No. 6 CWRU Storms into NCAA Second Round with 5-0 Win

11/15/2025 11:01:00 PM

The sixth-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team used four first half goals to defeat the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology 5-0 in the first round of the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship on Saturday night at DiSanto Field in Cleveland.

The Spartans improved to 14-2-3 in 2025, while the Fightin' Engineers ended their season with a record of 11-7-2.

Stats and Standouts

First-year Izzy Probst scored twice in the contest, her sixth and seventh goals of the campaign
Seniors Maggie Farra (seventh minute), Ceci Dapino (15th minute), and Alexis Sassower (46th minute) added goals for CWRU
Dapino, Sassower, senior Molly Shamah, and sophomore Ashley Liang contributed assists for the squad
Sophomore Ellie Palaian extended her program record with her 12th shutout of the season, playing all 90 minutes in goal
Case Western Reserve held a 15-1 advantage in shots, including 11 in the first half, and an 11-0 edge in shots on goal in the contest
Farra and Probst both had a team-high three shots with Sassower adding two of her own

First Half

Dapino deflected a pass toward the middle of the box with a heel-kick in the seventh minute
Farra raced to the ball and used her left foot to shoot it into the bottom corner of the net for her team-leading 12th goal of 2025
Dapino was credited with her fourth assist of the season
Just eight minutes later, Sassower found Dapino heading into the box on the far corner
She took a few steps toward the goal and fired a shot past the goalkeeper to double the team's advantage
It was the 11th goal of the year for Dapino and team-high eighth assist of the campaign for Sassower
The teams were scoreless for the next 16 minutes before Probst added to the lead in the 32nd minute
She received a pass 30 yards from the goal, maneuvered around a defender in the box, and shot the ball with her left foot into the back of the net
With 33 seconds left before the half, Probst scored for the second time in the game
She received a throw-in in the box from Liang, spun around a defender, and sent a low strike into the back of the net
Probst, the University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year, tallied her seventh goal of the season
Liang was credited with her first career assist

Second Half

Just 57 seconds into the second period, Sassower scored what would be the team's final goal of the game
Shamah took a long run down the far side of the field, racing unmarked from midfield to the middle of the box
She passed the ball to Sassower, who lobbed a shot over the goalkeeper's head for her fifth goal of the season
Shamah registered her sixth assist of the campaign and the eighth of her career
CWRU held the Fightin' Engineers without a shot until the 88th minute mark, maintaining a 5-0 lead throughout the contest

Spartan Notes

The meeting was the first-ever between the two programs
Case Western Reserve advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive season
CWRU used 23 players in the game
The Spartans improved to 11-5-1 in NCAA Tournament games, recording a win in six of their seven all-time appearances
Farra's 12 goals are tied for the fourth most in a single season in program history and Dapino's 11 goals are tied for sixth most
CWRU has scored 62 times this season, eight shy of the program record of 70 set during the 2022 campaign
Probst scored twice in a game for the first time in her career
Sassower scored and recorded an assist in the same game for the second time this season, and Dapino pulled off the feat for the third time in 2025