Hanover
The Big Green (11-3-1, 5-0-1 Ivy), which completed its seventh shutout of the season, also clinched a berth in the NCAA Tournament. Cornell is 7-7-2, 2-3-1 Ivy.
“I’m obviously very proud of the group; in a lot of ways it was like a cup final for us,” head coach Chad Riley said in a news release. “There were a lot of nerves at the beginning, and credit to Cornell that they really pushed us very well. We had some chances that didn’t quite break through in the first half, but Cornell had some plays around our box that we defended well.”
Saturday’s high-stakes game was full of defensive pressure, as the Big Green was held to only 11 shots through the entire game. Both teams entered halftime gridlocked at 0-0 and continued to push each other through the second period.
The Big Red set up the home squad for several other chances, committing 15 fouls, several of which resulted in free kicks for Dartmouth, and the Big Green had six corner kicks as well, but Cornell’s defense was stifling.
In the 74th minute, Ikoba received a pass from freshman Dawson McCartney while inside the box and headed the ball past the Cornell keeper and into the net, taking the lead and scoring the game-winning goal, with senior Matt Danilack on the assist, as well.
“We knew, in the second half, we had 45 minutes to put some pressure on them and try to get the goal,” Riley said, “and we started well, were a little bit more purposeful with our play, and that was a great cross by Dawson (McCartney) met by Eduvie (Ikoba) to get the goal. Cornell kind of threw a lot at us the last 15 minutes, and I thought we handled that well, showed a lot of maturity.”
This year’s senior class is the only class in Dartmouth history to win four Ivy League titles, one of the most successful classes in program history.
While the Big Green already has secured the conference title, it still has one more regular-season game at Brown next Saturday at 5 p.m. before postseason action commences.
Castleton 1, Colby-Sawyer 0
Castleton, Vt.
Castleton earned the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III tournament.
Fidele Rutayisire was awarded a corner kick in the waning seconds of the opening half, and the Spartans capitalized. Rutayisire’s ensuing cross went into the box, where Sean Springer slid to push it forward past a defender, and Godfrey was there to sneak it inside the right post at 44:59.
Colby-Sawyer keeper Shane Sacks collected one save. Castleton held an advantage in shots, 11-9, including 4-2 on goal in the contest.
Women’s Soccer
Dartmouth 1, Cornell 0
Hanover
Senior Bianca Ribi found Kawakami with room from defenders inside the box in the 22nd minute. Dartmouth outshot the Big Red, 16-6, and put eight shots on goal, forcing Cornell goalkeeper Meghan Kennedy to grab seven saves.
Kawakami turned out to be a big-time contributor this season and finished her first year with one goal, three assists and 10 shots. Big Green keeper Mariel Gordon wrapped up her freshman campaign with a 7-10-0 record and four shutouts, with 68 saves and 22 goals allowed total.
The Big Green ends the year with a record of 7-10-0, 1-6-0 in the Ivy League, while Cornell fell to 2-9-3 on the season and 0-5-2 in conference play.
Dartmouth 3, Yale 1
Hanover
The first weekend sweep at Thompson Arena since January 2016 came against an unlikely opponent as the Bulldogs were fresh off a 5-2 win against No. 3 Harvard on Friday night and had not lost in Hanover since Nov. 2, 2012.
That’s all in the past thanks to a 26-save performance from senior netminder Devin Buffalo, a big night from sophomore winger Charley Michalowski and another stellar performance from the penalty kill.
Buffalo made a post-to-post sliding pad save to rob Yale’s Phil Kemp on the power play, keeping it a two-goal game in favor of the Big Green with just under three minutes remaining.
It came to be a two-goal game thanks to a 5-on-3 power-play tally from junior Alex Jasiek in the first, Michalowski’s first goal of the season midway through the second and an insurance goal from Daniel Warpecha shorthanded in the second half of the final frame.
After a slow start, the Green bounced back with a 6-for-6 night on the PK against the Bulldogs, finishing the weekend perfect on all 12 of its opponents’ man-advantage opportunities.
Shot totals were low all night and finished 27-15 in favor of the visiting Bulldogs, including a 15-6 edge in the final frame. The two teams combined for 25 blocked shots, making pucks on net a premium for 60 minutes.
Dartmouth is on the road next weekend for a pair of ECAC games, taking on Cornell on Friday night and Colgate on Saturday afternoon.
Dartmouth 3, Maine 0
Hanover
Dartmouth’s Hailey Noronha assisted on Huett’s goal to give her a team-leading four assists in four games. In net, junior Christine Honor played all 60 minutes, making 37 saves while earning her second shutout in the last two weekends.
The teams face off again at 2 p.m. today.
Yale 3, Dartmouth 0
New Haven, Conn.
Dartmouth freshman Mallen Bischoff led in kills for the second night in a row, ending up with nine, while sophomore Tori Dozier had her second double-double of the weekend with 20 assists and 15 digs. Classmate Carly Tower recorded eight kills with a .438 hitting percentage.
Dartmouth will end the 2017 season next weekend against Penn and Princeton at home.
Maine Maritime 3Colby-Sawyer 1
Castine, Maine
The Mariners (20-12) clinched their second straight NAC Championship and earned the NAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Division III volleyball tournament.
Courtney Murray led the Chargers with 11 kills, while Rebecca Straubel led all players with 15 digs to grab all-tournament honors and also contributed six kills and two aces.
Naarah Cox chipped in with 10 kills, three blocks and a dig to earn all-tournament honors as well.
Cornell 2, Dartmouth 1
Hanover
Dartmouth sophomore Katie Spanos scored her team-leading ninth goal of the fall in the loss, capping an impressive second season in Hanover with a team-high 27 points, a figure that was also good for the most on the team.
Grace Royer and Gabby DePetro scored for Cornell, with DePetro’s goal snapping a 1-1 tie in the 52nd minute.
Dartmouth goalie Hailey Valerio stopped six shots, while Cornell split time in goal between starter Kelly Johnson, who stopped three shots and allowed one score, and Maddie Henry, who picked up the win by stopping all four she faced.
Big Green Opens With A Win
Hanover
The Big Green took the top three spots in four events, while seven athletes won 12 individual events. Connor LaMastra led the way with three individual wins. Justin Sodokoff and AJ Krok both qualified for the NCAA Zone Diving Championship on the 3-meter diving board, while Sodokoff also met the standard on 1-meter.
The Big Green travels to Cambridge, Mass., on Saturday to take on Harvard and Cornell.