-7 eight meters.

SHARING THE WEALTH
Dartmouth routinely has seven to eight players recording a point in games, and the team's unselfishness was truly evident against Siena on April 6, with 15 assists on 18 goals. Dartmouth has scored 128 goals this season, 27 off of free positions. Of the 101 goals scored during the course of game play, Dartmouth has assisted on 66 of those, or 65 percent of goals coming assisted.

... AND KEEPING OPPONENTS FROM DOING SO
Conversely, the Big Green defense has allowed opponents to assist on just 22 of their 58 goals, or 38 percent. Dartmouth's last two opponents, Brown and Siena, scored seven and six goals, respectively, without a single assist. Even #18 Boston University had just three assists on its 10 goals. Dartmouth's defenders are forcing opponents to go one-on-one with Julie Wadland, who has a 50 percent average chance of making a save.

THE ELITE BETWEEN THE PIPES
Senior Julie Wadland has positioned herself in a great line of Dartmouth goalies, becoming just the third Big Green keeper to play more than 3,000 minutes for her career and ranking third all-time in career saves with 409. Dartmouth has not missed a beat since 1999 when Sarah Hughes '02 began a career that led to a school record 550 saves in 62 outings, playing 3,339 minutes. When she graduated, Devon Wills '06 took over the reins and started all but one of her 70 games played from 2003-06, logging 4,176 minutes and making 538 saves, second all-time. Upon the graduation of Wills, Wadland was right there and became the Green's everyday starter midway through her freshman year. Wadland has followed in the footsteps of Hughes and Wills as a first team All-Ivy keeper and member of the US Developmental team — Wills led the US Elite to the 2010 World Cup title. Currently among the nation's leaders for goals against average, Wadland looks to join them in the ranks of Dartmouth's All-America goalies this season.

QUICK ON THE DRAW
While sophomore Sarah Plumb primarily takes the draw for Dartmouth, any number of her teammates are likely to come up with the draw control. The Big Green has won 119 draws to its opponents 84 and seven different Dartmouth players have hauled in at least 10 draws. Senior defender Colleen Olsen and sophomore midfielder Hilary Smith each have 22 draws, followed by 17 for Plumb.

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