Big Green Open Home Slate with 16-7 Victory over Vermont

Tuesday, February 27

Hanover, N.H.

5:00 PM

Dartmouth College

2-1

Vermont

4-1

Vermont

Dartmouth

Photo by: Cayla Fernandes

Big Green Open Home Slate with 16-7 Victory over Vermont

2/27/2024 9:12:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Highlights

Three players recorded hat tricks for the Big Green

By: Nick Romei

HANOVER, N.H. – Katie Elders, Catherine Erb and Fiona O'Keeffe each scored hat tricks on Tuesday evening as the Dartmouth women's lacrosse team opened its home schedule with a 16-7 victory over twin-state rival Vermont.

Dartmouth improves to 2-1 while Vermont suffers its first loss of the season, falling to 4-1.

"There's such an incredible vibe and energy anytime we get to play at home and our fans were great," said Alex McFadden, the Josie Harper Head Coach of Women's Lacrosse. "What a beautiful day to play Vermont and Vermont always comes out firing. They always have a great team and they really push us and it's such a great game to prepare us for our upcoming Ivy League opener against Cornell."

Katina Christensen finished with two goals and two assists and Maja Desmond netted her first two goals of the season. Annie O'Keeffe scored her first collegiate goal while Mia Puccio and Lucy Murray also found the back of the net. Murray chipped in three assists and Fiona O'Keeffe had two assists to lead all Dartmouth players with five points.

The Big Green combined for nine caused turnovers, with Sophia Franco and Alex Maliagros each recording two. Gisele Todd made 11 saves in net to go along with five ground balls and one caused turnover, earning her second win of the season.

Dartmouth got off to a hot start, scoring just 19 seconds into the contest when Elders found the back of the net. The Big Green added two more in the first period to take a 3-0 lead after the opening 15 minutes of play.

What a goal from Fiona O'Keeffe!!!!@ESPNPlus | https://t.co/0l7P7jPEQD | #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/syDVjiZny6
— Dartmouth W Lacrosse (@DartmouthWLax) February 27, 2024

Elders and Christensen scored early in the second frame to make it a 5-0 game. Ava Vasile scored twice to bring the Catamounts back within three, but the Big Green scored three goals in the final five minutes of the second quarter to carry an 8-2 lead into halftime.

Erb and Christensen tallied goals early in the second half to push the lead to eight before both teams traded goals over the course of the third quarter. With the score at 12-5 in favor of the Big Green, Desmond scored her first goal of the night with 34 seconds remaining in the third to start a four-goal unanswered run for Dartmouth, ultimately taking a 16-5 lead in the fourth quarter.

O'Keeffe to O'Keeffe!!

Annie O'Keeffe tallies her first collegiate goal!@ESPNPlus | https://t.co/0l7P7jPEQD pic.twitter.com/uW8O16ZmUM
— Dartmouth W Lacrosse (@DartmouthWLax) February 27, 2024

"It was really special to be out there [on Scully-Fahey Field] with the team," said Elders. "I think we really stuck to the game plan and showed our heart out there."

Dartmouth opens the Ivy League schedule on Saturday afternoon at Cornell. Opening draw is slated for 3 p.m. at Schoellkopf Field and will be available to watch on ESPN+ and Stretch Internet. The Big Green then return to Scully-Fahey Field next Tuesday for a non-conference game against UMass.