Needing a win to stay in contention for the Ivy League championship, the Dartmouth women’s soccer team faced an uphill battle against conference-leading Columbia University (9-3-3, 3-1-1 Ivy) in New York City on Saturday. The Big Green (5-7-2, 2-2-1 Ivy) rallied behind the strong play of its defense and an impressive performance by Chrissy Lozier ’14, defeating the Lions in their Homecoming game with a 2-1 victory. The men’s team was not as fortunate, falling 2-1 to Columbia.
With the upset, the Dartmouth women climb into fifth place in the Ivy League, just three points behind the leaders, and now owns a share of its own destiny with two games left on its schedule.
“We played the ‘top team in the Ivy League’ and we beat them not only in goals, but also in skill and physicality on their own Homecoming,” co-captain Katie Davis ’11 said. “If we hadn’t pulled through with a win, we wouldn’t be in the running, but now we are. The win gives us great momentum going into our final games.”
Peyton Tata ’11 opened the scoring in the 38th minute with her fourth goal of the season, beating the goalkeeper after co-captain Melisa Krnjaic ’11 redirected a cross from Lozier in Tata’s direction.
Lozier then gave the Big Green some much-needed insurance in the 75th minute, heading the ball in after Lions goalkeeper Lillian Klein failed to clear a Dartmouth corner. Lozier’s goal proved to be the decisive one, as Columbia responded quickly with a goal in the 76th minute, but could not penetrate Dartmouth’s defense for an equalizer.
“The key was not letting them play their game,” Krnjaic said. “We went at them with quality and we went for 90 minutes. They got a second-half goal, but we didn’t let down.”
Dartmouth earned the upset by fending off Columbia’s direct, team-oriented attack with composure and pressure, according to head coach Angie Hind. The Big Green worked in practice all week to prepare for an offensive weapon it had yet to confront this season — Lions freshman defender Chelsea Ryan and her long throw-ins into the center of the box.
“We were aware of the fact that they have a key player, [Ryan], who takes super-long throw-ins — almost like corner kicks,” Hind said. “We dealt with them very well. We were organized, prepared and ready for their attack.”
The men’s soccer team lost another close game at Columbia on Saturday. After being defeated 1-0 on a fourth-minute goal against the University of Pennsylvania last weekend, the Big Green (6-5-1, 1-3 Ivy) was devastated in the 88th minute as Lions freshman Henning Sauerbier slotted a cross past Lyman Missimer ’11, giving his team a 2-1 victory. Sauerbier, a former member of the German national under-18 soccer team, has quickly asserted himself as a dominant force in the Ivy League and is fifth in the league with four goals scored.
The Lions’ first goal came in the 55th minute, giving the team a 1-0 lead. Co-captain Daniel Keat ’10 equalized for the Big Green in the 68th minute, but the team failed to capitalize on the change in momentum, missing a total of six shots in the second half. The loss to Columbia (5-7-1, 1-3 Ivy) means Dartmouth now trails the league-leading University of Pennsylvania Quakers by nine points in the standings.
In the minutes leading up to Columbia’s go-ahead goal, forwards Lucky Mkosana ’12 and Maarten van Ess ’12 both had headers stopped by diving saves by Lions goalkeeper Alexander Aurrichio. The header was Mkosana’s Ivy League-leading 61st shot of the season. Mkosana, who has scored two goals in twelve games this year, has struggled to reach his personal total of eight goals last season.
“For large periods we outplayed [Columbia],” head coach Jeff Cook said. “We worked extremely hard throughout the game, but we made a couple of mistakes defensively that led to Columbia’s goals.”
Dartmouth has lost four games by one goal this season. The team will need to put this latest heartbreaker behind it going into this week, when it will face two of the toughest games of the season. The Big Green travels to No. 20 Boston College on Wednesday before hosting preseason Ivy League-favorite Harvard University at Homecoming on Saturday.
“We have a lot to play for still,” Cook said. “We’re essentially out of the race for the Ivy League title, but with five games left we’re pushing for an at-large bid into the ncaa tournament.”