Men’s soccer has gotten its season underway in an up and down fashion, compiling a 2-2-2 record through its first six games.
The Big Green started strong, claiming a victory against Niagara University in Niagara Falls, N.Y. on Sept. 2. Garrett Scott ’22 scored the only goal of the game, assisted by Oskar Magnusson ’26. Big Green goalkeeper Costi Christodoulou ’25 stepped up defensively with an eight-save shutout to secure the 1-0 victory. The win marked Dartmouth’s first season-opening win since 2010.
“It was a really good win for us,” George Altirs ’23 said.“It was a big moment coming from one of the youngest guys on the team connecting to one of the oldest on the team.”
The early win was a good example of the team’s developing chemistry, Altirs said, as the younger players have meshed very well thus far with the returning team.
“The young guys have been a huge part of our team already,” Altirs added. “Both the new guys coming in and the period of development for the guys coming back in the spring has been great for the squad.”
The team then played to a 0-0 draw against Canisius College in Buffalo, N.Y., and subsequently took losses against Long Island University and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Kristian Feed ’25 scored his first collegiate goal against UMass, providing the only successful offensive play for Dartmouth in a 1-3 defeat.
Christodoulu was awarded Ivy Player of the Week on Sept. 6 after his two consecutive clean sheets, becoming the first Big Green men’s soccer player to earn the award since 2019.
“The fact that I was rewarded for our collective efforts is something that I'll take, but it's not something that I put entirely on my shoulder,” Christodoulu said. “The performances we gave were a collective effort and that's ultimately what it's going to take to get more success and experience to reach the NCAA Tournament and win the Ivy League.”
The Big Green was scheduled to take on the University of Connecticut this past Tuesday, but the game was postponed until 2023 due to scheduling constraints imposed by a delayed match between UConn and Creighton University.
Christodoulou said that the delay might end up helping the team by granting them more time to prepare for their match on Saturday, Sept. 23, against Stonehill College in Hanover.
“[The delay] allowed us to train a lot more and switch our focus entirely to Saturday,” Christodoulou said. “The boys are feeling good and training has been going well, we’re working hard to make sure that we're ready for the weekend.”
The training certainly seemed to pay off when the Big Green defeated Stonehill 6-0 over the weekend. David Alino ’23 scored four consecutive goals during the match, powering the Big Green to a comfortable victory. Fallou Ndiaye ’26 and George Altirs ’23 each added one goal. Christodoulou was rarely challenged, recording just three saves in the shutout.
In its earliest matches, the Big Green struggled defensively and worked to build up their defense.
“Going forward we need to really focus on the decisive moments within the game in both final thirds, the defensive third and the offensive third,” Altirs said. “Avoiding the easily avoidable goals is something we have been working on.”
Head coach Bo Oshoniy also emphasized the team’s strong potential and the effort they have put into focusing on implementing play tactics.
“Scoring more is our main focus,” he added. “As a team, we need to take more chances and finish those chances. Not finishing chances lets the other team stick around, which is dangerous over the course of the game.
Dartmouth now looks forward to carrying its momentum from that 6-0 victory into the start of Ivy League play. The Big Green is scheduled to face Princeton University in Hanover on Saturday, Oct.1.
“That's a massive game for us as it’s the start of the new Ivy season, a game that we can win and one we want to win,” Christodoulou said. “We hopefully want to win the Ivy League, so we want to start that on a positive note, and in many ways it’s the start of a new season.”
Streaming on ESPN+, the game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start.
