After coming off a historic season, one might think there could be some complacency among the ranks of the Dartmouth women’s soccer team. But with their season opener set for next week, the Big Green are hungry for more.
“I think what has been the most encouraging to me over the last eight months since last season ended and the offseason started was that there is this hunger in the team that is really inspiring,” said head coach Taylor Schram.
Schram, who was hired to head up the Big Green in December 2022, signed a multi-year contract extension this past December after her squad finished 11-4-4 overall, 4-1-2 in conference play, won the program’s first Ivy League tournament championship, and made its first appearance in the NCAA Division I tournament in two decades.
The Big Green’s strong 2025 campaign came to an end at the hands of Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA tournament when they fell 1-0.
“We had a chance to accomplish something really special last year. .. It’s just ignited this fire in the team to go after it again and pursue more and try to continue to elevate what we’re doing,” she added.
With a new season on the horizon, the Big Green will undoubtedly have a target on their back. UMass Lowell, whom Dartmouth will host on Aug. 20 in its season opener, will get the first crack at the reigning Ivy League tournament champs.
“To me, it’s the glaringly obvious elephant in the room at this point that we are going to get everybody’s best game this coming year, because of what we accomplished last year,” Schram said, acknowledging this was something she and her staff have addressed with the team.
“We’ve got to be prepared to combat that, and really, what we’ve zeroed in on and focused in on is just staying focused on the present, staying focused on ourselves, and staying focused on our process,” she added.
Something that will also help the Big Green counter the added competitive fire they will see from their upcoming opponents is a strong core of returning players.
Topping that list is senior keeper Ola Goebel, who finished among the top-five in the country in goals-against average (second/.400) and save percentage (fourth/.894) last season.
Some of the veteran players joining Goebel to thwart opposing scoring chances are senior defenders Ellie Davidson and Kate Ryan.
Sophomore defender Anna Leschly, who was last season’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year and was named to the United Soccer Coaches Division I Women’s Players to Watch list and the Top Drawer Soccer Women’s College Preseason Top 100 this month, will look to build on her first season with the Big Green.
“As we think about lessons and elements of our DNA that we can pull from last year and really reemphasize this year is our commitment defensively, and those guys are going to be leading the charge for us,” Schram said.
In the midfield, sophomore Lykke Ihrfelt, a player Schram has her eye on as a potential breakout candidate, is also coming back.
At forward, junior Stephanie Lathrop, who led the Ivy League in goals (9) a season ago and was at her best during crunch time, scoring what proved to be game-winning goals during Dartmouth’s Ivy League tournament championship run in both the semis and finals, will also be back.
Among other key athletes coming back for the Big Green are sophomore forward Maeve Theobald, junior forward Emmanuella Frimpomaa, and junior midfielder Lourdes Lauterborn, all of whom Schram indicated could eclipse their contributions from last season.
Schram also expressed excitement about the crop of underclassmen, such as sophomore midfielder Nadia Young, and the new players coming in.
Among the newcomers is sophomore forward Madison Rose, who transferred to Dartmouth from Arkansas. “The irony in that is really spectacular, just playing them in the first round of NCAAs and then her joining us,” Schram said.
“She really fits us in a lot of ways. I think that she’s aggressive in a press; she’s really committed defensively as an attacking player, she’s a head down and go at you type of forward.”
As the season approaches, Schram is emphasizing that her squad continues focusing on what has made them successful, such as defense. The Big Green, as a team, was third in the country last season in goals-against average (.526).
“I’ve never been around a team in my career that defends so hard in training, and it’s no surprise it shows up that way on game day,” she said, while crediting Associate Head Coach Rachel Pitman for her work with the defense.
That being said, Schram indicated that her squad has been hard at work looking to improve at creating quality scoring chances around the goal. Dartmouth finished last season ranked 89th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 1.68 goals per game.
“We’ve been dangerous on set pieces, we’ve been sound defensively, we’re very difficult to score on, but we’ve got to put balls in the back of the net,” she said.
Next Thursday’s opener at Burnham Field is slated for 6 p.m.
“We’re really excited — I think that there’s just a big buzz about the group right now,” Schram said. “Just feeling all of the excitement headed into the season.”
