HANOVER — The Dartmouth women’s soccer team got off to a strong start in its season opener on Thursday evening and played just well enough down the stretch to pick up a 2-1 victory over UMass Lowell at Burnham Field.
The Big Green’s offensive fireworks went off during a span of about five minutes in the first half, with goals from junior Emmanuella Frimpomaa, sophomore Nadia Young, and sophomore Maeve Theobald assisting the junior’s score.
On the back end, Dartmouth’s standout goalie, senior Ola Goebel, who was top-five in the country in goals-against average and save percentage during last season’s run to the program’s first Ivy League Tournament championship, had three saves on the night.
“Really proud of the group for doing what’s necessary to get the win — I thought our first half was very good in all phases of the game,” Dartmouth head coach Taylor Schram said.
“I thought we were sound defensively; I thought we were really good in the attack — attacking in different ways; I thought we were good in transition moments — I felt like we dominated the half,” she added.
Dartmouth forward Emmanuella Frimpomaa (19) is guarded by UMass Lowell defenders Eliana Parreira (9) and Märta Sundberg (17) as she dribbles toward the goal during a game against UMass Lowell at Burnham Field in Hanover, N.H., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. ALEX DRIEHAUS / Valley News Credit: Valley News – Alex Driehaus
Dominated the first half, they did. The Big Green outshot the River Hawks 10-2 in the first 45 minutes and racked up six corners to UMass Lowell’s one.
Frimpomaa drew first blood for Dartmouth about seven minutes into the contest on a play set up just over midfield by sophomore Madison Rose.
The sophomore, who transferred to the Big Green from Arkansas, the squad that defeated Dartmouth in the first round of last season’s NCAA tournament, sent a nice through ball to Theobald, who crossed it over to Frimpomaa, who found the back of the net.
“Madison has been outstanding,” Schram said. “She has felt like a player with some college experience under her belt since the second she walked in — I think she’s a physical presence out there.”
Leading by one, the Big Green gave themselves some breathing room about five minutes after their first goal.
With the ball in their own end, the River Hawks attempted a clearance through the middle, which Young intercepted. She subsequently fired a shot from outside the box that deflected off the goalkeeper’s outstretched hand and in to put Dartmouth up 2-0.
Dartmouth midfielder Nadia Young (13) takes a shot during a game against UMass Lowell at Burnham Field in Hanover, N.H., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. ALEX DRIEHAUS / Valley News Credit: Valley News – Alex Driehaus
Dartmouth’s domination continued for the rest of the first half, with little resistance from UMass Lowell.
The Big Green looked like they were going to run away with this one to begin the second half as they pressed the River Hawks early with scoring chances, including a shot from way downtown by freshman Tasha Udebhulu that clipped the top right of the crossbar.
However, the River Hawks started to find some semblance of a groove and scored with a little over 32 minutes remaining on a shot from Luka Marceau, which appeared to deflect off a Big Green defender and over a leaping Goebel to make the score 2-1.
While Schram credited UMass Lowell for its second-half play, she thought her squad took its foot off the gas after a strong first half and a good start to the second.
“I think it was a little bit self-inflicted, truthfully,” Schram said of the River Hawks’ second-half surge. “I thought we were overplaying in pockets of the field when we didn’t need to.”
Dartmouth forward Maeve Theobald (12) runs the ball down the field while being guarded by UMass Lowell defender Eliana Parreira (9) during a game at Burnham Field in Hanover, N.H., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. ALEX DRIEHAUS / Valley News Credit: Valley News – Alex Driehaus
Ultimately, though, the Big Green buckled down and secured the victory in their season opener, as neither squad found the back of the net for the remainder of the contest.
“I’m proud of the group for getting the win. It’s hard to have that kind of maturity to take on that pressure and get the win, but lots of things to take from the second half for us to get better in, and we certainly will,” Schram said.
Additionally, one factor in Thursday’s contest could bode well for the Big Green in the future.
Dartmouth was able to produce offensively in the first half without junior Stephanie Lathrop, who led the Ivy League in goals last season.
The junior, who is “nursing a little knock” according to her head coach, did not start and logged just 25 minutes, first entering the game with about seven minutes remaining in the first half.
Dartmouth Head Coach Taylor Schram, center, talks to her players before the start of a game against UMass Lowell at Burnham Field in Hanover, N.H., on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. Dartmouth won, 2-1. ALEX DRIEHAUS / Valley News Credit: Valley News – Alex Driehaus
While Schram said it was “no big deal” and indicated that the team is simply easing Lathrop in, the offensive production sans the Ivy League goals leader from a season ago has her excited going forward.
“It feels like a really deep attacking group that we’re excited about, so hopefully we can continue to just stay focused on getting better every day, and they’ll continue to click for us,” Schram said.
Up next for Dartmouth (1-0-0) is a battle of the Granite State, when it travels to Durham Sunday for a bout against the University of New Hampshire (0-1-1) at 2 p.m.
