Lacrosse falls to No. 9/15 Dartmouth

In its fourth consecutive road game to start the season, the Boston University women’s lacrosse team lost at No. 9/15 Dartmouth University, 13-6.

The Terriers (1-3) were down 10-3 at the end of the first half after two large runs for the Big Green (3-0). Dartmouth midfielder Courtney Bennett scored the first goal of the game 3:21 in, and during the next 36 seconds the Big Green scored twice more. Dartmout scored an additional goal before BU got on the board with a free-position shot from junior attack Danielle Etrasco.

BU coach Liz Robertshaw said the Terriers’ errors in the charge from Dartmouth lay in their disorganization, which let the Big Green capitalize on BU’s mistakes.

“You know, I actually don’t think [we] responded [to the run] as well as I would have liked,” Robertshaw said. “I feel like we had a really good game plan going in.”

Dartmouth’s second run came a few minutes later. Up 5-1 after another Big Green goal, sophomore midfielder Lindsey Allard scored twice in just over a minute, with junior attack Hana Bowers adding one more goal with 15:50 left to make it 8-1. Dartmouth senior midfielder Sarah Plumb scored her second goal before BU freshman attack Mallory Collins scored her 11th goal of the season to end the run.

Sophomore Liz Calby scored the final goal of the half for Dartmouth at 10:45. The Big Green did not score again until more than 10 minutes into the second half, something Robertshaw chalked up to a general improvement, including better team defense coming off of a yellow card.

“We did improve [in Dartmouth’s scoreless stretch],” Robertshaw said. “We made constant improvements throughout the game, and that’s why you saw us score when we did. I think we were tighter on our marks, and I think we made some adjustments in that second part.”

Both offenses were quiet for a period after Calby’s goal, until BU senior attack Molly Swain notched the final goal of the half with just under 1:20 to go.

Dartmouth took 19 shots to BU’s 11 in the first half. Terrier sophomore goalkeeper Christina Sheridan saved three of those, while Dartmouth sophomore goalkeeper Kristen Giovanniello saved four shots.

“I felt Christina also saw the ball a little bit better and made some better saves,” Robertshaw said of her goalkeeper when the Terriers held Dartmouth scoreless near the end of the half.

“I thought Christina did a really good job of getting focused and ready to go for the second half [at halftime],” Robertshaw said.

In terms of scoring, the second half was significantly more balanced than the first. Etrasco opened the half with a goal 15 seconds in. Dartmouth scored twice more, before the BU attack responded with two of its own from junior midfielder Kristen Mogavero and Swain. Plumb scored the final goal of the game with 1:54 left.

BU played a little more evenly with the Big Green in the second half, shooting 12 times to Dartmouth’s 14. Sheridan had eight saves to Giovanniello’s five.

“I would say I was happy. I was happier than I was in the first half,” Robertshaw said of her reaction to her team’s performance in the second frame. “I did see better play from a lot of our team, but we still lack that finishing aspect from an attack perspective.”

Etrasco and Swain combined as the Terriers’ leading goal scorers at two apiece, while Collins and Mogavero each scored one goal. Etrasco led the team with six shots, followed by Swain with five and senior attack Hannah Frey with four.

Etrasco also had the Terriers’ lone assist. Junior defender Brittany Carlin picked up four ground balls and sophomore attack Nell Burdis won two draw controls. The Terriers went 14-9 on draw controls, something Robertshaw noted hurt BU.

Dartmouth found its scoring leader in Plumb, who put the ball in the cage four times for the Big Green. She also led the team with eight shots, five on goal. Bowers took seven shots, with five also on goal.

Of the 14 draw controls won by Dartmouth, Plumb won nine. She also had three ground balls and free-position shots, leading the Big Green in all three categories. Senior midfielder Kristen Goldberg had three assists, breaking Plumb’s bid at being the team leader in every statistical category.

In the end, Robertshaw was frank about the improvements she still wished her team made in the second half.

“I still would have like us to better finish up in that second half,” Robertshaw said, “as well as create more opportunities for our teammates.”