HANOVER, N.H. - The Dartmouth men's soccer team used a pair of goals from leading scorer Alex Adelabu (Houston, Texas) and extended its Ivy League win streak to four straight with a 3-1 win over rival, Harvard, on Saturday (Oct. 27) at Burnham Field.
Dartmouth (8-6-0, 4-1 Ivy) took the field for the second half knotted at 1-1 with the visiting Crimson but they would not be discouraged. The Big Green offense posted the first three shots headlined by two early shots from senior co-captain Kevin Dzierzawski (Oakland Township, Mich.).
Adelabu looked as if he had the go-ahead goal in the 60th minute. The Texas native, put a head on a perfectly played ball into the box, but it went right to Harvard goalkeeper, Evan Mendez, keeping the scored even.
The Big Green played a very balanced game with nine players recording shots led by four from Adelabu. Dartmouth also placed a fair amount of shots on frame, posting eight shots on goal, to just four for the visitors. Goalkeeper Noah Cohen (Johannesburg, South Africa) made three saves in the contest.
Adelabu's header jumpstarted the Big Green offense as they started really applying pressure to the Harvard (2-9-3, 0-4-1 Ivy) backline forcing the Crimson defenders to make several open field tackles to keep the Big Green off the board.
Despite, numerous opportunities it wasn't until the 77th minute that the stars aligned for the Dartmouth go-ahead goal. Adelabu capitalized on a Harvard defensive miscue at midfield and found himself alone with room to dribble. He dribbled to the top of the box took a step back and slotted the ball into the far corner to give the Big Green the 2-1 lead heading into the final minutes.
Freshman Alberto Gorini (Incisa Valdarno, Italy) iced the game with his first collegiate goal at the 82:10 mark. He took a pass from Adelabu at the right corner of the 10 yard box and slotted the ball past Mendez to give Dartmouth its third consecutive Homecoming victory.
The Crimson actually took the first lead of the game, just 8:37 into the contest. Jake Freeman took a wrap around shot that sent the ball just out of the reach of Cohen to give the Crimson the early lead.
From that point Dartmouth began to make a push on the offensive side of the ball. Senior Stoian Nedelchev (Sofia, Bulgaria) had the first really good opportunity, taking a hard low shot into the right corner, but the Harvard backline cleared. Dzierzawski followed that with a shot that went just high of the sneaking in under the crossbar.
Adelabu put the equalizer in the net at the 22:35 mark. The play started with a long ball out of the back from Colin Skelly (Wrightstown, Pa.) that led to a deflected shot from Nedelchev. Adelabu caught the rebound and dribbled right into the goal, tying the game.
Dartmouth closes out the non-conference slate against Granite State rival, New Hampshire, on Tuesday (Oct. 30). Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. The Big Green then takes to the road, for a showdown with Ivy League foe, Cornell on Saturday (Nov. 3).
AGATE
Harvard (2-9-3, 0-4-1 Ivy) vs. Dartmouth (8-6-0, 4-1-0 Ivy)
Date: Oct 27, 2012 Attendance: 1242
Weather: cloudy, humid, low 60s
Goals by period 1 2 Tot
Harvard............. 1 0 - 1
Dartmouth........... 1 2 - 3
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 8:37 HARV Freeman, Jake (Sheeleigh, Matt) - cross from top of box, wrap around shot into corner
2. 22:35 DART Adelabu, Alex (8) (Nedelchev, Stoian ; Skelly, Collin) - dribbled into goal off of missed shot from 11
3. 76:54 DART Adelabu, Alex (9) (unassisted) - defensive miscue to goal slotted into far corner
4. 82:10 DART Gorini, Alberto (1) (Adelabu, Alex) - pass from right corner to goal
Shots: Harvard 6, Dartmouth 18
Saves: Harvard 5 (Mendez, Evan 4; TEAM 1), Dartmouth 3 (Cohen, Noah 3)
