The Washington University men’s soccer team continued its winning ways with road victories over Fontbonne University and Illinois Wesleyan University this weekend. The Red and Green defeated Fontbonne 3-0 on Thursday night at Clayton High School and then took care of Illinois Wesleyan 3-0 on Sunday in Bloomington, Ill.

The victories improved the Bears’ record to 6-2 on the season and increased the team’s winning streak to five games. The wins also marked the team’s fourth and fifth straight shutouts.

Wash. U. excelled with a commitment to defense, outshooting its opponents 19-7 and 13-7 respectively. The offense also had a high conversion rate, netting six goals out of 15 shots on goal.

“[The back line] has been a lot more focused, and I think we’re really starting to take pride in defending hard,” junior Nat Zenner said. “And I think we have a very potent attack up top.”

The Bears jumped out to an early lead against Fontbonne when junior John Hengel headed home a corner kick from Zenner in the 16th minute. Sophomore Harry Beddo added two goals, increasing his season total to four, to give the Bears a 3-0 victory.

Fontbonne nearly snapped Wash. U.’s shutout streak with 6:40 remaining in the first half when a Bears’ foul set up a free kick for the Griffins. As the defense was setting up its wall, Fontbonne forward Kevin Vonarx took a quick shot that caught the defense off guard. But Wash. U. junior goalkeeper John Smelcer made a spectacular stop, diving to his left to keep the ball out of the net and preserve the shutout.

“Smelcer makes a lot of amazing saves, but that was one of the best I’ve seen out of him,” Zenner said. “It’s good to have him in a groove now, making a lot of saves and getting shutouts.”

On Sunday, the Bears cruised to victory against Illinois Wesleyan, netting all three of their goals in the first half.

For the second straight game, Hengel put Wash. U. on the board first. The goal was his team-leading fifth of the season and marked the fourth time he has scored the Red and Green’s game-winning goal during their winning streak.

“Everything is going in the net right now for him,” Head Coach Joe Clarke said.

“[Hengel’s] play has been incredible as of late. It’s not just scoring goals either. His overall play has been a huge part of our success,” co-captain Marshall Plow added.

Senior Pierre Hoppenot added two goals, his first two of the season, to ensure a Wash. U. victory. The first came just 3:11 after Hengel’s, and the second came with 2:31 remaining before halftime.

“He’s been unlucky early in the season,” Clarke said. “Hopefully, this is going to get him a little more luck and get more balls going into the net for him.”

Despite their recent hot stretch, the Bears remain cautious about where they stand as a team.

“The most important thing is that our team is improving as a group,” Clarke said. “We’re focusing on the process, and we’re looking to improve defensively a bit. We’re hoping to be very difficult to play against and put a lot of pressure on teams as they come into our half of the field.”

“Every win we’re getting, we’re building our confidence, but it’s still a work in progress, and hopefully, we can get better every game,” Zenner added.

Wash. U. returns to action Friday with another road game at 4 p.m. against Division II foe Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo.

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Tags: soccer

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 5:58 pm and is filed under Men's Soccer, Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through this feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.