Season In Review: 2015 Dartmouth Men's Soccer

HANOVER, N.H. – Dartmouth men's soccer, led by head coach Chad Riley, built on its success in 2014 to have another excellent year both in the Ivy League and nationally in 2015.

The Big Green have a lot to be proud of this year after finishing with a 12-6-1 record overall and a 6-1-0 conference record. Dartmouth captured its second consecutive Ivy League title for the first time in 10 years, earning the Green another trip to the NCAA College Cup. It is also the team's most wins in a two-year stretch in program history with two back-to-back 12 win seasons.

In the first round of the postseason tournament, which was held at Burnham Field, Dartmouth knocked off Hartwick 1-0, behind junior Alexander Marsh's dramatic overtime goal. The Green's season came to an end in the second round of the College Cup when Dartmouth fell to sixth ranked Syracuse, 2-1. The Orange is now competing in the Final Four. This is the second year in a row that the Big Green have fallen in the NCAA tournament to a Final Four team.

Defense was key to the Big Green's success on the pitch this year as Dartmouth allowed just 13 goals over 19 games, the least of any Ancient Eight squad and the least amount of goals allowed in the league since 2004, allowing only two in conference play.

At the midpoint of the season, the Green went on an impressive six-game winning streak, highlighted by four shutout victories and a 3-0 win over Hofstra, who was ranked 18th in the nation at the time.

On Oct. 31 Dartmouth recorded a key 1-0, overtime road victory over Ivy League foe Harvard, that gave the Big Green the advantage in the race for the conference title. Dartmouth brought home the hardware a week later with a 2-0 win over Cornell at home.

The victory over the Big Red brought the first of many awards for the Green this year. Senior goalkeeper, Stefan Cleveland was named Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year after he led the league in save percentage (.866) and goals-against average (0.62) for most the season.

Cleveland also recorded an impressive nine shutouts to complement his 9-4-1 record between the pipes. The Dayton, Ohio native was also named to the 2015 Academic All-American Second team as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. He was the only Ancient Eight representative on this list.

For the second year in a row, Riley was unanimously tabbed as Ivy League Coach of the year, while seven players earned All-Ivy recognition. Cleveland, sophomores Matt Danilack and Wyatt Omsberg were selected to the All-Ivy First Team, while sophomore Tyler Dowse and freshman Amadu Kunateh were named to the Second Team. Eduvie Ikoba and Justin Donawa received honorable mention accolades.

After a stellar first season in Hanover, Kunateh was also named Co-Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Kunateh tallied 11 points off of a team-leading four goals. His year was highlighted by netting the game-winning goal against the Crimson in overtime in late October.

For four weeks this season, Dartmouth was ranked in the Top 25 by TopDrawerSoccer.com, reaching as high as No. 23 on Nov. 16. The Big Green also finished in the regular season in the top 25 in the NCAA's RPI for the second year in a row. Next year Dartmouth will return a good portion of the roster, losing only six seniors.

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