In a historic home game at Chase Field on Sept. 25, Dartmouth field hockey took down the University of Pennsylvania in a dominant 4-0 victory. The win moved the team to an overall 2-4 record this season before their loss to University of Vermont on Sept. 27, which moved them to 2-5.
Beating Penn this season not only broke the Quakers’ 10-year win streak against the Dartmouth women, but also was the Big Green’s first Ivy League win since 2023 and new head coach Jason Klinkradt’s first Ivy win since joining the Big Green on April 6.
The Big Green opened up scoring early in the game. At 43 seconds into the first quarter, forward Lilly Venezia ’29 found the back of the net for her second goal of the season, assisted by Ava Russo ’29. Dartmouth controlled much of the first half, though Penn applied more pressure in the second quarter, outshooting Dartmouth 4-1 and forcing goalie Kylie McKinley ’27 to make two saves.
The Big Green entered the second half of the game up 1-0. Late in the third quarter, midfielder Lucia Campaño ’27 earned an attacking penalty corner and capitalized on it to score, bringing the score to 2-0.
“We’ve been training a lot on attacking penalty corners, and … it felt great to fulfill my role in the corner and just score,” Campaño said. “Obviously, it was kind of a crazy goal that may be hard to replicate again.”
Campaño also said her goal motivated the team to continue their strong attacking position.
“I feel like the second goal really opened up the game and gave us a lot more confidence,” she said. “That just helped us to keep pushing.”
Just minutes after the team’s second goal, defender Ruby Walsh ’28 extended Dartmouth’s lead to 3-0. In the final quarter, Walsh netted her second goal of the game to put the Big Green up 4-0.
Despite Penn continuing to apply pressure late in the fourth quarter, Dartmouth’s defense held strong. Campaño highlighted goalie McKinley’s dominant performance.
McKinley “did an amazing job against Penn,” Campaño said. “…They always say, ‘Defend first and then attack,’ which starts from the goalie.”
McKinley saved Penn’s six shots on goal, earning the team’s first shutout of the season and the first of her career.
“I think the mentality that I had during the game was just stop every shot that I face and give 100% every shot,” McKinley said. “Even if the shot goes in, just knowing that I gave that 100% is important for me.”
McKinley also highlighted the impact that her teammates have had on her success.
“Training with a really high-level team has helped me a lot this season,” she said. “Everyone’s working really hard and putting me to work. I think that that’s made it a lot easier for me to play at a higher level because I’m surrounded by so many people that are working so hard.”
Klinkradt commended the team’s effort and the hard work they have put in to achieve this win.
“We’re tremendously proud,” he said.
Next, the team will host the University of California, Davis on Oct. 2 at 3 p.m. at Chase Field. Ivy League play will resume at Columbia University in New York, N.Y., on Oct. 4 at 1 p.m., where the team hopes to improve their in-league record.
Despite their 0-2 loss against University of Vermont on Sept. 27, the team heads into the busy weekend of competition with a fresh mind.
“Every game is a new game to just step into and play the way that we played against UPenn and the way that Dartmouth field hockey wants to play,” assistant coach Macy Curtis said.
