Field Hockey Picks Up First Win of the Season Over Merrimack

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth field hockey picked up its first win of the season Friday, holding off a second-half push from Merrimack for a 4-2 win at Chase Field. The Big Green improve to 1-1, while Merrimack falls to 0-4. The win was also the first of head coach Jason Klinkradt's career, and his first at Dartmouth.

Dartmouth came out fast in the first quarter, breaking through in the ninth minute when Ella Bowman opened the scoring off an assist from Riley Dumigan, capping a possession that began with a Dumigan corner. The Big Green doubled their advantage minutes later, as Lilly Venezia scored the first goal of her career at the 14:09 mark, punching in a rebound after Amelie Luessmann's shot had been turned aside by Merrimack goalkeeper Audra Szymborski. Dartmouth carried a 2-0 lead into the second quarter.

The Big Green kept their foot on the gas in the second, working the ball into the circle behind back-to-back Dumigan corners before McLaine Leik finished off the sequence with the first goal of her career, assisted by Bowman, to make it 3-0 just four minutes into the period. Merrimack managed only a single shot the rest of the quarter, a Maddy Cherry attempt that goalkeeper Kylie McKinley turned away, and Dartmouth took a comfortable three-goal cushion into the half.

Merrimack came out with more urgency after the break, and the Big Green's cushion started to shrink. Erin Cottam pulled the visitors within two with an unassisted goal at the 33:40 mark, and Merrimack struck again just three minutes later when Delaney Weiler converted off a Cottam assist to make it 3-2. Dartmouth, which had swapped in Isabel Andrews at goalkeeper to start the second half, weathered the surge and kept Merrimack off the board the rest of the way.

Dartmouth answered in the fourth quarter to put the game away. After a string of second-half chances — shots from Luessmann, Lucia Compano and Ella Bowman all turned aside by Szymborski — the Big Green finally broke through again when Ally Brosie scored off a Dumigan corner at 48:02, restoring a two-goal cushion at 4-2. Merrimack pushed for another response, getting a Weiler shot saved by Andrews late, but Dartmouth's defense held firm to close out the win.

Dartmouth's offense was balanced all afternoon, with four different players finding the back of the net. Bowman finished with a goal and an assist, while Brosie, Venezia and Leik each added a goal of their own. Dumigan was the offensive hub, picking up an assist and drawing three of Dartmouth's ten corners on the day. The Big Green out-shot Merrimack 21-5 for the match and won the corner battle 10-3, a clear territorial advantage that showed up on the scoreboard. In net, McKinley made two saves in her 30 minutes of work before Andrews came on for the second half and stopped one of Merrimack's two second-half shots on target.

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