Dartmouth Dominates Harvard 70 - 0

This past Saturday the Dartmouth Big Green kicked off against the Harvard Crimson in the Ivy League semi-final match. From the first whistle, the boys came out firing and after a sequence of strong defense stands, forced a kicked from Harvard, which was successfully converted into a try by fullback Andrew Badenhausen ’19 who smashed through Harvard defenders off of an offload from co-captain Patrick Sheehy ’20.

Dartmouth took the lead 5 – 0. Not soon afterwards, the Big Green found themselves with a lineout deep in Harvard’s 22. After only a single phase, scrumhalf Jarett Lewis ’21 picked the ball from the ruck and offloaded it to AJ Meyer, who barreled through the Harvard defense for a try right underneath the sticks. Sheehy easily slotted the conversion stretching Dartmouth’s lead 12 – 0. Harvard kicked deep on their next restart, forcing the Green to play out of their own half. Instead of kicking to space as they do normally, Dartmouth decided to play the ball wide to freshman phenom Mattias Calvo ’23, who off of a long ball from Sheehy carried the ball 60 meters and offloaded it to Meyer, who then offloaded it to Badenhausen for a try up the middle. Dartmouth’s next try came from a won Harvard scrum, from which Jaime Chuidian ’23 was able to pick the ball and take it to the corner of Harvard’s try zone. The Big Green’s set piece proved to be significant throughout the game. Off of a five-meter scrum, Dartmouth succeeded in putting Calvo in for a try of his own. One try proved not enough for Calvo, who scored another right after his first in the corner. Flyhalf Mike Weir ’22 was able to dot down one more try before the close of the second half off of a quick tap penalty, making the score 41 – 0. 

Dartmouth opened the second half with a deep restart and after consistent defensive pressure contained the Harvard attack to their own 22. Harvard was then awarded a scrum, which Dartmouth successfully turned over. Flanker Malcom Robinson ’22 was able to recover the ball after it came out of the side of the scrum and crash through the Crimson defense for a try. Dartmouth’s set piece success did not stop there. The Big Green scored their next try off of a left-hand scrum at the 50-meter line. The backs moved the ball from Sheehy to Weir, who held the Crimson defense long enough to set Gyorgy Brevnov ’20 up for an easy try down the sideline.  

Harvard’s attack continued to test the Dartmouth defense with limited success. However, the closest they got to scoring was off of a well-placed cross kick, which Lewis was able to brilliantly recover and take across the field where he offloaded the ball to classmate Charlton McArdle ’21, who took the ball 80 meters. After stepping numerous Crimson defenders, McArdle found Robinson, who dotted the ball down in the corner. 

Weir set up Dartmouth’s next try with a chip up the middle, which Brendan Murphy ’20 recovered and dotted down underneath the sticks. Weir himself then scored the final try the match by stepping two Crimson defenders on the outside. The final score read 70 – 0.

In their match against Harvard, the Big Green were able to display an element of their game that had been a focus throughout the season: defense. While their offense inarguably produced results, Dartmouth’s defense was what allowed them to take control of the game. As always, the boys seek to improve in this upcoming week in preparation for their final match against the Brown University Bears. Go Big Green!