Backed by two goals from senior Ceci Dapino, the fourth-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team came from behind to defeat 13th-ranked University of Rochester on Saturday afternoon at DiSanto Field in Cleveland to open University Athletic Association play.

The Spartans improved to 11-0-1 overall with their sixth consecutive win and 1-0-0 in UAA play. The Yellowjackets suffered their first loss of the season, dropping to 5-1-4 and 0-1-0 in conference games.

Stats and Standouts

• Dapino scored two goals for the second time this season, netting her seventh and eight goals of 2025
• First-year Izzy Probst earned a pair of assists in the contest, the first time she had multiple helpers in her career
• Sophomore Ashley Liang scored her first career goal in the 41st minute, tying the score at 1
• Case Western Reserve had a 25-8 edge in shots and 12-3 advantage in shots on goal in the game
• Sophomore Ellie Palaian saved two shots in 90 minutes and improved to 11-0-1 this season in front of the net

First Half

• The Spartans threatened early, with shots by seniors Alexis Sassower and Julia Flynn saved in the first two minutes of play
• Dapino's first attempt at goal in the seventh minute was also saved
• Palaian recorded her first save in the 12th minute, but the Yellowjackets found the back of the net five minutes later to take an early lead
• The deficit was the first of the season for the Spartans, who had only allowed two goals in their previous 11 games
• Palaian recorded her second save in the 39th minute on a long shot attempt
• Liang evened the score a few minutes later with an assist from Probst
• Going forward, Probst found Liang unmarked a few yards outside the box
• She dribbled a few steps and hit a shot toward the bottom corner of the goal that slipped beneath the goalkeeper and into the back of the net
  

Second Half

• Senior Molly Shamah nearly put the Spartans ahead in the 50th minute of play, hitting the crossbar with her shot attempt
• Seniors Maggie Farra and Andrea Silva also found woodwork with their attempts in the 56th and 59th minutes, as the Spartans maintained a high level of pressure early in the second period
• Dapino finally broke the deadlock in the 63rd minute for her team-leading fourth game-winning goal in 2025
• Probst found Dapino at the top of the box, and the senior charged into the penalty area
• She slid and hit a shot into the back of the net, putting the Spartans ahead with 27:42 left in the game
  
• Dapino was not done scoring, putting the game away in the 75th minute with her second goal of the contest
• She intercepted an errant clearance in the middle of the box and fired a shot in between the goalkeeper's legs for the score
  
• Rochester did not have a shot for the rest of the contest, securing the victory for Case Western Reserve

Spartan Notes

• Case Western Reserve earned its third all-time win over Rochester and second-ever victory at home over the Yellowjackets, improving to 3-26-9 overall and 2-13-6 in Cleveland since 1987
• The Spartans have not lost a conference opener since the pandemic, going 4-0-1 in their first UAA contest of each campaign over the past five seasons
• CWRU has now scored 49 goals this season, tied for the second most in a single campaign in program history. The Spartans had 70 goals in 2022 when they reached the national championship
• Probst has recorded an assist in back-to-back games and is second on the team with six this season
• Sassower led the team with five shots, while Dapino had four in the game with all four on goal
• Seven of the team's 11 starters and all five substitutes had attempts at the net for the Spartans
• All eight UAA teams were ranked in the Top 25 in the most recent poll released by the United Soccer Coaches on Tuesday with five teams ranked in the top 10

Up Next

The Spartans will host fifth-ranked WashU, the defending national and conference champion, on Saturday, October 11 at 12:30 p.m. as part of Homecoming Saturday.