HANOVER, N.H. — Fueled by the energy of a raucous Saturday night crowd at Burnham Field, the Dartmouth men's soccer team defeated the Yale Bulldogs by a score of 3-2. The Big Green were lifted to victory by three different goal scorers to pick up their first Ivy League win of 2022.
Alex van Schalkwyk opened the scoring for Dartmouth (4-4-3, 1-2-0 Ivy League) in the 37th minute, giving the Big Green a 1-0 lead as halftime approached.
David Alino increased the Dartmouth lead to two goals in the 49th minute of play.
After Yale responded with a goal to cut the lead to one,
Louis Weisdorf extended the lead once again off a brilliant free kick. The Bulldogs found the back of the net once again in the 84th minute, but the Big Green held strong to secure the win at home.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Costi Christodoulou made timely saves in net for the Big Green, turning away six shots from the Bulldogs.
"That's just a typical Ivy League game, going all the way down to the wire like that," Bobby Clark Head Coach of Men's Soccer
Bo Oshoniyi said. "A lot of physical play, but I give the credit to our guys. They played against a really good Yale team and found a way to win this game. This is huge for us and our program. I'm proud of the way they battled today."
The first half began at a furious pace, with both teams battling to maintain possession and create chances. Despite this, the first shot on goal of the contest would not come until the 18th minute, as a chance from Alino was stopped by Yale's Elian Haddock.
Yellow cards were distributed to
Garrett Socas and
Tom Collins, emphasizing the physical nature of the contest. By the end of the night, both teams would combine for seven yellow cards, one red card and 42 fouls.
The Big Green got on the board first with under 10 minutes remaining in the first half. Weisdorf sent a chip into the 18-yard box, which van Schalkwyk put past Haddock to take a 1-0 advantage into the half.
Dartmouth picked up right where it left off as the final 45 minutes began.
George Altirs delivered a stunning pass to Alino, who sent the crowd into a frenzy after he snuck a shot past the keeper to take a 2-0 lead. Alino leads Dartmouth with six goals throughout the 2022 season.
The teams continued to battle as the Bulldogs looked to score their first goal of the evening. Yale found it in the 63rd minute, as Kai Moos trimmed the Dartmouth lead to one goal.
It would not take long for the Big Green to find a response. Following a foul just outside the 18-yard box, Weisdorf's free kick whistled past Haddock, as the sophomore placed the ball in the top-left corner of the net for his first goal of the season.
"That was a sweet one, that was a special moment," Weisdorf said of his goal. "We haven't really had these wins this season. I think for everyone to feel exactly what that means is amazing. We just have to build on this."
Trevor Gee and Yale's Jules Oberg were handed yellow cards as the second half progressed. The Bulldogs scored for the second time in the 84th minute, as Alex Umana used his left foot to power a ball past Christodoulou.
The Big Green defense locked down following Yale's second goal, as Dartmouth did not allow a shot on goal in the final six minutes. Dartmouth held on to the lead to secure its fourth victory of the 2022 season and its first two-match win streak of the year.
Dartmouth handed the Bulldogs their second loss of the season, improving to 37-41-8 against Yale in the all-time series. The Big Green also snapped a two-match skid against the Bulldogs and secured their first win over Yale since October 8, 2016.
The Big Green will travel to take on the Vermont Catamounts on Tuesday, October 18 at 7 p.m. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.