PRINCETON, N.J. – Following a 2025 campaign that saw the Ivy League regular-season title decided by a single point, Princeton has been selected as the favorite in the 2026 Ivy League Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll.
 
The Tigers earned the top spot with 120 points, including 10 of the 16 first-place votes. Princeton claimed its second consecutive Ivy League regular-season title last fall, finishing league play with a 5-2 record and 15 points. The Tigers return the scorers of 21 of their 24 goals from last season, including nine of their 12 goal scorers.
 
Dartmouth was picked second with 109 points and four first-place votes. The Big Green finished just one point behind Princeton in the 2025 regular-season standings with a 4-1-2 league record before capturing the Ivy League Tournament title with a 1-0 victory over the Tigers in the championship match. Dartmouth returns reigning Ivy League Rookie of the Year Anna Leschly along with First Team All-Ivy selections Ola Goebel and Stephanie Lathrop.
 
Brown earned the third spot with 98 points and the remaining two first-place votes. The Bears went 9-4-4 overall and 3-2-2 in Ivy League play last season, advancing to the Ivy League Tournament as the No. 4 seed. Brown is led by reigning Ivy League Offensive Player of the Year Joy Okonye, who was second in the league with 19 points on seven goals and five assists in 2025.
 
Columbia was selected fourth with 81 points after finishing third in the 2025 standings with a 4-2-1 conference record and earning a spot in the Ivy League Tournament. Harvard followed in fifth with 71 points.
 
Penn was picked sixth with 45 points, while Cornell and Yale tied for seventh with 26 points apiece.
 
Twenty players who earned All-Ivy honors a season ago return to the pitch in 2026, highlighted by Okonye and Leschly, two of the league’s three major individual award winners from last season.
 
For the fourth consecutive year, the Ivy League will hold its four-team women’s soccer postseason tournament to determine the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The top four teams in the regular-season standings will advance to the tournament, which will be held at the home field of the No. 1 seed on Thursday, Nov. 12 and Sunday, Nov. 15.
 
The 2026 season gets underway on Thursday, Aug. 20.
 
2026 Ivy League Women's Soccer Preseason Poll
Predicted Order of Finish
1. Princeton - 120 (10 first place votes)
2. Dartmouth - 109 (4)
3. Brown - 98 (2)
4. Columbia - 81
5. Harvard - 71
6. Penn - 45
7. Cornell - 26
7. Yale - 26