CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. — It’s hardly scientific, but the pre-season ECAC coaches’ poll listed the Dartmouth Big Green as the No. 3 team in the conference.

Most years, that would make them a fringe NCAA playoff team, probably on the outside looking in. And that alone would have been a big improvement, given they finished at No. 29 in the national Pairwise rankings last season.

Now, they’re on pace to obliterate that heightened expectation.

While Dartmouth posted a solid 13-10-1 record last season, coach Reid Cashman knew there was more opportunity for growth. The team just ended its first month at 6-1-1, with the only loss coming this past Friday on the road against No. 1 Boston College. Dartmouth now sits fourth in the Pairwise, ahead of many of the most consistently successful teams in college