There is no such thing as a good loss, but No. 10 Washington University’s 1-0 loss to top-ranked Wheaton College Monday was as close as it gets.

“I came off the field in the best mood I had ever been in after a loss,” said senior captain Carrie Sear.

“We didn’t play our best, but people stepped up and we put up a better showing than the past couple of weekends,” added junior Caitlin Malone.

Despite the dreary conditions, a large crowd braved the elements to see the Bears (13-2) take on the undefeated defending national champions. This win was Wheaton’s 36th straight, bringing their season record to 18-0.

Wash. U. opened the game with an energy that has been absent from many of their first half performances this season. Only 36 seconds into the match, Malone got off a powerful shot that unfortunately hit the post.

“This is the closest we have come to playing a good solid 90 minutes,” said junior captain Shirey Lane. “Hopefully we will see them again down the road.”

The Bears came breathtakingly close again in the 26th minute as sophomore Becca Heymann headed classmate Libby Held’s corner kick. Wheaton goalie Kristin Eggert deflected the ball over the crossbar just in time.

Even with the great Wash. U. opportunities, Wheaton primarily controlled play in the first half. Their efforts were finally rewarded when junior Kari Klynstra crossed the ball to senior Sarah Richardson, who headed the ball in for her 16th goal of the season. Even with the goal allowed, Sear had a solid day in the net, recording four saves in the loss.

The Red and Green played the second half with lots of intensity but struggled to find the net. Even after 90 minutes of solid play, they came out of the game with their second loss of the season.

“This game highlighted all of our weaknesses,” said Malone. “We need to work on putting more pressure on the ball and the other team.”

The Bears rebounded Tuesday with a 2-1 win against Maryville University. Wash. U. dominated play but at times struggled to find the back of the net. They did manage to score a goal in the first half, an issue that has plagued the team all season. Junior Carly Anderson scored from 35 yards out, marking the first goal of her collegiate career.

Things were looking good for the Red and Green until the 79th minute, when the defense failed to clear the ball. Maryville’s Amy Klein took advantage of the loose ball in front of the goal as she sent it to the back of the net. The Bears rebounded with their standard second-half toughness. In the 89th minute, sophomore Becca Heymann scored the game-winner for her team-leading seventh goal of the season. Classmate Cassie Scaman had the assist.

The Bears find themselves in a pressure-packed situation for the rest of the season.

“We have three tough conference games coming up, all of which are must-wins. We have to win the conference. It is an important goal for us,” said Sear. “We can’t have any mental let-ups during the games.”

The next big test will occur Friday night at Francis Field. The Bears take on the University of Rochester at 7:30; the team currently sits atop the UAA standings.

“We feel awesome going into Rochester. That game is one of the crucial games which decides who wins the conference,” said Lane. “We picked it up to another level tonight.”

Sunday features another UAA match-up, this time against Case Western Reserve University at 1:30. This game will serve as Senior Day, the last time the squad’s six seniors will play at Wash. U. during the regular season.

“It’s going to be really sad. It’s been a great four years,” said senior Abbey Hartmann.

“Hopefully it will be an end to a great week if we win both games,” added Sear.

As the mood on the field intensifies, one thing is clear.

“We have to win every game from here on out if we want to win a national championship,” said Sear.

Popularity: 1% [?]

 Print This Post

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 24th, 2007 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.