No. 19 Yale Downs Dartmouth in Defensive Affair
from press release
HANOVER, N.H. – In a game that featured
44 combined turnovers, the Dartmouth men's lacrosse team was held
scoreless for the first 37 minutes as the Big Green dropped its
second Ivy game of the year to 19th-ranked Yale with an 8-3 loss on
Saturday afternoon.
Dartmouth (3-5, 1-2 Ivy) got goals from senior captain Ari Sussman
(New Haven, Conn.), junior Joshua Etzion (Boca Raton, Fla.) and
freshman Chris Costabile (Sykesville, Md.) with Sussman adding an
assist for a team-high two points. Sophomore Fergus Campbell (New
Canaan, Conn.) made nine saves, including five in the first half to
keep the Big Green to within striking distance.
Yale (7-2, 2-2 Ivy) saw Matt Gibson tally five goals and Brendan
Gibson pass out three assist to lead the Bulldogs to the victory.
Brian Douglass added a pair of scores, while Gregory Mahony also
netted a goal. Johnathan Falcone was impressive all afternoon,
especially in the second half, as he collected 15 saves with eight
coming in the final quarter.
Yale took the lead with 8:20 remaining in the first quarter at 1-0
on a goal from Matt Gibson. Brendan Gibson found Matt Gibson
cutting from behind the net and beat Campbell on a bounce shot that
found the top of the net.
Once again it was the two Gibson's hooking up for a man-up goal
late in the opening quarter to give the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage.
Matt Gibson made a nice individual dodge move coming from behind
the net and beat Campbell high just under the cross bar.
Matt Gibson looked to have given the Bulldogs a 3-0 advantage after
receiving a pass from the opposite side of the cage, but Campbell
slid across the crease to make an amazing stop as Gibson tried to
hit the empty net.
Yale solved Campbell for the first time in the second quarter on a
goal from Mahony with five minutes remaining. He was able to avoid
the Dartmouth defender and surprised Campbell with a sniper shot
inside the near post to make it 3-0 Yale. Matt Gibson completed the
first half hat trick with a fast break tally coming with 1:55 left
in the second quarter. Colin Still found an open Gibson in front
and with a couple of moves, but the ball in the net to increase the
lead to 4-0.
Matt Gibson continued to beat the Dartmouth defense alone on
another man-up situation. This time it came in the second half. He
added his fourth of the contest and second on the extra man
opportunity to make it 5-0 with under 10 minutes left in the third
frame. Brian Douglass tallied his first of the game with 8:30 left
with a laser from the outside that beat Campbell to the far
post.
Dartmouth finally got on the scoreboard as Costabile ripped the net
on a snipe from the outside that beat Falcone high and just under
the cross bar. Sussman was on the assist as Dartmouth cut the lead
to 6-1.
The Big Green wilted the advantage to 6-2 on an unassisted goal by
Sussman. During a scrum, Falcone tried to bring the ball out, but
loss control and the ball fell to Sussman. He didn't hesitate and
fired the ball through traffic and into the net.
Yale took back control after a short run by the Big Green with a
man-up goal from Douglass as he beat Campbell on shot from the
right side to push the lead up to 7-2. Dartmouth answered with its
own man-up tally from Etzion. Junior Rhett Miller (Dallas, Texas)
found Etzion at the opposite post and he was able to make a few
moves to score and make it 7-3 with 12 minutes remaining in the
game.
Matt Gibson closed out the scoring for both teams with this fifth
of the afternoon coming with 4:10 left in the game as the Bulldogs
left Hanover with an 8-3 win.
Yale lost the turnover battle to the Big Green, but the story was
Dartmouth's costly and self-inflicted turnovers in which the
Bulldogs took advantage. The mistakes were evident at the beginning
of the second half, when Yale scored twice on fast breaks and under
a minute apart. The Bulldogs had a slim 31-30 lead in shots, while
the ground-ball battle went to Yale with a 24-21 advantage.
Dartmouth will be back in action a week from Saturday as the Big
Green closes out its six-game streak against ranked opponents with
a visit to fourth-ranked Princeton at 1 p.m. on April 17.
