Dartmouth women’s soccer beat the University of Pennsylvania 4-0 on Saturday, setting up a strong start in Ivy League play. The win constituted the team’s fifth consecutive shutout and continued their recent success.
The Big Green got off to a fast start, scoring in the 2nd minute. Emmanuella Frimpomaa ’28 settled the ball out of the air, then quickly threaded a pass to Madison Rose ’29, who took a shot to score in the lower right corner of the net.
“I saw Manny [Frimpomaa] take a touch inside, and I just reacted and went to make a run in behind,” Rose said. “She got her head up and found me, and I let the ball roll across my hips, took a first touch … and then I tried to just open my hips up and find the back corner.”
Dartmouth added to their lead in the 20th minute with a goal from Maeve Theobald ’29. Rose chipped the ball into the middle from the right wing to Lykke Ihrfelt ’29, who got a touch on the ball before Theobald kicked into the back of the net. Ihrfelt and Rose were both credited with assisting the goal.
The first half ended 2-0. Dartmouth’s back line was dominant, allowing only two shots in those forty-five minutes, neither of which were on goal.
In an interview after the game, head coach Taylor Schram said that, when she entered the locker room at halftime, “the backline was talking about ‘We have to get a shutout today!”
Maintaining that mentality, goalkeeper Ola Goebel ’27 made a key save in the 54th minute. Then, in the 59th minute, Theobald scored her second goal of the night. After a pass from Addison Ball ’29, Rose kicked a nice throughball, which Theobald chased down before dribbling to the goal and burying the ball into the right side of the net.
It was “great to see Maeve with that kind of composure” in both of her goals, Schram said. Theobald said that her goals were “great team goals” and that she and her teammates “really moved off each other well [and] were able to find each other in the right moments.”
Goebel then made two more diving saves in the 63rd minute to keep Penn scoreless. Dartmouth extended their lead to four with a header goal from Anna Leschly ’29 off of a corner kick from Rose in the 67th minute. It was Leschly’s second straight game with a goal off of a corner kick.
“I think we’re really dangerous on set pieces right now,” Schram said of the team’s recent success on corners.
The Big Green held their 4-0 lead for the rest of the game. Goebel made another save in the 72nd minute and the defense remained strong to secure the shutout.
Penn finished the game with nine shots, ahead of Dartmouth’s eight. However, six of Dartmouth’s shots were on goal, while four of the Quakers’ shots were on frame. Goebel had four saves, while Penn’s goalkeeper Megan Graves had two.
The win against Penn brought Dartmouth’s overall record to 7-1-2, the best so far in the Ivy League. After a successful nonconference season, this game marks the first of seven straight Ivy League matchups.
“I think we all felt a little bit of a different energy this week in practice, leading into Ivy play,” Theobald said.“It was super special to be at home, and we have great momentum to head into Columbia next week.”
Schram and the players were excited about the team’s successful start to the Ivy League schedule.
“They executed exactly what we wanted them to execute. They did it for 90 minutes. They did it at a high level, and we’re really proud of the result,” Schram said.
Theobald said the victory provides “good momentum going into the rest of Ivy play.”
Despite the rainy conditions, there were plenty of fans to cheer on the Big Green, with many students and their parents in town for Dartmouth’s Family Weekend.
“I know a lot of us had family here, which I think made [the win] even more special,” Rose said.
Dartmouth will travel to New York, N.Y. next Saturday, Oct. 3, to face Columbia University, which has a 1-6-3 record so far this season. Schram said she and the team are looking forward to an exciting matchup.
“Columbia is a really difficult place to play,” Schram said. “That staff has done a great job with that program over the years, and we know it’s going to be another hard-fought competition.”
