HANOVER, N.H. - Senior Jen Pittman (New Canaan, Conn.) and junior Kristen Barry (Duxbury, Mass.) each scored four goals as the No. 17 Dartmouth women's lacrosse team crushed Brown, 17-5, on Saturday.

The tone was set early as the Big Green (5-3 overall, 2-1 Ivy) scored the first five goals of the game and raced out to an 11-1 halftime lead.

Offensively, junior Kate Labrum (Wallingford, Pa.) exploded at the start, scoring back-to-back goals in less than six minutes. That was a career high for Labrum who had two goals combined in two previous seasons.

Pittman scored all four of hers in the opening half, while Barry potted three during the second half, including a pair about three minutes apart. Those pushed Dartmouth to a 14-3 lead with 19:16 on the clock.

Dartmouth coach Amy Patton had the chance to play both of her freshman goaltenders. Julie Wadland (Andover, Mass.) made one save in the first half and picked up the win, while Chelsea Kirk (Hunt Valley, Md.) stopped four shots after the break.

"I thought we met our team goals today," said Patton. "We wanted to come out in the first 15 minutes of each half and win the draws and win the ground balls, and I thought we really did that. We set a tone in the game.

"Our attack passed the ball crisply, they moved hard and they were just connecting. I think it felt for them like they were working, but working together," said Patton. "And defensively we did a really nice job of bodying up. I thought our fouls were much better today."

Patton added, "We just got in sync, and I thought we played with a great intensity."

Dartmouth had a season-low 10 fouls, while outshooting the Bears, 26-13. Brown slipped to 3-6 overall and 0-1 in the League.

Senior Whitney Douthett (Newtown, Pa.) had another outstanding afternoon with two goals, three assists, five caused turnovers, three draw controls and two ground balls.

Rounding out the attack for the Big Green were sophomore Katherine Chiusano (Medford, N.J.) with a pair, while senior Sarah Szefi (Pittsburgh, Pa.), senior Margo Duke (Englewood, Colo.) and freshman Kate Fauth (Alexandria, Va.) all scored once. Szefi assisted on three Big Green markers.

Dartmouth has a non-conference game at Vermont on Tuesday, April 3, before returning home on Saturday, April 7, hosting Cornell at 1:00 p.m.

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PROVIDENCE, RI - 13th-ranked Dartmouth (5-3, 2-1) outscored the Brown women's lacrosse team (3-6, 0-1), 11-1, in the first half en route to a 17-5 win in the 2007 Ivy opener for the Bears. The Big Green opened the game with a 5-0 run until sophomore Lauren Vitkus (Skaneateles, NY), who led Brown with two goals, got the Bears on the board at 13:41. Dartmouth scored what would prove to be the game-winner two minutes later and cruised to the victory.

After the Big Green closed the first half with six goals and then took a 12-1 lead just 1:56 into the second, freshman Kiki Manners (North Potomac, MD) and Vitkus scored back-to-back goals two minutes apart to bring Brown to within nine.

However, that was as close as the Bears could get as Dartmouth answered every Brown goal with two of its own to stay ahead by at least 10 goals.

Sophomore Jesse Nunn (Worton, MD) scored her 13th of the season at 17:33 as Brown trailed, 14-4, and then freshman Meghan Markowski (Northport, NY) notched her eighth of the year at 3:39 for a 16-5 score. Dartmouth netted the game's last goal with 1:01 remaining for the 17-5 final. Junior goalie Melissa King (Pepper Pike, OH) recorded five saves in the loss. The Bears continue action on Saturday, April 7 when they host Columbia at 12:00 noon.

2007-03-31