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The Yale men’s soccer team triumphed 2–0 over Dartmouth on Saturday night, with keeper and captain Elian Haddock ’23 posting his third shutout of the season.

The Bulldogs (4–4–2, 1–0–1 Ivy) faced the Big Green (1–8–0, 0–2–0 Ivy) under the lights for their second Ivy challenge of the season. Forward Paolo Carroll ’23, who is Yale’s top scorer this season with six total goals, netted both goals in a six-minute window in the second half. The two tallies came in the last 15 minutes of the game as the home crowd came to life. On Tuesday, Yale travels to the University of New Hampshire, before inviting Cornell to the Elm City on Saturday for its third Ivy matchup.

“It was really important for us to get our first Ivy League win on Saturday on our home field,” midfielder Sam Harshe ’25 said. “Dartmouth made it hard for us, especially in the first half, but eventually we started controlling the game and earned a couple of good goals. We know we can have success anywhere if we keep fighting for clean sheets, so we’re all extremely excited for a test at New Hampshire on Tuesday.”

Energy was high on Saturday night as the Bulldogs took the field. Saturday’s men’s and women’s soccer games were jointly hosted with La Casa Cultural to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, which concludes this Friday, Oct. 15. The crowd enjoyed food trucks and other festivities starting at 4 p.m.

The game opened up with both teams on attack, but Yale was the first to create chances. In the 19th minute, Carroll headed a shot on target, forcing Dartmouth keeper Alex Budnik to make an early save. The Bulldogs set the pace and blocked Dartmouth’s only first-half shot. A few minutes before the halftime whistle, forward Kahveh Zahiroleslam ’24 forced Budnik to make another save to keep the score level.

The second half of the game was marked by the same fast pace from the Yale side. Midfielder Sigfus 

Árnason ’23 got off a shot within the first three minutes of the half, but Dartmouth answered back as Dartmouth defender Louis Weisdorf forced Haddock to make his first save of the game just two minutes later. The back-and-forth yielded no goals for either side deep into the second half.

“I think that this game was an important win to have a good start in the Ivy League,” defender Gelber Lemus ’25 said. “We tied our first Ivy game, so we really value these three points and a clean sheet.”

In the 78th minute, Yale finally found its chance. After a Dartmouth defender tried to head the ball out of the box, Lemus sent a volley soaring back over the heads of the defense to find defender Jeremy Haddock ’23 on the back post. A quick touch from Haddock set up Carroll, who sent a right-footed shot through a flurry of Dartmouth defenders and into the back of the net.

Just a few minutes later, the Bulldogs sealed the game with another goal. Eric Lagos ’24 dribbled the ball down the right side before sending it forward to midfielder Daniel Massaad ’24. In a display of his footwork and technical skill, Massaad flicked the ball onto Carroll with his right heel. Massaad’s quick touch stumped the Dartmouth defense, and Carroll found himself with time and space to send a shot past the Big Green keeper.

With less than six minutes remaining, keeper Haddock had to stop just one more Dartmouth shot to post his third shutout of the season. The Bulldogs outshot the Big Green 9–5 over the game. The conference season continues this weekend with a matchup against Cornell. The Bulldogs triumphed 3–1 during the teams’ last meeting in October 2019.

“Getting another shutout was huge for us,” Haddock said. “It’s something that’s very central to our identity and something we take a lot of pride in. It feels really good to be two Ivy games in and have no goals conceded.”

Yale travels north to take on No. 7 New Hampshire this Tuesday at 6 p.m.

DREW BECKMEN
ALESSA KIM-PANERO