After a historic season, the Dartmouth women’s soccer team’s season came to an end on Friday night in Fayetteville, Ark.
After winning the Ivy League tournament for the first time in program history, the Big Green faced the fifth-seeded University of Arkansas in the first round of the National College Athletic Association tournament. The Razorbacks were the regular season Southeastern Conference champions and went into the matchup with a 9-4-4 record.
The Big Green’s defense was strong in the first half and was able to keep the Razorbacks from scoring. Goalkeeper Ola Goebel ’27 had three saves and the Dartmouth back line was able to limit Arkansas’s scoring chances.
Head coach Taylor Schram said she was “not surprised at all” that Goebel had such a strong performance in goal. “She shows up every day, committed to what she does, and she is always putting in extra work for film and extra reps,” she said.
She also said that “we knew we’d have to defend with 11. When you’re going up against one of the biggest firepower offenses in the country, you’ve got to do that.” She said that she was proud of her defense for being “relentless in their commitment to block shots, go to ground, and be physical.”
However, Arkansas forward Vailana Tu’ua scored the only goal of the night in the 60th minute, placing the ball into the right side of the net from just outside the box. Arkansas midfielder Natalie Wagner had the assist.
In a post-game press conference, Tu’ua said that “going into the second half, I was trying to get more in central, because I was crossing the ball a lot, but happy that [Wagner] was able to find me there, and finish it.”
Schram said that her team “probably [was] a little late to step and that ‘maybe a miscommunication across the back line’ led to the Razorback’s goal.” She said the goal was Dartmouth’s “one lapse defensively” but that Arkansas was “going to capitalize” on any mistake the Big Green made.
The Big Green were unable to even the score during the rest of the game, and the match ended 1-0. Dartmouth had four shots throughout the match, while Arkansas had 13. Goebel ended the game with six saves.
Schram gave credit to Arkansas’ goalie Keegan Smith for her strong performance in keeping the Big Green from scoring. “She’s a massive difference maker and she was great tonight,” she said.
After the game, Arkansas head coach Colby Hale was complimentary of the Big Green’s performance.
“This is a tough place to come play, and I thought they were up for the fight,” Hale said. “[Schram] did a fantastic job of getting her team ready in a really tough environment.”
Tu’ua also gave credit to the Big Green defense’s ability to keep the powerful Arkansas offense to one goal.
“They definitely were a strong back line,” Tu’ua said.
The Big Green had an extremely successful season, making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2005 and winning the Ivy League for the first time in 22 years.
Their season began with a 3-2-2 record against non-conference opponents. They opened Ivy League play with a win against Harvard, their first win in Cambridge since 2005. They tied Penn and Brown, and won against Columbia, Yale and Cornell. Their only Ivy League loss came against Princeton.
The Big Green finished second in the Ivy League and secured a spot in the conference tournament. After beating Columbia 1-0 in the semifinal, they upset Princeton in the final to secure the Ivy League tournament championship. Dartmouth had four players named to the all-Ivy-tournament team: Goebel, forward Stephanie Lathrop ’28, midfielder Lourdes Lauterborn ’28 and defender Anna Leschly ’29.
Schram said that this season has been a “special journey all year long” and that the team has been “pushing the standard in the program” and is “bringing a trophy back to Hanover, which was a goal at the beginning of the year.”
Their season is particularly impressive given that the team finished eighth in the Ivy League last season and was projected to finish sixth in the preseason poll.
The team’s seniors include Hailey Rorick ’26, Audrey Marin ’26, Grace Martin ’26, Jaidyn Curry ’26, Sonoma Adams ’26 and Mary Lundregan ’26. Coach Schram discussed the legacy that these six seniors have left on the Dartmouth women’s soccer program.
“It’s a really special group of seniors. I’m glad they got to get this far and walk into the NCAA tournament for the first time in 20 years,” Schram said. “I think our seniors have paved the way for what it takes to win a championship, what it takes to compete against some of the best teams in the country.”
She also said she is “optimistic about the young talent in this group. We’ve got a lot of young firepower in our offense” and “a lot of youth in our back line.”
The team’s top five goal scorers were all first-years or sophomores, and four of the five Big Green players named to All-Ivy teams will return next year, giving the team lots of hope for the future.
Overall, Schram said that she is “just really, really proud of the team and how they’ve helped set this program up for many years to come.”
