Second-Half Goals Propel Dartmouth Past No. 24 Seattle

Sunday, September 11

Hanover, N.H.

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

Seattle

Second-Half Goals Propel Dartmouth Past No. 24 Seattle

9/11/2016 7:24:00 PM | Men's Soccer

By: Dartmouth

HANOVER, N.H. – Thanks to two second-half goals, the Dartmouth men's soccer team defeated No. 24 Seattle, 2-1, at Burnham Field on Sunday evening for the Big Green's first win of 2016.

With the victory, Dartmouth improves to 1-1-2, while the Red Hawks fall to 2-3-0.

In a physical contest that saw six yellow cards and 15 fouls between the two teams, the Big Green rallied after surrendering a goal just four minutes into the game. Seattle, ranked 24th nationally in the Soccer America weekly poll, quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first half when David Olsen took a shot that went off a Dartmouth player and found the back of the net.

“I think we always knew it was going to be a challenging game,” Big Green head coach Chad Riley said. “Four games in 10 days against Top 25 opponents has been a great test for us. Credit to Seattle, they are a great team.”

A few minutes after the Red Hawks' goal, Seattle was looking to add to its lead when Jeff Rose caught up with a lose ball in front of James Hickok, but the Dartmouth defense put the pressure on Rose and his shot sailed wide to the left.

With 17 minutes left in the half, Justin Donawa crossed a ball into the box, which was nearly headed in for the equalizer.

After the halftime break, the Big Green stepped up their attack in Seattle's end of the field, outshooting the Red Hawks 9-4 in the second stanza.

“We have the mindset that we want to challenge ourselves and get better,” Riley said. “We want to grow in every game and that's why we challenge ourselves with early with this type of schedule. I know I have a tough group and a group that likes to compete together.”

In the 50th minute, Dartmouth finally got the game-tying tally when Matt Danilack headed in a free kick from Matt Greer. A few minutes later on another Big Green free kick Greer nearly scored the go-ahead goal, but the Red Hawks' keeper dove for the stop.

The Big Green took the lead for good in the 82nd minute when Noah Paravicini hit Donawa with a pass toward the top of the box, as Donawa fired a hard shot for the game winning goal.

Dartmouth played lock down defense in the final seven minutes to earn its first win of the season, much to the delight of the home crowd.

The Big Green return to action on Sept. 17 when Dartmouth travels to UMass Lowell at 7 p.m.