The Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team continued its long stretch of success in 2025, advancing to the second round of the NCAA Championship for the fifth consecutive season in its sixth postseason appearance in a row.
The Spartans, who finished the campaign ranked 11th in Division III by the United Soccer Coaches, lost just two games in 2025 to the eventual national champion, WashU, and runner-up, Emory. CWRU ended the season with a record of 14-2-4. The 14 wins are the third most in a single season in program history.
Case Western Reserve hosted the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth time, welcoming Rose-Hulman, Swarthmore, and Bridgewater to DiSanto Field. In the first round, the Spartans dispatched the Fightin' Engineers 5-0 behind two goals from first-year Izzy Probst, the University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year. In the second round, CWRU tied Swarthmore 1-1, with the Garnet advancing following a penalty shootout.
CWRU scored 63 goals in 2025, the second-most in program history, and its 3.15 goals per game average ranked second in program lore in a non-shortened season. Senior Maggie Farra led the squad with 12 goals, including a pair of hat tricks in the first three games of the season. Senior Ceci Dapino, an All-America Third Team and All-UAA First Team selection, tied Farra with 27 points in 20 games, scoring 11 times with five assists. Third on the team in scoring was senior Jamie Goldfarb, who earned All-America Fourth Team and All-UAA First Team honors, with eight goals. Probst finished the campaign with seven goals and matched senior Alexis Sassower, an All-Region Fourth Team honoree for the second consecutive season, for the team lead with eight assists. Fourteen members of the team scored at least once during the year.
Defensively, sophomore Ellie Palaian played every minute in front of the net for the Spartans after seeing just 21 minutes of action during her first year at Case Western Reserve. Palaian set a program record with 12 shutouts, allowing just 10 goals in 20 games. Her 0.49 goals against average was the fifth lowest ever by a Spartan and the second lowest in at least 300 minutes of action. She was an All-UAA Second Team honoree and received United Soccer Coaches National Player of the Month honors for her performance in September. First-year Mia Modrovich, an All-UAA honorable mention, missed just 15 minutes of action on the Spartan backline. Junior Kat Tsarouhas started all 20 games on defense, and sophomore Kinzly Gootman made 17 starts before a season-ending injury.
Case Western Reserve began the season with five consecutive non-conference shutouts, outscoring opponents 26-0 in the stretch. Following a 1-1 tie with then-fifth-ranked Christopher Newport, CWRU finished its non-conference schedule with five wins in a row, including four shutouts.
In UAA play, the Spartans earned wins over Rochester, Brandeis, and NYU and drew Chicago and Carnegie Mellon, tying for third in the league with 11 points. Seven of the association's eight teams reached the postseason for the second year in a row with Chicago joining Emory and WashU in the national semifinals.
Seniors Mackenzie Mueller and Julia Flynn started every game for CWRU in the midfield, with senior Molly Shamah and sophomore Abby Welker appearing in every contest. Senior Andrea Silva and Vivian Nohra saw the field in all but one contest, and sophomore Ashley Liang made 16 appearances.
The Spartans earned the following honors during the 2025 season:
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United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-America
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Ceci Dapino
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Third Team
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United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Central/East Region
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Ceci Dapino
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First Team
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United Soccer Coaches Division III Player of the Month
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Ellie Palaian
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September
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The following were the 2025 statistical leaders for the Spartans:
*indicates program record