ITHACA, N.Y. -- Dartmouth fell 11-10 in a sudden-victory second overtime Saturday afternoon at Cornell’s Schoellkopf Field.
The Big Green scored two goals in the final minute of the first OT period to force the second session, but the Big Red’s Lindsey Toppe notched the winner with 1:17 remaining on the scoreboard to lift the home team to victory.
Dartmouth sophomore Jaclyn Leto netted five goals in the loss, including the tying free-position goal with 24 seconds left in the first overtime period. She also scored the team’s previous marker just 17 seconds earlier to pull the Green to within one and set up for the equalizer.
In the early going, it looked as if the visitors would run away with this one, building a 5-1 lead thanks to five consecutive tallies during a 10-minute stretch in the first half. However, the Big Red would net three in the last 1:52 of the opening period to make it a one-goal game at the break.
After Cornell tied it just two minutes into the second half, it became the closest game of the season the rest of the way with neither team building more than a one-goal lead for the remainder of regulation.
Junior Sarah Byrne scored her third of the day with 4:05 left to put the Green and White up 8-7, but was answered a minute later by the home team’s Catherine Ellis with her sixth and final goal of the afternoon to set up the overtime.
Rachel Moody scored Cornell’s two OT goals before Leto matched with the pair to force the second session.
For Dartmouth, it was the first overtime game of the season and first since defeating Princeton 11-10 in double OT of last year’s Ivy League tournament semifinal in Philadelphia.
Senior goalkeeper Kristen Giovanniello turned aside eight shots in the game, including five in the second half, to move to within seven of 500 in a career. Only two players in program history have reached the milestone figure before this season.
Leto not only scored five times, but had five draw controls to set a new career high. Byrne’s first of two draw controls on the day was the 50th of her career.
Frances Bird and Lindsey Allard each had one goal, while freshman Courtney Weiss was credited with the lone two Dartmouth assists.
