Women's Rugby to Host AIC

Match Four: Dartmouth (1-2) vs AIC (1-0) – Saturday, Sept. 26, 2 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+ | International Stream
X

HANOVER, N.H. – The Dartmouth women's rugby team returns to Brophy Field on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 4 p.m., when it hosts American International College (AIC) on Youth Sport and Community Appreciation Day.

Last Time Out
The Big Green fell at Harvard, 31-7, on a rainy Friday night, Sept. 25, at Mignone Field, in a match moved up a day due to expected inclement weather. Dartmouth's defense kept the defending national champions off the board for more than 20 minutes before Harvard pulled ahead 17-0. As time expired in the first half, Vanessa Ortiz-Pallen powered over the try line to cut the deficit to 17-7 at the break. The Big Green kept attacking throughout the second half against a Harvard defense that had not allowed a point in its previous match. Dartmouth opened the year with a 41-8 win over Army on Sept. 5 before falling to Life University, 49-22, on Sept. 12, and now stands at 1-2 on the season. Lauren Cheng leads the team with three tries.

Recapping 2025
The Big Green went 5-3 last season, including a 4-2 record in NIRA play. Dartmouth advanced to the NIRA semifinals, where it fell to the eventual national champion Harvard, 45-10, at Mignone Field.

Winning Tradition
Katie Dowty is in her 12th season as head coach, and the Big Green has won three NIRA championships (2022, 2021, 2018) during her tenure and has made it to the NIRA championship final six times, the most of any team. Dowty's record is 75-24, for a winning percentage of 75.76%.

Series History
Dartmouth leads the all-time series with AIC, 3-2, and is 3-0 against the Yellow Jackets in Hanover. The two teams last met on Oct. 6, 2018, when the Big Green won 53-17 at home. Dartmouth has won the last two meetings, including an 80-12 victory in 2017, the largest margin in the series.

Scouting AIC
AIC, located in Springfield, Mass., is competing in NIRA Division I for the first time this fall after a dominant run in Division II, where the Yellow Jackets won NIRA titles in 2021, 2024 and 2025 and went undefeated against DII competition over the past two years. AIC also captured the 2026 National 7s College Rugby Championship this spring, beating three-time defending champion Brown, 24-7, in the final, with Naomi Dodd named tournament MVP. The Yellow Jackets opened their 2026 season on Sept. 19 with a 32-17 home win over Navy, pulling away with a late second-half surge.