Field Hockey Grabs Victory At Dartmouth, Falls To UNH In Dramatic Weekend

Upper West Side NY

28 October, 2021

12:35 PM

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Columbia Daily Spectator BY STEPHEN DAMES OCTOBER 25, 2021 Fighting back from one goal down, the field hockey team came out swinging against Dartmouth on Saturday to get its first Ivy League win before losing a nail-biter to the University of New Hampshire. In brisk and sunny weather in Hanover, New Hampshire, Columbia (7-7, 1-4 Ivy) beat Dartmouth (4-10, 0-5 Ivy) by a score of 2-1 after an inspired second quarter of play. On Sunday, Columbia was defeated in a close game against UNH (6-10) in which the Wildcats first tied the game up in the fourth quarter before sealing the victory in overtime. Unlike previous weeks, Columbia's offense found its stride against Dartmouth, taking advantage of the Big Green's frail defensive front that is currently tied for the most goals allowed in the Ancient Eight. Although the Lions' offense—No. 5 and No. 6 in the Ivy League in shots and goals respectively—has yet to capitalize on the majority of opportunities created this season, the Light Blue flipped the script on Saturday, ending up with 15 shots to Darmouth's five and nine penalty corners to Dartmouth's four. Even though the Lions put pressure on Dartmouth in all four quarters, the first quarter was even in terms of offensive output, with both sides putting up two shots and one penalty corner each. Nonetheless, in the 14th minute of play, Dartmouth struck first by taking advantage of a well-placed penalty corner which allowed midfielder Meg Barnes to tee it up for back Emilia Callahan who, with a clean finish against the Lions, scored her first-ever goal in conference play. However, boosted by senior goalie Alexa Conomikes—who leads the Ivy League in saves this season with 89 in 14 games played—the Lions did not allow any more goals for the rest of the game. The Lions rebounded quickly. Coming out of the gate with aggression, mobility, and the same pressure that kept Dartmouth on its toes in the first quarter, Columbia struck back on the first play of the second quarter. The Light Blue rocketed up the left side of the pitch, and after a perfectly placed cross into the circle by first-year midfielder Sophie Rockefeller—who leads the Lions with six assists this season—sophomore forward Anabelle Brodeur sank a shot into the back of Dartmouth's net. With this goal, Brodeur secured her fourth goal of the year and second in Ivy League play. Keeping up the pressure for the rest of the quarter with six more shots and two penalty corners, the Lions failed to convert their opportunities until only 40 seconds remained in the half. Rockefeller stepped up on a penalty stroke and drilled the ball into the left side of Dartmouth's net, past goalkeeper Hatley Post, who is currently in third place in the Ivy League with a .742 save percentage on the year, and who saved 8 shots on Saturday. Head coach Katie DeSandis attributed Columbia's excellent second quarter to the team sticking with the game plan and exploiting Dartmouth's weaknesses. "We just reinforced one of the big points we made in pregame … which was that we wanted to put them under pressure, and [even though] we had a good structure going, we were kinda holding back a bit," she said. "We [the coaches] looked at them and said, 'What was our big point? They do not handle pressure well!' From that moment on, you could see that they were really following the game plan, which was great to see." From that point on, Columbia never fell behind again and continued putting pressure on Dartmouth throughout the next half, limiting the shots Dartmouth had to two, and controlling the midfield almost completely. DeSandis said that Rockefeller's performance made a huge impact on her team, although she emphasized the collective nature of the Lions' victory. "She managed the midfield and had a really good attacking presence, which was amazing," DeSandis said. On Columbia's struggles with converting penalty corners, DeSandis said that although "they're still a work in progress," she is proud that the Lions "earned a lot more today" and that from these opportunities they are "learning to read the defense and make calls on the fly based on what we see." DeSandis also added that a crucial factor in the Lions' victory was the team's mentality: "I brought it back to that moment of like, 'Hey, guys, remember when we just started out playing and you all just were just out there and trusted each other?' and … I challenged them with going back to that feeling." Although not a conference game, DeSandis said she was "excited" going into Sunday's game against UNH. Even though the Lions continued their comparative offensive hot streak with both junior forward Ellie Decker's fourth goal and first-year midfielder Jeannine Turgeon's first goal of the season coming in the second quarter, UNH battled back, winning with 21 seconds left in overtime on UNH captain Bloem van den Brekel's second goal of the day. The Lions look to earn another Ivy League victory against Penn on Friday. The game begins at 5 p.m at Baker Athletics Complex and will be televised live on ESPN+. Staff writer Stephen Dames can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DamesStephen. Founded in 1877, the Columbia Daily Spectator is the independent undergraduate newspaper of Columbia University, serving thousands of readers in Morningside Heights, West Harlem, and beyond. Read more at columbiaspectator.com and donate here.