Dartmouth Denies No. 19 Harvard, Snaps Seven-Game Win Streak

Since the Ivy League Tournament’s inauguration in 2023, just three schools have claimed the championship title.

Two of those teams, the inaugural winner, No. 19 Harvard women’s soccer (8-3-1, 2-1 Ivy League) and last year’s victor Dartmouth (8-2-2, 2-1), faced off in its third match of conference play on Saturday.

Powered by a stalwart defensive performance from its backline, the Big Green’s lone goal from a free kick — as well as a penalty save with seven minutes remaining — proved enough to secure a 1-0 win over the Crimson, denying the visitor’s hopes of extending its win streak to eight games.

After Harvard lost its first two games of the season, it then built a ten-game undefeated streak and hadn’t been shut out since its 0-0 tie against Syracuse in late August.

Though the Crimson entered the match averaging three goals per game, Dartmouth’s defense, anchored by senior goalie Ola Goebel’s five saves, ultimately outweighed Harvard’s offensive productivity, which still outshot the home team 17 to 12 with six to three on target.

“We knew this was going to be a really challenging game with Dartmouth’s defensive record and our offensive record,” the Crimson’s head coach Chris Hamblin said. “I was really proud of the way that we competed. We knew it was going to be a physical battle. We matched that, and we created some really good chances early in the game.”

“Over the last number of games, we’ve been able to take advantage of those chances and put some goals in the back of the net, and from a combination of maybe a little bit of lack of quality, but also some excellent goalkeeping and defending, we weren’t able to capitalize today,” he added.

Goebel, ranked fourth in the NCAA with seven shutouts, saved Harvard’s captain and forward Ólöf Kristinsdóttir’s penalty kick in the 83rd minute to deny the Crimson’s biggest chance in the closing minutes of the game. Kristinsdóttir, meanwhile, led Harvard with six shots, four of which were on target.

With the win, Dartmouth secured its second straight victory over the Crimson, a stark contrast to last year’s win, the Big Green’s first in Cambridge in 20 years, which snapped its losing streak dating back to 2018.

“Sometimes the result, a win or a loss, really amplifies the outcome,” Hamblin said. “I don’t want to over-dramatize the loss. It was what it was. We now need to accept it, learn from it, grow from it, move on and go. We’re still playing a really good brand of soccer, and we’re still very optimistic about where we are in the season.”

In the opening minutes of the game, Harvard immediately began building momentum, pressuring the hosts’ net.

Kristinsdóttir found freshman forward Brooke Huleatt, who leads the Crimson in goals scored with nine alongside her senior counterpart, down the left wing. The rookie slipped past her defender toward the endline, slotting the ball toward freshman midfielder Camila Reinaldo’s run in the box — though her one-touch shot forced a point-blank save from Goebel.

Meanwhile, Dartmouth’s defense — which leads the Ivy League in fewest goals allowed with five — began to take shape and halted several offensive efforts from captain and forward Anna Rayhill down the right wing.

The momentum shift allowed the Big Green to build its own offensive streak in the final 20 minutes of the first half. A few turnovers for Harvard in its defensive half nearly proved costly — including a one-on-one breakthrough that was quickly smothered by sophomore goalie Nicole Bidun and senior defender Amy König.

The home team secured several corner kicks to end the half, totaling seven — matching the most corners Harvard allowed in a half since its game against No. 5 University of Alabama.

“Most of their challenges and dangerous plays came from set pieces, and we talked a little bit about just being better in our build-up and getting the ball into some more dangerous areas. We had a lot of possessions, which we knew we would,” Hamblin said. “The [halftime] message was that we need to continue to kind of change the point of attack and play our game, and that’s going to open them up at times.

Harvard appeared to rejuvenate its playmaking, as Rayhill worked her way down the right wing and launched multiple shots at the Big Green’s net.

Unfortunately for the Crimson, Dartmouth eventually capitalized on a defensive turnover. A giveaway from Harvard’s backline led to a late tackle by senior midfielder Anyva Van Den Einde, resulting in a yellow card and a free kick just outside the box in the 62nd minute.

Despite freshman goalie Olivia Busby’s fingertips grazing the ball, Dartmouth junior forward Stephanie Lathrop — who led the Ivy League with nine goals last year — scored her second goal of the season and the dagger-to-be by whipping the ball into the top right of the Crimson’s net.

“They hit a wonderful free kick that was well hit and got the goal, which earned them the win,” Hamblin said. “It’s obviously very disappointing to drop a game in the Ivy League after the way we’ve been playing. But we performed well in a number of areas, and we just need to clean up some pieces now as we look forward to Yale.”

Just after Dartmouth’s goal, the teams traded possession, as Harvard fought hard to equalize — leading to an impressive sequence of playmaking highlighted by powerful shots from Rayhill and Kristinsdóttir.

Amidst the chaos, the Crimson won its biggest chance of the half.

Huleatt found Kristinsdóttir in the box, and as she spun around toward the net, a Dartmouth player tumbled into her from behind for a foul.

Kristinsdóttir, who had scored on two of her three penalties so far this season, drove the ball toward the bottom right corner — but the Big Green’s hero Goebel denied the attempt. Unlike Kristinsdóttir’s last miss against the University of Alabama, none of her teammates were able to meet the ensuing rebound.

“After they scored, we upped the tempo a little bit and created a few more chances, and that led to the penalty kick later in the game as well,” Hamblin said. “I think that it was always going to be a game that was going to be tight, and unfortunately we didn’t do enough in those critical moments, and Dartmouth took advantage of that moment today.”

Though Harvard spent most of the closing minutes pummeling Dartmouth’s backline, the visitor struggled to break through and create further chances. Two free kicks from midfielder Írena Héðinsdóttir Gonzalez and senior midfielder Jasmine Leshnick couldn’t overpower the Big Green’s defensive wall, securing the home team’s 1-0 victory.

With four games remaining on its Ivy League slate, the Crimson will certainly seek to rebuild its offensive momentum from the height of its streak of seven straight wins and nine undefeated games. Harvard will host its Ancient Eight rival, Yale (5-7, 0-3), at Jordan Field on Saturday at 1 p.m. EDT.

In the Ivy League standings, Harvard is currently tied for second place with six points alongside Dartmouth and Columbia. Brown remains undefeated in conference play with two wins and one draw for seven points.

“The goal is to win the Ivy League and finish in first place and host the tournament. Having dropped the points today, we can still control our destiny because Brown is sitting one point ahead of everyone else right now, and we still have to play Brown,” Hamblin said. “One of the things we’ve done so well over the last six, seven weeks has been converting our chances, and we’ll take a look at some of the clips from the game and just see areas we can improve.”

The Bulldogs are the only Ivy League team to have lost all three of its conference matches to start the season — falling to the Crimson’s first two opponents, Cornell and Princeton, as well as to Brown 3-2 on Saturday.

“Yale is a team that we know has had some good results, and they’ve had a tough start to the Ivy,” Hamblin said. “They have yet to earn a win; they really are going to be fighting for those three points. We know they’re going to come out hot, and we have to be ready for that.”

—Staff writer Uy B. Pham can be reached at [email protected] or on Signal at ubp.88. Follow him on X @uybpham.