Courtesy of Don Clark

The Yale men’s soccer team, after trekking to Hanover this Saturday, played to a 1–1 tie against defending Ivy League Champions Dartmouth.

The Bulldogs (4–3–2, 0–1–1 Ivy) faced off against the Big Green (3–4–4, 0–0–2 Ivy) but were unable to declare victory after 110 minutes under the lights of Burnham Field. After a Yale-dominated first half, the two teams each tallied goals in the second 45 minutes but failed to create a game-winner in overtime. With the defending Ivy champions yet to tally a win, this draw leaves the Ivy League title race wide open.

“I think that we were unlucky not to win the game,” midfielder Nicky Downs ’19 said. “We had plenty of chances, especially down the stretch. They are a good team and fairly experienced, so they were not easy to break down. We feel good about how we are playing, and I think it’s now just a matter of putting away one or two more of our chances.”

Yale came out on the front foot and attacked the Dartmouth defense with Downs and midfielder Miguel Yuste ’20 firing the first shots. But, the Big Green had a few early chances as well. In the 22nd minute, an acrobatic volley from striker Tiger Graham challenged Yale’s goalkeeper Tom Wallenstein ’21, who shifted off his line to stop the venomous shot.

The first half finished in a stalemate, with Yale gaining an edge in possession and offensive chances and shooting three times as much as its opponent for a total of six shots. The teams retreated to the locker rooms with neither on the scoreboard.

Opening the second half, it only took 10 minutes for forward Aldo Quevedo ’21 to put the Elis on the scoreboard and into the lead. Forward Paolo Carroll ’22 dodged a Dartmouth defender along the end line and crossed the ball inside the box. Quevedo turned among several Dartmouth defenders and sent a low shot into the bottom left of the net, splitting two defenders and a flinching goalie. The tally marked Quevedo’s second goal of the season and Carroll’s fourth assist.

“I’m very happy with the overall team performance and being able to get the goal today,” Quevedo said. “We have to take positives and learn from our mistakes and move on to this week’s tough fixtures.”

The Eli goal, however, would not go unmatched. The home team retaliated with an equalizing goal just 10 minutes after. The Big Green moved the ball down the left side and sent a powerful cross right in front of the net. Wallenstein got a piece of the ball, but the deflection found another Dartmouth player right in front. In the chaotic series of deflections, the ball found Yima Asom waiting at the top of the penalty box, and his strike sailed over Wallenstein. The game was tied with just 27 minutes to go.

With just eight minutes left, Dartmouth just missed an equalizer with a free kick from just outside the box deflecting off the top left goal post and out of harm’s way.

“We knew Dartmouth was especially dangerous on counterattacks,” head coach Kylie Stannard said. “So we made sure our back line read the cues early to drop and keep things in front as best as possible and just not overcommit ourselves to give them easy opportunities. I’ve been very pleased overall with our team defending.”

Regulation play ended, with both teams failing to score a game-winner in overtime and the match finishing in a draw.

The result marked Yale’s first tie since its match against then-No. 4 Michigan St. while it was Dartmouth’s seventh overtime game and its second tie in the league this fall.

Although the league is tight this year, Dartmouth had looked to be one of Yale’s toughest matches of Ivy play. The Big Green won the championship outright in 2015 and 2017 and also took its share of the title in 2014 and 2016.

While Dartmouth has been a consistent player in the league, the Elis have been on an upward path to the title. In 2014, the Bulldogs finished 1–13–3 and 0–6–1 (Ivy) under the leadership of Brian Tompkins. However, this season, the Elis have already tallied four times as many wins as 2014, and just one shy of last year’s total of five wins with still seven matches left to play.

The Elis take on Vermont this Tuesday at Reese Stadium at 5:30 p.m.

Cate Sawkins | cate.sawkins@yale.edu

Eamonn Smith | eamonn.smith@yale.edu

CATE SAWKINS
EAMONN SMITH