On Wednesday, the men’s soccer team took to Burnham Field to face Northeastern University. After an intense 90 minutes, Dartmouth walked away with a 4-2 win against the Huskies.
The Big Green got an early lead in the 22nd minute, thanks to an outside-the-box free kick from Olly Spicer ’29 that found the top right of the net.
Northeastern combated quickly, scoring off a penalty kick in the 30th minute.
Co-captain and senior defender Sebastián Mañón ’26 discussed his team’s mindset throughout the game.
“That’s the mentality we have: No matter how much adversity we have throughout the game we’re just going to keep pushing,” he said.
Spicer was crucial in all three of Dartmouth’s goals. Later in the 42nd minute, the midfielder assisted forward William Lulka ’27, giving the Big Green a one goal lead just before the end of the first half.
In another crucial play, Spicer assisted Eidur Baldvinsson ’28 in the 78th minute to push the lead to 3-1.
Baldvinsson has had a sharp start to the season. He was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week on Monday following his performance against the University of Vermont on Sept. 9. His two goals against the Catamounts matched his tally from the entire previous season.
Going into the Northeastern game, the squad was coming off ties against Vermont and Merrimack College. Despite strong performances and many goals, they were yet to earn their first win of the year — which they finally did against the Huskies.
“It was just a matter of time, we’ve put in really good performances,” Mañón said. “We were missing details that today we were able to handle. This is just the start. We’ve got a really good team, it’s a special group and we’re going to keep winning.”
Last season, the Big Green traveled to Boston to face the Huskies on their turf and fell 4-2. This anticipated revenge match was a chance to flip the script.
“It was definitely a match that we had circled on our calendar,” Mañón said.
TJ Jeffreys ’29 had his first start in the net, and remained there for the full 90 minutes only letting in two of 10 shots.
“It was awesome for him to get a result,” head coach Bo Oshoniyi said.
A number of first year players started the game, and came on later in the game: Ben Bilden ’29, Daniel Carey-Evans ’29, Noah Sams ’29, Jeffery and Spicer.
“Our first years are really showing that they can play college soccer. They’re starting to find their feet a little bit, which is fun to watch,” Oshoniyi said. “We’re happy to have a lot of freshmen that are contributing.”
Not only did they contribute, but also got to experience their first collegiate win.
“It feels really good, I’m really happy for the lads,” Spicer said. “It’s been a tough few weeks not getting a win, so it’s really good.”
The Big Green will return to the pitch on Saturday to face the University of New Hampshire Wildcats.
“We’re excited,” Oshoniyi said. “It’s always a war with UNH. I think our guys are fired up for it.”
