Dartmouth women’s soccer’s hard-fought battle with Columbia University this past Saturday ended in a stalemate after double overtime. The teams parted ways with a goal each, resulting in the Big Green’s first tie of the season and its first point in Ivy League play.
After twin losses to conference rivals Yale University and University of Pennsylvania last weekend, Dartmouth came home to Burnham Field last week hungry for a win. The team dominated Southern Illinois University on Tuesday, outshooting the Salukis 17-5 for a final score of 5-0, but they still had a score to settle with the Lions.
Last year, Columbia defeated the Big Green 1-0 near the end of the season, effectively knocking the Big Green out of the running for the Ivy League championship. Dartmouth placed third in the conference behind Penn and Princeton University. One more win would have made it a three-way tie for first. According to captain Haley Soriano ’20, the team was ready to avenge the loss last Saturday.
“They handled us pretty easily last year,” Soriano said, “so [we had] a lot of vengeance coming out and just really wanting to battle.”
And battle they did. Columbia wasn’t an easy opponent to face. The Lions came into Saturday’s matchup with an overall record of 8-3-1, and two conference wins against Penn and Cornell University. They claimed the lead in the 14th minute with a goal by Emily Koe. Dartmouth maintained pressure and had a few good chances, but the ball did not bounce their way. Koe’s would prove to be the only goal in the first half.
The Big Green went into the second half strong, and Soriano evened the score after 52 total minutes of play. She made her second goal of the season off an assist from Mollie McGorisk ’20.
“A super heads up play from [Allie Winstanley ’23] gets the ball across, [McGorisk] has a phenomenal touch and then finishing up with a run to put it to the right side of the keeper,” said Soriano of her goal. “It was definitely a team goal for sure. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
The goal was overdue for Dartmouth, which finished the game with six shots on goal to Columbia’s four. Midfielder Erin Kawakami ’21 was among those that created notable chances, the last of which, a major breakaway and sprint to the net, ended with an apparent injury. Dartmouth played one athlete down for a few minutes until play was stopped and Kawakami could be helped off the field. For the next few minutes following the injury, Dartmouth struggled to maintain possession with its unsettled lineup.
For the rest of the 110-minute game, the battle turned into a stalemate. The Big Green fought hard and generated plenty of attacking chances, but to no avail. Winstanley was a critical actor in many of these plays. The freshman forward ended the game with three shots — all on goal. She credited the team’s determination to avenge their recent losses to Yale and Penn, as well as their longer history with Columbia, with fortifying their efforts on Saturday.
“After our previous games we wanted to come out today with anger … and with fire, and that contributed to the team’s play on the field as a whole today,” Winstanley said.
Overall, Dartmouth proved itself a match for the Lions. The team felt confident that they had atoned for last year when, according to Soriano, Columbia outplayed them. Head coach Ron Rainey agreed.
“I love how we played today,” Rainey said. “I thought we gave them everything they could handle.”
The Big Green looks forward to two more games this season, both against conference opponents. The team will travel to Harvard University this Saturday and returns home the following week for its Senior Day contest against Cornell University.
Harvard is currently second place in the conference, and the contest won’t be an easy one, but Rainey feels certain the momentum generated last Saturday will carry through the remainder of the season.
“Our team will practice hard this week,” Rainey said. “And we will get better.”
