Brown men’s soccer (3-4-1, 0-1 Ivy League) suffered a hard-fought 2-1 loss to Dartmouth (4-3-1, 1-0) in Hanover Saturday. After conceding a point 30 minutes into the first half, the Bears tied it up with a goal from Mads Stistrup Petersen ’26.5 before halftime. But the Big Green struck the fatal blow with a deflected strike early in the second half, handing the Bears their fourth straight road loss of the season.
“Our performance was very good against Dartmouth, which makes the outcome hard to take,” Head Coach Chase Wileman wrote in an email to The Herald. “Unfortunately, this has been a consistent theme this season where we are not finding a way to get games over the line for a result in our favor.”
After a physical start to the game, Dartmouth took the lead off a deflected shot from Oskar Magnusson. The Bears hit back when Stistrup Petersen latched onto a pass from Jack Cloherty ’25 and slotted the ball home to restore the balance.
“Their right full-back stepped toward our left-back, and as soon as I noticed that, I knew I had enough space to get the ball and hopefully take on their right center back,” Stistrup Petersen wrote in an email to The Herald.
Cloherty “then played a perfect lofted ball with his left foot,” Stistrup Petersen added. “I took my first touch inside to get the ball on my strong foot and finished low on the ground.”
Stistrup Petersen “is one of our most dangerous players and made a big impact coming into the game,” Cloherty wrote in an email to The Herald. “He was able to find a lot of good spaces between the center back and full-back on the left side … and I tried to get it to him in that pocket as quickly as possible with my left foot. He took a great first touch and had a great finish to get us back in the game.”
Coming out of halftime, the game remained tightly contested and physical. Dartmouth scored a second goal with 30 minutes left, when a shot from Vasilis Moiras took a big deflection and looped over Brown goalkeeper Henrik Weiper ’26.
“The goal was a shock and a very unfortunate deflection that really came out of nowhere,” Wileman wrote. “The guys fought to the end and gave it a go. We just couldn't find a goal to get back in the game.”
Brown took charge of the game and generated some offensive opportunities, but was unable to break through the Big Green defense. When Dartmouth’s Orrett Maine was sent off with eight minutes remaining in the game, the Bears had their last burst of attack.
Yet, Bruno could not find the goal they needed to eke out a draw. The Bears’ spirited effort came up short despite having the same number of shots on target (4) as the Big Green, and three more corners (5-2).
“Dartmouth was already sitting in pretty deep after scoring a second and it felt like we had more of the ball to that point,” Cloherty wrote. “We created some good chances after the red card, but not enough to find the back of the net.”
“We have a full week of practice ahead, and we’ve got a really strong group of players. It’s a strange feeling because we’ve been playing well, but it almost feels like luck hasn’t been on our side” Stistrup Petersen wrote. “Our team has incredibly high standards and expectations, and I’m confident we’ll bounce back.”
Brown Men’s soccer will look to right the ship at home this Saturday in a matchup against Princeton.
“We will continue to prepare like usual and take it day by day preparing for the next opponent,” Wileman wrote. “The guys have played well this season, and we just need to keep improving as the season progresses.”
