Junior midfielder Travis Smith looks to pass against Dartmouth on March 22.
Credit: Kenny ChenAll day long, Penn students wore green as they belatedly celebrated St. Patrick’s Day. However, in the evening at Franklin Field, green was an enemy color for Penn men’s lacrosse when the Red and Blue took on Dartmouth on Saturday, March 22. In the end, the spirit of the daytime triumphed on a windy night, as the Big Green emerged victorious by a score of 9-8 in an overtime thriller.
The game was neck-and-neck throughout, with neither team ever leading by more than a single goal. While the Quakers defense largely held up, coach Mike Murphy said that the team needed to improve its offensive production.
“We have to be able to score more,” Murphy said in a postgame interview. He noted that the Red and Blue had 35 possessions before saying, “We just didn’t do enough with the opportunities that we had.”
No. 16 Penn (4-5, 1-1 Ivy) and No. 20 Dartmouth (7-1, 1-0) came into Saturday with the top defenses in the Ivy League, and those showed in the physical nature of the game. Draws became protracted struggles for possession, and players for both teams were harassed as they attempted to clear.
Just looking at the scoreboard, though, it would be hard to determine the prowess of both side’s defenses. Dartmouth midfielder Emmett Paradine opened scoring slightly over two minutes in, and the Big Green tallied four goals in the first quarter. The Quakers could keep up, beginning with sophomore attacking midfielder Davis Provost, who found the back of the net off a great assist from sophomore midfielder Leo Hoffman. As wind whipped around Franklin FIeld, the game went back and forth, and Dartmouth led 4-3 after one quarter.
The second quarter looked to be a continuation; Penn had a few early chances before Provost again scored to level the game. From there, however, the game slowed down. Scoring chances were limited, and the two goalies — Penn senior goalkeeper Emmet Carroll and Dartmouth goalkeeper Mason Morel — made key saves. As halftime approached, each team scored, and at the break, the game was tied 6-6.
The two teams were relatively even in many statistical categories. Penn held a 21-15 advantage in shots but Morel a 7-4 lead in saves. One key standout came with each sides’ penalty defense. Five penalties took effect throughout the first half — giving the teams a man-up advantage. But while Penn converted both of its extra-man opportunities, Dartmouth failed to score on any of its three.
“Those guys did a pretty good job of taking away the inside looks [and] skip passes and forcing them to settle for outside shots,” Murphy said of his team’s defense during man-down situations. “[Dartmouth] either didn’t shoot it, or it got saved, so we did play it pretty well.”
If the first half represented a deviation from each team’s defensive mindset, the second symbolized its embodiment. From the beginning of the third quarter until there were six minutes left in regulation, neither team scored a goal. Defenders prevented many clear shots, and what few made it to the goalkeeper were deftly handled.
So, when senior attacker Ben Smith gave Penn a lead with six minutes to play, things seemed to be looking up for the Quakers. But the Big Green stormed back and scored twice, going ahead 8-7 with under two minutes to play. Having only scored one goal so far in an entire half, Penn needed an answer to force overtime. That answer came in the form of a brilliant shot from senior attacker Cam Rubin. The senior picked his way through the defense and scored, tying the game at the end of regulation.
In overtime, it didn’t matter that each team had only scored two goals apiece in the second half. The first goal decides the game. Penn got possession first but couldn’t execute its play, with Morel making a great save at close range. On the Big Green’s possession, it converted with a short-range goal from Dartmouth attacker Alex Jessey, winning the match in walk-off fashion.
“Two goals in the second half — it’s been a problem for us,” Murphy said of Penn’s offense. “[It was] just uncharacteristic mistakes,” like a player throwing the ball over someone’s head or dropping a pass caught near the opponent’s goal. Murphy said that the Quakers will continue to tinker with their personnel and scheme moving forward throughout the remainder of the season.
The loss brings Penn to 1-1 in conference play this year, tied for No. 3 in the Ivy League alongside Harvard and Princeton. Dartmouth now joins Cornell atop the conference standings following two match-weeks. With four conference games remaining, each will be crucial to secure the Quakers a spot at the conference tournament in May. Their next step towards it will come on Saturday, March 29 at noon, as they head to Ithaca, N.Y. to take on Cornell.
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