In just a handful of minutes, however, that view vanished, as The Thunder scored three goals in 2:16. Wheaton won 4-2 in the NCAA quarterfinals on Saturday, putting an end to the Bears’ season.

“Knowing that we’re not going to get to play with those seniors anymore was the hardest part for me. Reflecting on it, we had a really good season; it’s just tough that it had to end,” sophomore Lauren Steimle said.

It only took 24 seconds for sophomore Jessica Johnson to find the back of the net on a chip shot past the Wheaton goalie, her fifth of the season. The rest of the half was back and forth, with the Thunder outshooting the Bears 8-6.

In the second half, the Red and Green extended their lead early. In the 59th minute, freshman Lillie Toaspern scored her team-leading 12th goal of the season on a chip over the goalkeeper’s head into the left corner. Wash. U. played on the defensive for the half, trying to hold their lead. The Bears took four shots and conceded 12 to Wheaton. But in the last 18 minutes, many of those shots finally made their way past the defense and standout goalie junior Clara Jaques.

In the course of 63 seconds, Wheaton tied the game, after two headers by Kaitlyn Le Baudour, who started the game at sweeper but moved to forward as the game waned.

Slightly more than a minute later, Wheaton scored the game winner. At 74:50 Keri Shannon scored unassisted to put the game away. The Thunder added their fourth goal in the 86th minute to secure their second victory over Wash. U. this season.

For the game, Wheaton took six corners to two for the Bears. Wash. U. committed 20 fouls in the loss, compared to only four by the Thunder.

The Red and Green advanced to play Wheaton through a come-from-behind 2-1 victory over the College of St. Benedict on Friday.

Wash. U. scored two second-half goals to take a spot in the Elite Eight. St. Benedict struck early, only three minutes in, and led 1-0 at halftime despite being outshot 10-5 in the opening 45 minutes. St. Benedict was helped by its goalie, who had eight of her 10 saves in the first half.

In the second half, Wash. U. was finally able to get the ball into the back of the net. In the 77th minute, Steimle scored her 11th goal of the season. She found a loose ball in the box and tapped it in to tie the game.

A few minutes later, senior Lee Ann Felder scored the goal to take the lead off a corner kick by sophomore Kate Doyle. The 84th-minute goal was Felder’s eighth game-winning goal in her career. The Bears ended up with a 23-9 shot advantage, and the game was their 18th win of the season—a school record.

“We were all really pumped [about the victory]; we had lost to Wheaton earlier in the year, but we felt pretty good about that game. We didn’t have a doubt in our mind that we could win,” Steimle said.

Wash. U. ended its season with an 18-5 record, the best in school history.

Ben Gottesdiener | Student Life

Senior Lee Ann Felder protects the ball from a University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh defender.

The Bears picked up the first Saturday night with a 2-0 win against Thomas More College, and on Sunday evening they defeated University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh 2-0 to advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

In the first half on Sunday, Wash. U. controlled the action, outshooting UW-Oshkosh 11-2. Shortly after, the Bears took the lead. In the 13th minute, sophomore Jessica Johnson corralled a ball into the box and passed it on to freshman Anna Zambricki, who sent the ball into the corner of the goal.

Zambricki recently returned from an injury that held her out eight games.

“It’s great to have Anna back, but we need every player focused on what they can contribute so the team does well,” head coach Jim Conlon said

In the second half, the Bears added to the lead when freshman Lillie Toaspern scored her team-leading 11th goal of the season off of an assist from senior Lee Ann Felder. The Red and Green defense held its opponents to only one shot in the second while taking 14 more.

“It’s big, getting two wins and getting some chemistry back as we go into the Sweet Sixteen,” Conlon said. “It’s great to have all the girls step up and get two multiple goal shutout wins in the NCAA tournament.”

Junior goalkeeper Clara Jaques picked up two more shutout victories, only tallying five total saves for the games, but she anchored the defense and was prepared anytime the ball did come close to her.

“We’ve consistently had the same back four with Clara in the net, and they are really starting to figure out what works with each other to advance the ball and prevent good goal scoring opportunities,” Conlon said.

In Saturday’s action, the Bears started strong on their way to a 2-0 defeat of Thomas More College. It only took 14 minutes for senior Lee Ann Felder to find sophomore Lauren Steimle on a cross that she poked in from a few yards out.

“We all had nerves going into the game; it’s always a shock when you get hit for the first time in the tournament, but we got our nerves out and in the second half really got in a rhythm,” Felder said.

In the second half, the Red and Green added to their lead. Felder sent a header towards the goal on a free kick from Kate Doyle. The Saints’ goalie tipped it up into the crossbar, and Lillie Toaspern tapped it in for the goal.

“It’s really special, any minute we get to play on this field is special, and every moment we get to play together on this team is unbelievable,” Felder said.

Wash. U. has tied a school record for number of wins in a season, 17, for the fifth time. The Bears will look to add to that total next Friday when they play College of Saint Benedict at a to-be-determined location in the next round of the playoffs.

Nathaniel Margolies | Student Life

Junior Emily Gosché, Senior Emma Brown, Sophomore Lauren Steimle, Sophomore Jen Reed, and Senior Alyssa Marulli line up on Francis Field before a game against Carnegie Mellon on October 2.

With the regular season successes of the Washington University volleyball, cross country and men’s and women’s soccer teams, a postseason berth was essentially a foregone conclusion for all four teams.

But the volleyball team and both soccer teams received additional good news on Monday, when the postseason brackets were released and all three found out that they would be hosting opening-round matches in the postseason.

Here’s a quick look at each of those three teams—along with the cross country teams, which will travel to Rock Island, Ill., for the NCAA Midwest Regional—and their looming postseason opponents.

Ending the regular season with a 14-3-1 record and a share of the University Athletic Association title, the Bears will open up postseason play against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater Thursday evening at Francis Field. Whitewater, which finished the season as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletics Conference champion with an 11-7-1 record, will be facing the Bears for the first time in history. Wash. U. is making its second consecutive tournament appearance and 20th overall, and it is seeking its first postseason win since 2007 when it reached the NCAA quarterfinals. The Bears are looking to improve their postseason track record after a heartbreaking loss in last season’s second round, in which they lost in penalty kicks to Loras College.

If the Bears win, they will travel to Delaware, Ohio, to face No. 6 Ohio Wesleyan University on Sunday. While Wash. U. has not played OWU since 1990, the Bears are 5-2 all-time against the Bishops.

The women’s team was rewarded for its 15-4 regular season campaign with a shot at home-field advantage in each of the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Bears have won at least one postseason game each year since 2006, and will be looking to continue that streak by beating Thomas More College in the opening round on Saturday. Thomas More comes in as the Presidents’ Athletic Conference champions, sporting a 12-4-1 record. The Saints will also be facing Wash. U. for the first time ever.

Eric Chalifour | Student Life

Junior Marilee Fisher plays against Webster University on Wedneday, October 26. The Bears scored a 3-0 victory Wednesday and defeated all rivals this weekend to win the Halloween Classic.

The Bears would host the winner between Ohio Wesleyan University (12-4-4) and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (12-6-3) if they advance to the second round. Wash. U. is 2-0 all time against OWU and 1-0 against Whitewater.

With a 32-1 record and the 2011 UAA championship to its name, the volleyball team will begin its 25th straight postseason appearance in the Washington University Field House. The Bears are very familiar with their opening-round opponent: cross-town rival Webster, which has never beaten Wash. U. in 19 tries (including a 3-0 Bears win on Oct. 26).

The Bears’ opponent in the second round would be either UAA rival No. 15 Chicago (the first team to beat Wash. U. in a set in 2011, during a 3-1 Bears win on Oct. 15) or No. 21 Wisconsin-Whitewater (whom the Bears defeated 3-0 on Sept. 10). Among the potential Regional Championship match opponents is No. 9 Carthage College, whom the Bears have faced and swept four times since the 2009 season, including a 3-0 win on Sept. 9 of this season.

With the cross country teams having another strong year, as both the men’s and women’s squads are in the top five of the US Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches’ Association (USTFCCCA) Poll, both have high aspirations heading into the regional meet on Saturday morning. The men’s team enters the race as the Midwest region’s No. 2 team, behind only defending regional champion and USTFCCCA No. 1 overall North Central College. The team will look to improve on its fourth-place regional finish in 2010, and will be facing some of the country’s best in North Central, No. 5 Wheaton, and No. 8 Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

The women’s team, which trails only Williams College in the overall national rankings, enters the weekend as the Midwest’s No. 1 team. The team will be looking to take the Midwest regional title from No. 7 overall Wisconsin-Eau Claire, which won the regional title in 2010.

Wash. U. won 1-0 behind sophomore Jen Reed’s third goal of the season. She scored unassisted from 35 yards out, blasting the ball into the top corner of the net. This 76th-minute goal was the only score of the game.

“It felt fantastic [to get the win]. It was a goal of ours to beat Chicago. Jen Reed’s shot was amazing, absolutely amazing,” senior co-captain Emma Brown said. “We haven’t beaten them the last few years, and it felt really good; it was a great way to end off regular season play.”

Each team had a number of chances. Both ended with 12 shots, although the Bears had seven shots on goal, one more than Chicago. The first half was controlled by the Maroons, seeing them get 10 shots in the first 45 minutes. Junior goalkeeper Clara Jaques finished with six saves to record her fifth shutout of the year.

“Especially in the first half we had some scary defensive moments, and our amazing goalie stopped all of them, and also we had everyone on the bench,” senior co-captain Lee Ann Felder said. “In the first half, our back-up goalie [junior] Caitlin Heim wasn’t playing in goal, and she went in on the field because we needed someone to play forward, and she was ready and went in and did great, which was awesome because she had never played on the field in a game before.”

In the second half, the Bears took over, limiting Chicago to two shots while taking eight of their own, culminating in Reed’s goal. The Red and Green also had four corner kicks in the second half, to finish with six for the game.

“[Head coach Jim Conlon] said that we really need to come out and seize the game like we do in the second half because again we start slow and then play better in the second half. That’s been our theme in the season—so positive—but we need to figure out how to come out strong in the first half, too,” Felder said.

Wash. U. picked up a team yellow card late in the second half. For the game, Chicago had nine fouls to only five for the Bears, and each team was called offsides twice.

With a positive end to the regular season, the team looks forward to Monday’s selection show for the Division III postseason, which will air at 12:30 p.m.

“We’re just looking forward to the next game, waiting to see if we make the tournament [and] who we’re playing,” Brown said. “[We’ll] try to carry the grit that it took to win the game against Chicago into tournament play.”

The win earned the Bears second place in the University Athletic Association.

Reed scored her third goal of the season on an unassisted blast to the top corner of the goal from 18 yards out.

Chicago got off to a fast start, peppering junior goalkeeper Clara Jacques with ten shots in the first half, but Jacques was able to stave off the attacks and recorded five saves.

Please see Monday’s issue of Student Life for a full recap.

Nathaniel Margolies | Bear Moments

Sophomore Lauren Steimle No. 13 defends the ball from Laura Simicich No. 25 of Carnegie Mellon. Steimle has made 8 goals and 1 assists so far on the year.

A systems science and engineering major from St. Charles, Ill., Steimle went from playing in only 11 games in 2010 to starting 13 so far in 2011, and the change has paid off. Steimle is third-highest scorer with eight goals, including one game-winner against Webster University on Oct. 6, and has notched one assist on the season. Student Life recently sat down with Steimle to talk about everything relating to her soccer life.

Student Life: How did you start playing soccer?

Lauren Steimle: I think, when I was younger, my parents just sort of threw me in everything, and I guess soccer was the thing that I just liked the most. I started playing just rec. soccer. I think originally I was playing with the boys, so it was like the [under]-six league or something. I started playing travel at U-8, so that’s when it started becoming a little more serious. Throughout high school, I played on both my high school team and my club team.

SL: When you were a kid, did you always play midfield?

LS: Yeah, I played pretty much everything but defender, I guess. When I was younger, I usually played up top. In high school, I more played center mid, but now I’m on the outside.

SL: What made you choose to come to Wash. U.?

LS: Basically, it’s a great school, and I wanted to be able to play soccer. It’s pretty much the best of both worlds.

SL: How do you think you have improved in your time at Wash. U.?

LS: I guess I’ve just adjusted to the pace of play. The game is a lot faster and more physical than in high school. I think by being able to read where the ball is going rather than reacting to it, I’ve been able to put myself in scoring positions. I think I’ve also gained some confidence on the ball that I didn’t really have last year.

SL: What part of your game really suits playing on the wing?

LS: This year I think the thing is my coach wanted to have more attackers on the field in general, so taking someone who maybe has a forward’s finishing mentality and putting them on the wing. I think that’s why I’m playing there now.

SL: This year you’re seeing the field a lot more than last year and as a result you have recorded eight goals and one assist. What do you really think is the biggest change that you or the team made in the offseason?

LS: I think that as a team, we are just playing a lot better; we are scoring more goals, and just being in the other team’s half more usually generates more chances, which we just have been finishing, so I think it’s a lot of that.

SL: What would you say is the strongest part of your game?

LS: I like to think I have pretty good field vision. I like to be able to slip a person through if they’re open. I guess my technical ability too.

SL: On the other side, what do you think you need to improve a little bit?

LS: I guess I’m not the biggest person [laughter], so I have to compensate for that a little bit, so I wish I could be better winning balls in the air.

SL: [Laughter] I mean, that’s not really something that you can change, but that’s O.K. What sort of professional role models or influences do you have?

LS: I guess I really like how [FC Barcelona forward Lionel] Messi plays because he is pretty skillful, and I think that’s really cool. And [Atlanta Beat midfielder] Lori Chalupny, of course! She is our assistant coach and pretty cool, too.

SL: What do you think has been your best or favorite memory of Wash. U. soccer so far?

LS: We’ve had a couple of great come-from-behind games this season, so a couple of those. I also have some friends on Illinois Wesleyan [University] and we beat them pretty good, so that was fun. We’ve got three big games left that we’re guaranteed, and then hopefully we will make it to the tournament and create some great memories there.

SL: In UAA play, you’ve got the University of Rochester, Case Western Reserve University and the University of Chicago coming up. What do you think your chances are in those games?

LS: I think we’ve shown that we can hang with anyone in our conference. The couple we’ve dropped, I think we’ve probably outplayed them, and so we’ve just got to finish our chances.

See Steimle and the rest of the Bears take on Rochester on Friday at 8 p.m. and Case Western on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. this weekend at Francis Field.

Webster scored off a rebound in the 42nd minute after junior Clara Jacques saved the first shot.

But in the 49th minute, senior Emma Brown jump-started the rally with the game-tying goal. Brown collected the ball on the left flank before cutting inside across the box and powering a shot to the far post and into the net.

In the 58th minute, sophomore Lauren Steimle scored for the fourth game in a row to make it 2-1, and Brown added her second of the game four minutes later.

Sophomore Jessica Johnson put the finishing touch on the victory with a goal in the 88th minute. Senior Mari Greenberg headed the ball over the defense, and Johnson volleyed it into the top right corner for a 4-1 lead.

Jacques recorded the 37th victory of her career, moving her to the top of the school’s all-time wins list.

The Bears (11-1) travel to Atlanta, Ga. for a University Athletic Association battle with No. 6 Emory University.

Freshman Anna Zambricki provided the breakthrough for the Bears when she scored her ninth goal of the season off a through ball from senior Emma Brown in the 62nd minute.

Sophomore Jen Reed scored in the 70th minute with a header off a corner kick from senior Lee Ann Felder. Sophomore Lauren Steimle iced the game in the 80th minute off a cross from Zambricki, and the Red and Green cruised to the end.

Wash. U. will host Webster University at Francis Field on Thursday night before traveling to Atlanta, Ga. to face No. 4 Emory University.

Nathaniel Margolies | Student Life

Sophomore Rachel Ing dribbles down Francis Field on Saturday. The Bears lost to No. 4 Wheaton Saturday afternoon after Wheaton scored in two penalty kicks.

“It was a great game,” head coach Jim Conlon said. “Wheaton is a talented team and they really made us play to our assets.”

In the first half, the two unbeaten teams were evenly matched. The Bears controlled possession and went into halftime with three more shots than Wheaton. One of Wash. U.’s best chances in the game came early, when freshman Lillie Toaspern had a left-footed shot from close in get kicked out by a Wheaton defender on the goal line.

“I think we let a couple balls get away from us a little bit, and their pressure was able to jump on that,” Conlon said.

In the second half, Wheaton controlled possession. The Thunder finished with a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks and had three more shots than the Bears in the second half. In the 65th minute, Wheaton’s Jaime Orewiler dribbled into the box from the left side and was fouled, giving Thunder its first penalty kick opportunity. Keri Shannon took the kick and drilled it into the right corner for the first goal of the game.

“Jamie Orewiler did a nice job dribbling through a couple times,” Conlon said. “We played well, we just need to find the back of the net.”

Toaspern had another good shot on goal, but the Wheaton goalkeeper made a diving stop to keep the Bears scoreless for the game.

In the 87th minute, Orewiler dribbled into the box and drew another penalty. She took the penalty herself, and though junior goalkeeper Clara Jaques guessed correctly, Orewiler sent the ball into the left corner.

“I hoped to guess the right way but they had two shots into the corners; they finished well.” Jaques said.

The Red and Green were unable to find a sustained attack for the second half to put enough pressure on the goal.

“We’re just going to come back even harder. You can’t let something keep you down,” senior Alyssa Marulli said.

Wash. U. will hope to avenge this loss in their next game this Thursday, Sept. 22, against Millikin University in Decatur, Ill.

“We’ll refocus, take a look at what we did well in this game, what we can slightly improve on and get ready.” Conlon said.

“We played well,” head coach Jim Conlon said. “DePauw is a quality team.”

Wash. U. dominated possession and had a 15-to-3 advantage in shots in the first half, but DePauw was still able to score twice in the first half on the counterattack.

The first goal for the Tigers came only seven minutes into the game. Following a foul, the 20-yard free kick by midfielder Alex Ehr was blasted past the wall and into the top right corner of the Bears’ goal.

Only a few minutes later, DePauw was on the counterattack again. After a number of quick passes, Ehr found midfielder Chloe Jacob for a one-timer, culminating in their second goal in the 16th minute.

The rest of the half passed with multiple chances for the Bears but an inability to find the back of the net. Tigers’ goalkeeper Caroline Kerr had 10 saves in the first half, preventing the Red and Green from evening the score.

At the half, Conlon just told the team one thing: “Play Bear soccer.”

It did not take long for the comeback to start in the second half. Thirty seconds in, a free kick from the left side by senior midfielder Lee Ann Felder was headed in by senior forward Emma Brown to reduce the deficit to one.

“We came out fighting in the second half,” Brown said.

Wash. U. dominated play in the last 45 minutes. The ball barely left their possession and DePauw was held to just one shot. The Bears had many opportunities as they kept the ball on their offensive area.

In the 55th minute, Brown scored again to tie the game. The ball was in a scrum near the goal and Brown was able to tap it into the bottom left corner.

Twenty minutes later, a free kick by sophomore Kate Doyle was brought under control and scored by junior Lauren Clatch for her first goal of the season. Clatch’s score gave the Bears the advantage and finished the scoring for the night.

“We played the way we are capable of playing,” Conlon said. “[But] it’s just one game.”

The remainder of the game passed quietly as DePauw was unable to find any way to sustain possession; One good chance was offset by an offsides call, giving the ball back to the Bears.

“Our heart showed through,” Brown said.

Wash. U. concluded the weekend with a 1-0 victory over Rhodes College on Sunday afternoon. Senior forward Mari Greenberg volleyed in the game-winning goal in the 38th minute off of an assist from sophomore Jessica Johnson.

The Bears outshot the Lynx 25-1 and recorded 13 shots on goal. Junior goalkeeper Clara Jaques recorded the save in the seventy-fifth minute and was not challenged for the majority of the game.

Wash. U. faces Principia College on Tuesday, Sept. 13 in Elsah, Ill., at 7 p.m.