Indians Streak broken by Lehigh

By James Mills | Sunday, November 2, 1997

The football game was a rough one for the home fans of the Indians this past weekend. The Lehigh Engineers dominated play and took the lead from Dartmouth after only 98 seconds of play. The Indians had not lost to Lehigh in a number of years and were expecting a solid victory, but the power of the Lehigh (3-4) offense came as a surprise. Coach John Lyons readily admitted that it was the worst the Indians had played defensively in a very long time. The Indians made many big mistakes against Lehigh, including a number of big penalties, five turnovers, and many breakdowns in defense. This was the highest number of points scored against Dartmouth in 10 years. Lehigh used six quick scoring drives and three interceptions, two in the final 5:25 to nail the coffin shut on the Indians. Lehigh tailback Rabih Abdullah had 186 yards rushing and scored 4 touchdowns alone.

The Indians did have some scoring drives starting with one that led to a 36-yard field goal by David Regula '98 to open the game, but Lehigh wasted no time in taking the lead. On their first offensive possession, Lehigh completed a 77-yard touchdown drive kept alive by a costly penalty on the Indians. The Indians quickly retaliated scoring two touchdowns in succession. Eric Morton '97, ran the kickoff down to the Indians' 42 yard line. Morton would later run in a 35-yard TD to finish the drive. The second touchdown came in the second quarter after a pick off by Lloyd Lee '98 eventually led to a 5-yard touchdown run by Dylan Karczewski '99. A safety resulted from a wild snap by Lehigh after they got pinned deep in their own territory.

Just before the half Lehigh scored on a 49-yard drive and connected with a receiver for a 2-point conversion. Dartmouth captured the lead again with a narrow margin, 26-25, when senior quarterback Peter Sellers snuck in on 4th and 1.

The final high score for Lehigh resulted from complete domination of the fourth quarter by the Engineers. The Indians missed several key tackles allowing Lehigh to score on a 10-play 76-yard touchdown drive. Lehigh then followed that score with a 2-point conversion. Sellers later threw a interception, which resulted in a long drive for the touchdown. Another interception off a deflection allowed for another successful Engineers touchdown drive to finish the Indians 46-26.

The Indians are now focusing on what they need to regain in order to capture the Ivy League championship. This week's Homecoming game against Harvard is a chance for the Indians' defense to redeem itself.

Men's Soccer

The Men's soccer team is in the middle of their longest unbeaten streak since the 1990 team went 13-0-1 over 14 games and made it to the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. Since the season opening loss to La Salle, the Indians have gone 6-0-3, grabbing a No. 1 ranking in the Ivy League and region and a 13th national ranking.

Last weekend the Indians extended the streak with a 2-1 win over Hartwick. After falling behind by a goal early in the game, the Indians dominated the Hawks in a comeback win. Hartwick lit up the scoreboard just 12 minutes into the game. With four minutes left in the half, Jamie Hozack '00 made a stellar cross to Brad Christof '01, who slammed a high volley past the keeper to tie it up at the half.

In the second half Dartmouth dominated play, and had a number of very close shots on goal, but was not able to connect. Nine minutes into the period Chris Dedicik '99 tapped the game winner in with support from Chris Pedrick '99 and Christof.

Women's Soccer

The Indians split the week with a lose against UConn, 2-0, and a victory over Yale, 4-0. The victory at Yale was huge because it made the Indians No. 1 in the Ivy League. The turnout at the Yale game by Dartmouth fans was impressive and boisterous.

As the score indicates, Dartmouth dominated play with another game of excellent ball control. (Yale limited the number of breakaways and reduced the number of Yale shots on goal making it impossible to score and the Yalies were doomed from the start). The Indians started their scoring with a header by April Rasala '99. The second score was a converted cross by Abby Gillard '01 to finish the half, Dartmouth 2, Yale 0.

The second half was dominated by midfielder Michelyne Pinard '97, who scored the final two goals, both resulting from corner kicks. Pinard had been off for a year to concentrate efforts on ice hockey.

In the previous day's game against the UConn Huskies, ranked eighth in the nation, Dartmouth did not fare as well. The Huskies outshot them 16-6, with the final score Huskies 2, Indians 0.

Indians Streak broken by Lehigh

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