Dartmouth Women Outlast Princeton, 7-5

The Dartmouth and Princeton Women's teams both came into this past Saturday's match with expectations of a tough, brutal game decided by defense. Neither team could have imagined just how accurate those expectations would be. Featuring a second half completely devoid of scoring by either team and some of the best defensive play either division of the Ivy Rugby Conference has seen this year, the match between Dartmouth and Princeton ended in the Big Green's favor, 7-5.

Although it should be obvious from the final score that both teams were on point defensively, it doesn't reflect just how good each team was at stifling their opponents near the try zone. Both Dartmouth and Princeton were able to prevent key passes from reaching their intended targets near the end of the game, and solid tackling thwarted whatever offensive rhythm either team could start to build.

Freshman Audrey Perez '17 put a try on the board within the first 10 minutes with a great striking run on the outside. The successful conversion by Tatjana Toeldte '16 turned out to be crucial later in the game. With the DWRC up 7-0, Princeton passed it out wide to answer with a try. Their conversion was no good.

Toeldte's conversion proved to be the game winner for Dartmouth, who moved to 2-0 on the season. As for Princeton, their 0-2 record is hardly a reflection of the level of play they have shown so far this year. Expect them to build off of this brutal loss and continue their string of strong performances as the season moves on.