FAIRFIELD, Conn. — The defending national champion Dartmouth College women’s rugby team opened the 2022 season in style, picking up a 29-3 road victory against Sacred Heart on Saturday.
After the Pioneers took an early lead on a penalty kick, it was all Big Green from there. Senior Lauren Ferridge scored two tries, and fifth-year Sophie Ragg, freshman Jordan Duncan and sophomore Asialeata Meni all scored one.
“It was great to finally play our first game of the season,” Dartmouth coach Katie Dowty said. “There were areas of the game we were very happy with, but much to Sacred Heart’s credit: They definitely challenged us in other areas. We are excited to look back at the film, make those adjustments and really find our rhythm.”
The Big Green take on Quinnipiac in their home opener on Saturday.
HANOVER — The Big Green (3-3-0) have now fully erased their winless opening weekend, claiming their third straight victory on Sunday against the Warriors.
Senior midfielder Meg Barnes got the scoring started in the first quarter on a penalty corner, assisted by sophomore Piper Edwards. Sophomore Gabriela Bracera doubled the Dartmouth lead in the third on a scramble in front of the cage for a goal the Big Green would need, as Merrimack halved the deficit with less than two minutes remaining but could never equalize. Senior goalkeeper Hatley Post made six saves.
Dartmouth opens Ivy League play Friday at Cornell, then heads to Syracuse on Sunday.
SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. — Dartmouth improved to 8-2 with sweeps against NJIT and Central Connecticut State and lost a four-set match to host Seton Hall.
Junior Ellie Blain led the Big Green with 14 kills against the Highlanders on Friday, and both setters — senior Mackenzie Arent and junior Karen Murphy — had at least 20 assists.
All four sets were within four points in Dartmouth’s first match Saturday against the Pirates, but the Big Green could only salvage the third. Arent had 19 assists and Murphy 17, and sophomore Emma Engstrom recorded 20 digs.
The Big Green bounced back later Saturday to defeat the Blue Devils, winning each set by at least 10 points. Blain had a match-high 15 kills, and Arent again facilitated the offense with 23 assists. Dartmouth’s hitting percentage of .427 was its best of the year.
Next up for the Big Green is the Ivy League opener at Harvard on Saturday.
Senior forward Allie Winstanley continued her stellar play in a midweek game at Vermont on Wednesday, scoring both goals to lead the Big Green to a 2-1 win at Burlington’s Virtue Field.
Winstanley opened the scoring in the 24th minute, with an assist to freshman midfielder Mary Lundregan. She added an unassisted goal just after halftime, which turned out to be the game-winner because the Catamounts got one back in the final 10 minutes. Senior goalkeeper Charlotte Cyr made seven saves.
A two-goal lead was not enough for Dartmouth on Sunday, though. Winstanley set up junior Aspen Anderson in the eighth minute, then scored her seventh of the season in the 19th. But the River Hawks came back to tie the game before the half, then took the lead in the 71st minute to hand the Big Green a 3-2 defeat.
Dartmouth (5-2-1) opens conference play Saturday night at home against Brown.
Dartmouth dropped Tuesday’s midweek home game to the Minutemen, 3-1, with all the goals coming in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Kristian Feed scored his first of the year for the Big Green in the 32nd minute.
On Saturday against the Great Danes, Dartmouth was on its way to another loss before drawing a penalty with just 13 seconds left, which senior forward David Alino cashed in to salvage a 1-1 draw. Sophomore goalkeeper Costi Christodoulou made four saves.
The Big Green host Stonehill on Saturday.
PLYMOUTH MEETING, Pa. — The Big Green took seventh out of 15 teams at their first tournament of the fall, finishing 25 strokes over par.
Fifth-year Mark Turner and sophomore Justin Lee were Dartmouth’s low scorers, finishing tied for 12th individually at 3-over-par. Sophomore Eli Kimche was tied for 39th (9 over), junior Alex Gu tied for 47th (10 over) and senior Eli Thrasher and fifth-year Charles Petrie tied for 61st (12 over).
The Big Green will host the Dartmouth Invitational in Enfield this weekend at Montcalm Golf Club.