HANOVER — The Dartmouth College men’s lacrosse team fell short of completing a comeback in the final four minutes of play as Harvard dealt the Big Green its 24th straight Ivy League defeat, 12-9, on Saturday afternoon at Scully-Fahey Field.
Saturday afternoon’s game went back and forth through most of the first three quarters. Dartmouth goalkeeper Dan Hincks excelled throughout, posting a career-high 17 saves, three coming in the first three minutes to keep the game even and give his squad the opportunity to strike first.
However, Dartmouthcouldn’t overcome poor play on the draw, winning just twice in 22 opportunities. That gave Harvard’s offense plenty of time to tire the Big Green out.
“I was really proud of the effort and toughness today,” Dartmouth head coach Brendan Callahan said. “I think our defense wore down. They have talented guys on offense, and we just gave them too many chances today.”
The direction of play favored the Crimson early, as the visitors controlled possession in the Big Green’s zone for the first five minutes of play.
However, it was Dartmouth that struck first when junior Ben Martin, who had a hat trick in the loss, put away his first shot of the game.
Harvard seized control after Martin’s strike, scoring the next four goals in a row. The Big Green fought back with a run of four straight goals to pull ahead before half, 5-4, matching the status of last year’s 10-8 Harvard victory. Matt Paul delivered three of his team-high four goals in the charge, with freshman Cormac Zachar providing the other for his first collegiate tally.
Hincks, a 6-foot-5 freshman, kept Dartmouth in the contest, building upon a promising start to his Big Green career.
“The composure from Hincks in his very first Ivy League game was really impressive,” Callahan said. “I think he has a chance to be a really good goalie, and I think he showed it today.”
The third quarter brought intense back-and-forth play. Harvard tied the game at 5-5 before Dartmouth stormed back with two straight goals, including an incredible conversion by Paul, who ran right toward the center in front of the net, fell and still managed to put away shot in the upper right corner of the Harvard net.
The two-goal lead, Dartmouth’s largest of the contest, only lasted briefly.
The Crimson scored twice within the final three minutes of the third quarter — the latter with just 1 second on the clock — to draw even at 7-7. That put all of the pressure on the fourth quarter, which Harvard (4-4, 1-1) commenced by scoring four more times for an 11-7 cushion.
Dartmouth didn’t win a single second-half draw. The Big Green entered the game ranked 60th of 73 programs in the nation in draw percentage at 40.5 percent, just one spot below Harvard despite Saturday’s dominance.
“I think the fact that we were even in the game despite losing so many faceoffs is a testament to how hard the guys played today,” Callahan said.
Dartmouth (2-5, 0-1) hits the road for its next two games, and neither will be easy: a visit to No. 5 Cornell on Saturday followed by a trip to No. 3 Yale a week after that.