Dartmouth, Brown Into Ivy Final
Dartmouth, Brown Into Ivy Final
Dartmouth and Brown won their respective Ivy League championship semifinals today and will play for the title tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. EST at Big Green's Brophy Field in Hanover, N.H.
Dartmouth led Princeton 39-0 at the break, as pack captain Yeja Dunn led with a multi-try performance. Sophomore lock Ashley Zepeda scored the first of her two tries, and senior Kerry Conlin also dotted down. Freshmen Camille Johnson (P, C) and Kat Ramage (2C) handled the kicking duties.
The Tigers prevented the shutout by opening the second half with a Philo Kane try, a score that came off a driving lineout. But Zepeda’s second try, set up by prop Dalia Rodriquez Caspeta and wing Morgan McGonagle, marked the final score and 44-5 win.
Brown received a little more pushback from Harvard on the other side of the bracket. The Bears took a 17-point lead as seniors Saskia Morgan (2) and Uzo Okoro scored tries. But with five minutes remaining in the half, Harvard’s Caitlin Weigel made one of several linebreaks and linked up with Haley Langan for the try, 17-5 into the break.
Freshman Weigel added another five points herself to kick off the second stanza, and Susie Clements' conversion pulled the game to within reach, 17-12. Brown center Oksana Goretaya helped set up Okoro’s second try (22-12), but the Crimson restored the one-try differential with a Claire Collins score, 24-17 to Brown with approximately seven minutes remaining.
The final blow occurred minutes later when Rebecca Dahle kicked a penalty, 27-17. Harvard couldn’t muster a two-score response, and the final’s berth went to Brown.
When Dartmouth and Brown met in the regular season, the game went to the Big Green 8-5 for the closest decision throughout the fall league.
“I think we speak for every team in the league in saying that winning the Ivy 15s Championship would be a huge point of pride for us,” Dartmouth coach Katie Dowty told Dartmouth Athletics. “We have been building all season for this weekend and are ready to come out firing on all cylinders against some fierce competition.”
Princeton and Harvard will play for third place at 12 p.m.