Completed Event: Field Hockey versus Harvard on August 23, 2025 ,
Final
Field Hockey
vs Harvard
Photo by: Nick Romei
Barnes’ Return? An Easy Decision
4/25/2024 10:47:00 AM | Field Hockey, Peak Performance
Meg Barnes is currently working for Deloitte in New York City, but was at Dartmouth this fall playing her fifth year with the Big Green field hockey team.
It was a decision she called "a no-brainer."
"When COVID first happened and I learned that I would have an extra season of eligibility, I was immediately very intrigued," said Barnes. "I love playing field hockey and I love this team more than anything. So, if I had the opportunity to play with my teammates and play the sport I love one more time, it was a pretty easy decision.
"I'm really happy with my decision to come back."
The decision turned out well on a number of fronts, individually and for Dartmouth field hockey's continued growth as a program. In the fall, the Big Green not only won their first Ivy League game since 2018, but won two — with both coming by multiple goals.
Barnes has been an integral part of helping lead the program to this point, under the direction of head coach Mark Egner and his staff. She has strong perspective of the program's transformation, as the only student-athlete on the roster this fall who had played for the previous coaching staff. Egner's first day at Dartmouth was mere days before COVID-19 shut down college athletics.
"It was definitely a weird time for a ton of different reasons, then you add on having a new coaching staff," said Barnes. "At the very beginning of COVID, Mark did a great job of conducting various zooms to get to know everyone.
"As we transitioned to coming back on campus, we had practices in person, which were really fun," Barnes continued. "We still had to stay five feet apart, but the staff did a wonderful job of making the most of what we could do at the time."
Egner remembers talking to Barnes during his first spring (over COVID) about her aspirations.
"It was clear then that she had the right mindset and aspirations to play a big role in taking our group where we needed to go," said Egner. "Over the years, we had countless meetings where you could really see her application and the ideas taking root. Meg was humble enough to learn, but driven enough to keep pushing to get better right until her final game."
Egner's first season was in the fall of 2021 — a year and a half after his first day on the job.
"A lot of small changes and a lot of small steps have added up to big changes for us," said Barnes. "It definitely can be frustrating in the moment when you feel like you're doing all these small extra things, yet it doesn't feel like it's affecting the outcome."
"But I think that's why this past season (2023) was so fun," she continued. "We were seeing all the progress and outcomes of our hard work."
Barnes isn't the loudest voice in the locker room or field, but her leadership style is extremely effective.
"I love to lead by example," she said. "I hope I impacted working really hard and always being disciplined. I have also worked on listening to others because as a leader, it's really important to listen and know each of your teammates individually and get a pulse on them and a pulse on the entire team. In order to do that, it takes a lot of work, having conversations, checking in on your teammates and getting to know them."
While growth is evident in intangible ways like team chemistry, similar growth has also happened on the field for the Big Green.
"The coaching staff has done a fantastic job honing in on our style of play," said Barnes. "We love to pass and we love to make each other look good, which is a lot of fun when we get the ball in the net. We are also disciplined on defense."
Another word Barnes used to describe the Big Green program is supportive.
"It's a great team to be a part of, which of course just makes the season more fun and helps us gel a little bit more when we're playing," she said.
The results didn't happen overnight. As Barnes said, she really began to see things coming together in the fall of 2022 during her senior season.
"We had a lot of close games," she said. "It felt like we were really hanging in there with tough teams. You could definitely feel a shift in momentum."
During that 2022 season, the Big Green lost their seven Ivy League games by a total of nine goals. After a pair of competitive two-goal losses to begin, they ended with five straight one-goal defeats, including vs. No. 8 Princeton and No. 15 Harvard, along with a double overtime loss to Penn.
"Meg's true senior season, she suffered an injury late that could have derailed her," said Egner. "But instead, she found a way to push the team forwards, motivational speeches, supporting from the sideline and she did everything she could to help the team. Her selflessness was critical to developing a leaderful team."
Being so close to breaking through only helped convince Barnes to return.
"It was really exciting for me to be a part of that [2022 season], but I thought I had a lot to contribute to this program to help continue on that upward trajectory," she said.
It became clear that 2023 would be a breakthrough season for Dartmouth field hockey.
"We were super excited about all the potential we had, especially with our incoming class of first-years, who we knew were going to make an impact right away," said Barnes. "It felt like everything was coming together for us in a way it hadn't before, and I was excited to help lead our team through that season one last time."
In the spring before the 2023 season, the Big Green took a training trip to Barcelona, Spain which paid dividends.
"I also think it exposed us to a different style of play, which was really fun to have to adjust to the style in Europe," she continued. "We were forced to adapt like we would in a game or season; that helped us prepare and be a more adaptable in certain situations."
The result in the upcoming fall was strong, with the Big Green finishing 6-9 and 2-5 in the Ivy League. They doubled their 2022 win total (in two fewer games) while beating Brown (2-0) and Columbia (3-1) at home.
"After the Brown win, I remember getting chills and getting such an uplifting feeling, being there and celebrating with all my teammates," said Barnes. "To finally get the outcome we've been working for, it was incredibly gratifying. That second win was the cherry on top."
"It proved we totally have a place among these Ivy League teams," said Barnes. "The first one wasn't just a fluke; we're building a name for ourselves and we're really eager to keep building on that. And I think it showed, as we had some close games with some other Ivy teams."
"I was so proud of everyone contributing, on and off the field, to get those wins," she said. "It really showed that we can hang in there for 60 minutes and extra time. I'm proud of everyone for how hard they worked."
Barnes was an honorable mention All-Ivy League player as a junior, but her greatest impact has come with helping raise the collective bar among those around her.
"I hope to have left a team full of leaders, which included reaching out to the underclassmen and helping them lead in their own ways, on and off the field," she said. "One of my goals for this season was to leave this team, and this program, better than I found it. That meant building a really good foundation of players and leaders."
Time will tell, but by all accounts, the Big Green are exactly where Barnes was hoping — and things should only go up from here.
"I know the future is bright based on the momentum and belief in ourselves, which I hadn't felt to a degree like this before," she said. "A really solid foundation has been built beneath this program. I think there's always been a good foundation within the Dartmouth field hockey, but Mark [Egner] really took it and ran."
Barnes compared her five years with the Big Green to climbing stairs.
"We took a few steps back at times, but it definitely feels like the program is going to keep climbing and building off the momentum," she said.
"I'm so excited to watch Dartmouth field hockey next season and seasons to come."
It was a decision she called "a no-brainer."
"When COVID first happened and I learned that I would have an extra season of eligibility, I was immediately very intrigued," said Barnes. "I love playing field hockey and I love this team more than anything. So, if I had the opportunity to play with my teammates and play the sport I love one more time, it was a pretty easy decision.
"I'm really happy with my decision to come back."
The decision turned out well on a number of fronts, individually and for Dartmouth field hockey's continued growth as a program. In the fall, the Big Green not only won their first Ivy League game since 2018, but won two — with both coming by multiple goals.
Barnes has been an integral part of helping lead the program to this point, under the direction of head coach Mark Egner and his staff. She has strong perspective of the program's transformation, as the only student-athlete on the roster this fall who had played for the previous coaching staff. Egner's first day at Dartmouth was mere days before COVID-19 shut down college athletics.
"It was definitely a weird time for a ton of different reasons, then you add on having a new coaching staff," said Barnes. "At the very beginning of COVID, Mark did a great job of conducting various zooms to get to know everyone.
"As we transitioned to coming back on campus, we had practices in person, which were really fun," Barnes continued. "We still had to stay five feet apart, but the staff did a wonderful job of making the most of what we could do at the time."
Egner remembers talking to Barnes during his first spring (over COVID) about her aspirations.
"It was clear then that she had the right mindset and aspirations to play a big role in taking our group where we needed to go," said Egner. "Over the years, we had countless meetings where you could really see her application and the ideas taking root. Meg was humble enough to learn, but driven enough to keep pushing to get better right until her final game."
Egner's first season was in the fall of 2021 — a year and a half after his first day on the job.
"A lot of small changes and a lot of small steps have added up to big changes for us," said Barnes. "It definitely can be frustrating in the moment when you feel like you're doing all these small extra things, yet it doesn't feel like it's affecting the outcome."
"But I think that's why this past season (2023) was so fun," she continued. "We were seeing all the progress and outcomes of our hard work."
Barnes isn't the loudest voice in the locker room or field, but her leadership style is extremely effective.
"I love to lead by example," she said. "I hope I impacted working really hard and always being disciplined. I have also worked on listening to others because as a leader, it's really important to listen and know each of your teammates individually and get a pulse on them and a pulse on the entire team. In order to do that, it takes a lot of work, having conversations, checking in on your teammates and getting to know them."
While growth is evident in intangible ways like team chemistry, similar growth has also happened on the field for the Big Green.
"The coaching staff has done a fantastic job honing in on our style of play," said Barnes. "We love to pass and we love to make each other look good, which is a lot of fun when we get the ball in the net. We are also disciplined on defense."
Another word Barnes used to describe the Big Green program is supportive.
"It's a great team to be a part of, which of course just makes the season more fun and helps us gel a little bit more when we're playing," she said.
The results didn't happen overnight. As Barnes said, she really began to see things coming together in the fall of 2022 during her senior season.
"We had a lot of close games," she said. "It felt like we were really hanging in there with tough teams. You could definitely feel a shift in momentum."
During that 2022 season, the Big Green lost their seven Ivy League games by a total of nine goals. After a pair of competitive two-goal losses to begin, they ended with five straight one-goal defeats, including vs. No. 8 Princeton and No. 15 Harvard, along with a double overtime loss to Penn.
"Meg's true senior season, she suffered an injury late that could have derailed her," said Egner. "But instead, she found a way to push the team forwards, motivational speeches, supporting from the sideline and she did everything she could to help the team. Her selflessness was critical to developing a leaderful team."
Being so close to breaking through only helped convince Barnes to return.
"It was really exciting for me to be a part of that [2022 season], but I thought I had a lot to contribute to this program to help continue on that upward trajectory," she said.
It became clear that 2023 would be a breakthrough season for Dartmouth field hockey.
"We were super excited about all the potential we had, especially with our incoming class of first-years, who we knew were going to make an impact right away," said Barnes. "It felt like everything was coming together for us in a way it hadn't before, and I was excited to help lead our team through that season one last time."
In the spring before the 2023 season, the Big Green took a training trip to Barcelona, Spain which paid dividends.
"I believe it did a few things for us," said Barnes. "One, it really helped us bond and make connections. Spending a lot of time traveling with your teammates in another country where you're a little bit out of place, it's a really good environment to get to know each other even more.
"I also think it exposed us to a different style of play, which was really fun to have to adjust to the style in Europe," she continued. "We were forced to adapt like we would in a game or season; that helped us prepare and be a more adaptable in certain situations."
The result in the upcoming fall was strong, with the Big Green finishing 6-9 and 2-5 in the Ivy League. They doubled their 2022 win total (in two fewer games) while beating Brown (2-0) and Columbia (3-1) at home.
"After the Brown win, I remember getting chills and getting such an uplifting feeling, being there and celebrating with all my teammates," said Barnes. "To finally get the outcome we've been working for, it was incredibly gratifying. That second win was the cherry on top."
If there was any doubt, the Columbia win helped put a stamp on the program's growth.
"It proved we totally have a place among these Ivy League teams," said Barnes. "The first one wasn't just a fluke; we're building a name for ourselves and we're really eager to keep building on that. And I think it showed, as we had some close games with some other Ivy teams."
The Merrimack and Sacred Heart victories — wins in overtime and a shootout — also stood out to Barnes.
"I was so proud of everyone contributing, on and off the field, to get those wins," she said. "It really showed that we can hang in there for 60 minutes and extra time. I'm proud of everyone for how hard they worked."
Barnes was an honorable mention All-Ivy League player as a junior, but her greatest impact has come with helping raise the collective bar among those around her.
"I hope to have left a team full of leaders, which included reaching out to the underclassmen and helping them lead in their own ways, on and off the field," she said. "One of my goals for this season was to leave this team, and this program, better than I found it. That meant building a really good foundation of players and leaders."
Time will tell, but by all accounts, the Big Green are exactly where Barnes was hoping — and things should only go up from here.
"I know the future is bright based on the momentum and belief in ourselves, which I hadn't felt to a degree like this before," she said. "A really solid foundation has been built beneath this program. I think there's always been a good foundation within the Dartmouth field hockey, but Mark [Egner] really took it and ran."
Barnes compared her five years with the Big Green to climbing stairs.
"We took a few steps back at times, but it definitely feels like the program is going to keep climbing and building off the momentum," she said.
"I'm so excited to watch Dartmouth field hockey next season and seasons to come."
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M
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