Women's Soccer Wraps Regular Season With 2-1 Win Over Cornell

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth women's soccer team closed out its regular season schedule on Saturday evening with a 2-1 Senior Day win over Cornell at Burnham Field.

With the win, Dartmouth (9-3-4, 4-1-2 Ivy League) clinched the second seed in the Ivy League Tournament, marking its best finish since the 2014 season. The Big Green will open the postseason next Thursday, Nov. 9, at 3:30 p.m., when facing Columbia at Myslik Field in Princeton, N.J.

Taylor Schram, the Stacy Branca '94 Family Head Coach of Women's Soccer, said that although the team clinched a spot in the tournament last weekend, they still pride themselves on being present and showing up every single day.

"It was senior day, so an extra special moment to celebrate them and all that they've done for the program…" Schram said. "It was a really great second half performance to springboard us into Ivy League Tournament play next week."

The first 45 minutes of the game were neck-and-neck, with each team only taking two shots and one save. Entering the second half, there was a spark of energy in the air, which allowed the momentum to begin swinging in Dartmouth's favor.

In the 58th minute, Lourdes Lauterborn connected with Frankie Valverde, who showed off her footwork as she approached the net and launched the ball to put Dartmouth on the board. Less than two minutes later, Lauterborn came in clutch again by passing to Emmanuella Frimpomma just outside the center circle. Cornell's goalkeeper, Natalie Medugno, inched out of the net, but Frimpomma kicked the ball past her to tab a 2-0 lead.

Frimpomaa said going into Saturday's game, she wanted the team to win and to play for the seniors.

"Going out there, scoring my second goal of the season on Senior Day, that goal was dedicated to the seniors. I love them so much and I'm so happy to have the win today." Frimpomma said.

The Bears attempted a late-game comeback when Emily Gibbon scored a goal in the 79th minute, followed by a shot by Amanda Polyniak just minutes later, which was saved by Ola Goebel. As the final seconds ran down, the Dartmouth bench poured onto the field and embraced their teammates to close out the regular season.

When asked how the overall team feels heading into the postseason, Schram simply said they feel great. She said they set a goal for themselves to finish in the top four, and when tournament play starts, it's anyone's title.

"That's the fun part about tournament play, is that it's about what you've done all season long," Schram said. "You start zero and zero, and it's the better team on the day."

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