For the first time since 2003, Dartmouth women’s soccer are Ivy League champions.
With a pair of 1-0 wins over Columbia University and Princeton University, the Big Green earned its first title in over 20 years and an automatic bid to the National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s soccer tournament for the first time since 2005. This was Dartmouth’s first appearance in the Ivy League tournament since the league launched the tournament-style competition in 2023.
The Big Green entered the tournament as the No. 2 seed after achieving a 4-1-2 record in Ivy League regular-season play. They played third-ranked Columbia on Thursday afternoon and then went on to face off against regular-season champions Princeton on Sunday for the title.
The first half of Thursday night’s battle was hard-fought, with both teams putting together strong possessions. Head coach Taylor Schram noted that “Columbia had a lot of the ball [and] we didn’t put them under enough pressure.” However, she said that the team “stayed true to who we are, stayed convicted in our game plan and the first goal came.”
The goal came in the 21st minute through forward Stephanie Lathrop ’28. Midfielder Lourdes Lauterborn ’28 made an impressive steal from a Columbia defender. After her shot was deflected, forward Lathrop shot the ball into the top-right corner of the net from just outside the box to score the only goal of the night.
“I just totally took a chance, and I left my man, and I ended up winning it,” said Lauterborn. “My touch kind of got away from me, and I got stuffed, and then it went right to Steph, and then Steph finished it off, which was an awesome goal.”
Lathrop impressed herself with her effort, but also applauded the team for contributing to the shot: “I hit it pretty nicely. It was a fun goal. It was also all because of the team, so that was pretty awesome,” she said.
The second half of the match was also exciting, as Columbia had eight shots and Dartmouth had four. However, neither team was able to find the back of the net. The Dartmouth defense was impressive throughout the match, denying the Lions many goal-scoring opportunities and keeping them to just two shots on goal.
“Our back line was out of this world tonight. They were outstanding,” said Schram. “We battled in the second half, especially in 50-50s, and it was just a gutsy performance.”
Lauterborn said it was “really special” to get this victory and was “really proud of the team.”
With their victory, the Big Green advanced to the tournament final against the first-ranked Princeton Tigers. Princeton came out on top 2-0 in the teams’ previous matchup three weeks prior on Burnham Field.
Both teams struggled to create strong possessions in the first half. The only shot on goal came in the 28th minute when goalkeeper Ola Goebel ’27 saved a shot from Princeton’s Alexandra Barry.
The second half was also hard-fought, with Princeton tallying eight shots to Dartmouth’s four. However, only the Big Green was able to find the back of the net.
In the 61st minute, Princeton midfielder Pia Beaulieu committed a foul against Dartmouth’s Hailey Rorick ’26 just outside of the box to give the Big Green a free kick. Lathrop placed the ball in the right side of the net to score her second goal of the tournament.
Despite multiple strong possessions and shots on goal, the Tigers were unable to even the score, and Dartmouth won 1-0 to become tournament champions.
With her two tournament goals, Lathrop became the Ivy League’s leading scorer with 9 goals this season. She was also named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
“She does all the little things every single day that help her become a really elite-level goal scorer,” Schram said. “You saw her shine on the biggest stage when we needed her to. She was brilliant.”
The Big Green’s victory completed an incredible turnaround for the team that was ranked 8th in the Ivy League just last season.
The women’s soccer program also won several Ivy League honors earlier in the week. For the first time in program history, head coach Taylor Schram and assistants Rachel Pitman, Hayley Dowd and Kathleen Duwve won the Ivy League Coaching Staff of the Year. Defender Anna Leschly ’29 won Ivy League Rookie of the Year, the first time a Dartmouth rookie has won the honor since 2012. Leschly, Lathrop and Goebel were named to the All-Ivy first team, while defender Ellie Davidson ‘27 and Rorick were named to the second team. Rorick was also named to the All-Academic Ivy team.
