Ivy Color War: #19 Dartmouth Women's Lacrosse Hosts Cornell

Dartmouth vs. Cornell Complete Game Notes

The 19th ranked Dartmouth women's lacrosse team rides a four-game win streak into another critical Ivy League contest when the Big Green battles the Big Red this Saturday at 12 p.m. on Scully-Fahey Field. Dartmouth is a perfect 3-0 in Ivy play as well as 4-0 at home this season and looks to remain unbeaten on both fronts as it closes out a three-game homestand against the Big Red (3-6, 1-3 Ivy). Dartmouth is currently 2-0 against teams from the state of New York and looks for a clean sweep when Cornell comes to town. The Big Green heads south to take on defending Ivy champ Penn next Saturday but will return to Hanover to host its last three regular season games at home.

Dartmouth is fresh off a nice win over #13 Syracuse, 10-7, this past Monday. The Big Green used solid defense and a balanced attack to come back from a 5-3 halftime deficit, outscoring the Orange, 7-2, in the second half. That game started a stretch in which five of the final six opponents on Dartmouth's schedule are either ranked (four) or receiving top-20 votes (one).

Game 10: #19 DARTMOUTH (7-2, 3-0 Ivy) vs CORNELL (3-6, 1-3 Ivy)
Date: Saturday, April 9, 2011 • 12 PM
Admission: $6 Adults, $3 Youth
Location: Hanover, N.H. • Scully-Fahey Field

Dartmouth - Cornell Series
Dartmouth leads, 27-5
Streak: Dartmouth +3
Last Meeting: Dartmouth W, 10-8 • 4/30/10 • Philadelphia, Pa. (Ivy League Tournament Semifinal)
Of Note: Dartmouth beat the Big Red twice last season, a 9-6 win in Ithaca and a 10-8 victory in the semifinals of the first-ever Ivy League Tournament. Dartmouth has lost to Cornell in Hanover just twice — last in 1984.

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THIS TIME: COLOR WAR IN HANOVER
The Big Green hosts the Big Red in an Ivy color war when Cornell comes to town on Saturday, April 9. This is the third straight home game for #19 Dartmouth, which remains one of three Ivy unbeatens. Dartmouth has taken three straight from the Big Red, including a win in the semifinals of the first-ever Ivy League tournament last spring. The Big Green has gone a perfect 4-0 at home so far this season, and has four more opportunities to play at Scully-Fahey Field as the regular season winds down. A trip to defending champ Penn next Saturday marks the final road game of the regular season, before three more huge contests against Princeton, Harvard and Maryland at home.
Despite sitting at 3-6, Cornell is no pushover as the Big Red has already played five ranked opponents including the previous four games. The Big Red knocked off #14 Notre Dame, 6-5, in double-overtime before losing at #5 North Carolina, #4 Penn and #12 Princeton. The Big Red has struggled at times to score this season, but Dartmouth will need to keep a close eye — and stick check — on Jessi Steinberg, who leads Cornell with 25 goals and two assists.

LAST TIME: ORANGE CRUSHED
#19 Dartmouth made it two in a row against #13 Syracuse with a thrilling 10-7 comeback win in Hanover this past Monday, April 14. The Big Green trailed 5-3 at halftime before closing the game on a 7-2 run, including five unanswered goals midway through the second half, to stun and frustrate the Orange, who had no answer for Dartmouth's defense. Dartmouth was fortunate to not trail by more than two at the half, as the Big Green played defense for about the final 10 minutes of the period, holding Syracuse in check. That trend remained in the second as the attack came alive jumpstarted by the efforts of Kirsten Goldberg, who finished with three goals for the second-straight game. Classmate Sarah Plumb racked up five points on the day (three goals, two assists), including four of those points in the second half. Dartmouth also capitalized on Orange fouls, converting 4-of-4 free position attempts.
It was defense that proved the difference maker in the end, however, as the Big Green's defenders frustrated the Orange all afternoon, putting freshman goalie Kristen Giovanniello in great position to make 10 saves with just seven goals allowed.
The game marked the first time this season that Dartmouth has won in comeback fashion after trailing at halftime.

NEXT TIME: NO PEACE IN PHILLY
Following the game against Cornell, #19 Dartmouth has a week off to prep for what could prove to be a pivotal Ivy showdown at Penn on April 16, should the Big Green win this weekend. #8 Penn (4-0) does not have an Ivy game this week and the Quakers, nowhere near as mild-mannered as their namesake, kept their 33-game Ivy winning streak intact with a 13-6 win at Columbia last Sunday. Dartmouth came close to upsetting the Quakers in the Ivy Tournament final last year, instead taking a 9-8 loss at Penn's Franklin Field. Penn has played a brutally tough schedule this spring as well and should be battle-tested for the stretch run.
After the trip to Philadelphia, the Big Green returns to Hanover to host its final three regular season games, including a rivalry matchup against #12 Princeton on April 23.

WHERE WE RANK
Despite picking up a win over unranked Brown, the IWCLA coaches' poll moved the Big Green to 19th, in rankings that came out before the win over #13 Syracuse. This week, Dartmouth popped back into the Inside Lacrosse poll, sitting at 20th.

PLUMB DANDY
Junior Sarah Plumb has been on a tear for Dartmouth in the last three games, recording hat tricks against Oregon, Columbia and #13 Syracuse. Plumb tallied three goals and one assist against both Oregon and Columbia before recording three goals and two assists to lead a second-half rally against the Orange.
One of the Ivy's most versatile midfielders, Plumb ranks in the top-three on Dartmouth's team in every single statistical category. As a sophomore last season, she finished in the top-three in all but one category.

YUP, SHE'S A FRESHMAN
Freshman goalie Kristen Giovanniello is a big part of the Big Green's success this season and she currently leads the nation in save percentage at 54.4 percent. Prior to the Syracuse game, Giovanniello's percentage was at .538, which led the nation in this week's rankings and she further solidified her position by making 10 saves to just seven goals allowed against the Orange. She also boasts an impressive 8.00 goals against average, among the nation's elite.
Giovanniello has recorded double-digit saves on four occasions, with a season-high of 15 saves recorded at Vermont.

THAT'S ANOTHER AT 100
Senior Greta Meyer joined classmate Kat Collins in the 100-goal club when she converted a free position goal against Brown on April 2 for the 100th of her career. She is the 16th player in program history to reach the mark. In addition to her now 101 goals, Meyer has dished out 48 assists, putting her at 11th all-time with 149 career points.

OFFENSE-DEFENSE BALANCE
Dartmouth has scored 24 more goals than its opponents this season with an Ivy-League best +2.67 scoring margin. The Big Green's 96 goals scored ranks third in the league while its 72 goals allowed is tied with Penn for the fewest allowed. In Ivy play, Dartmouth has a scoring margin of +7.0, second only to Princeton at +8.5, though the Tigers have played only two league games.

BIG GREEN BALANCED ATTACK
Dartmouth showed incredible balance in scoring a season-high 17 goals against Brown on April 2. Nine different players scored a goal for the Big Green, with three players reaching the three-goal mark. Dartmouth's leading scorers, Kat Collins and Greta Meyer, scored only one goal each, giving the Big Green a chance to show off its depth and a balance that few teams can match.
It was more of the same against Syracuse, when the Big Green got 10 goals from six different players and just one each from its top-scoring duo.

IVY HONOREES
After picking up wins over Oregon and Columbia, Dartmouth also swept the Ivy League's weekly awards on March 28. Senior Kat Collins was tabbed the Ivy Offensive Player of the Week while freshman Kristen Giovanniello earned Defensive Player of the Week honors. Collins was dominant on attack, posting 14 points (10 goals, four assists) along with five ground balls, five draws and five caused turnovers on the week. She scored her 100th career goal in the win over Oregon. Giovanniello was solid as ever in goal, posting a staggering .553 save percentage and an 8.50 goals against average. She made 21 saves to just 17 goals allowed including 13 saves against Oregon, a 12-10 win, and eight at Columbia.

PARKS CLOSING IN ON THE MARK
Junior Sarah Parks looks to become Dartmouth's third active 100-point player as she currently has 91 for her career. Sarah Plumb is 21 points shy of 100 as well.

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