The sixth-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team ended its season in heartbreaking fashion, tying 13th-ranked Swarthmore College 1-1 before falling 3-0 in the penalty kick shootout in the Second Round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship on Sunday night at DiSanto Field in Cleveland.

With the result recorded as a draw, the Spartans ended their season with a record of 14-2-4, while the Garnet moved to 15-3-4.

Stats and Standouts

• Senior Alexis Sassower scored her sixth goal of the season for CWRU with an assist by senior Ceci Dapino, her fifth of the campaign
• Sophomore Ellie Palaian played all 110 minutes in goal, saving four shots
• Dapino led the team with 10 shots, including five on goal, with Sassower adding four (three on goal) and senior Maggie Farra contributing three shots
• CWRU held a 23-13 edge in shots and 13-5 advantage in shots on goal

First Half

• Swarthmore took the early lead behind Charlotte Carlton's fourth goal of the first two games of the tournament
• Ava Gizzie lofted a pass that got behind the CWRU defense as Carlton ran on the ball inside the 18-yard box
• Carlton finished her seventh goal of the campaign in the sixth minute
• The Spartans evened the score in the 19th minute
• Senior midfielder Mackenzie Mueller sent a pass forward to Dapino, who ran on it along the far side of the field
• She found Sassower just outside the six-yard box who one-touched a shot into the back of the net, tying the game
  
• CWRU controlled possession over the next 20 minutes, earning four shots in the span to none for Swarthmore
• Palaian made a save in the 30th minute and the ensuing corner kick was cleared by the Case Western Reserve defense
• The host's final chance of the frame came in the 39th minute when a shot by sophomore Abby Welker was saved

Second Half

• The Spartans started the second period aggressively, putting a pair of shots on goal in the opening four minutes
• With the score still tied at one and 15 minutes remaining in regulation, senior midfielder Jamie Goldfarb had a shot saved
• Dapino took an attempt on goal off a free kick a few minutes later that was high, and Sassower and Farra both had shots saved with about 10 minutes left
• Neither team was able to convert chances over the rest of regulation, sending the contest to overtime

First Overtime

• Playing down a player due to a red card, Swarthmore defended aggressively in both overtime periods
• Shots by Farra and Sassower were blocked, and attempts by seniors Molly Shamah and Mackenzie Mueller were saved in the opening overtime, as the Spartans could not find the golden goal

Second Overtime

• Dapino attempted the lone shot in the second 10-minute extra frame, but the attempt was also saved, ending the contest as a draw and sending it to penalties

Penalty Kicks

• Swarthmore, kicking first, made all three of their chances from the spot, and CWRU could not convert as the Garnet advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament

Spartan Notes

• The match was the first-ever meeting between CWRU and Swarthmore
• The Spartans moved to 11-5-2 all-time in NCAA games and 9-3-1 in postseason contests at DiSanto Field
• 2025 marked the fifth consecutive season that Case Western Reserve has reached the second round and sixth time overall (2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2011)
• The penalty kick shootout was the second all-time in Spartan history, following a 2019 battle in the first round of the postseason
• The game marked the final appearance in Royal and White for Dapino, Farra, Sassower, Mueller, Goldfarb, Shamah, Julia Flynn, and Andrea Silva
  • Dapino appeared in 75 out of a possible 79 games over the last four seasons, earning 54 points on 20 goals and 14 assists. She ended her career tied for seventh in program history in points, ninth in goals, and tied for 10th in assists
  • Farra made 74 appearances, also scoring 20 goals across four seasons, while adding eight assists
  • Mueller was on the field for the Spartans in 76 games, the third most in program lore, made 51 starts, scored 10 goals, and added eight assists
  • Goldfarb appeared in 71 career games, the 20th-most in program history, and made 61 starts. She scored 16 times and added six assists for 38 points
  • Silva came off the bench 65 times for the Spartans across four seasons, contributing seven goals and seven assists
  • Sassower started 56 of the final 57 games of her career, netting 15 goals with 15 assists for 45 points, the 16th most in CWRU history
  • Shamah finished her career with 42 starts in 57 games, scoring 13 times with nine assists
  • Flynn, who started all 20 games in 2025, had 57 caps for the Spartans, assisting on five goals