The volleyball team lifts their 2009 NCAA Division III national championship trophy as they celebrate their 3-1 victory over top-ranked Juniata College. The Bears will unveil their championship banner in the Field House at 3 p.m. Sunday. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The festivities kick off after the basketball doubleheader against Emory University concludes. At 3 p.m., the 2009 volleyball team will be presented with its championship rings and have its national championship banner unveiled. The banner will join nine other volleyball championship banners. Attractions for fans include national championship posters for all in attendance and T-shirts for a limited number of students and faculty with an ID card.

The Bears captured their NCAA-record 10th national championship with a 3-1 victory over No. 1 Juniata College on Nov. 21, 2009. Sophomore Lauren Budde was named Most Outstanding Player of the 2009 championship with 15 kills and five blocks in the game. Sophomore Kristen Thomas and freshman Kelly Pang were also tapped for the all-tournament team. The American Volleyball Coaches Association also chose Pang as its Division III National Freshman of the Year.

The 2009 title marked head coach Rich Luenemann’s third victory in the national championship game. Luenemann was also named AVCA’s Division III Coach of the Year.

“It feels good to know that the banner is going to hang there forever,” said senior Erin Albers, co-captain of the volleyball team. “[People should] show their support, not just for our team, but for the soccer team because they’re deserving.”

The University will also honor the 2009 national runner-up women’s soccer team. The Bears’ appearance in the title game was the first in program history. Wash. U. fell to top-ranked and undefeated defending champion Messiah College 1-0 on Dec. 5, 2009, in San Antonio.

Senior captain Libby Held and fellow senior Caryn Rosoff both earned National Collegiate Soccer Coaches Association of America All-America honors, with Rosoff being named to the first team and Held earning a spot on the second team.

Their squad tied a Wash. U. record with 17 wins en route to their fourth straight UAA championship and national championship game appearance.

“It’s a testament to the students the university attracts, but also to the students that it develops during their time here,” co-captain of the women’s soccer team senior Becca Heymann said.

With additional reporting by Johann Qua Hiansen

This year, after defeating Calvin College 2-1 in the Elite Eight, the No. 17 Lady Bears have gone farther than anyone on the squad has gone before advancing to the Final Four of the NCAA Division III Tournament for the second time in program history and for the first time since 1997.

Calvin gave the Bears a scare in the first half as Carly Prins headed in a goal at the 43:07 mark off a cross set up by a free kick.

Senior Becca Heymann knotted the score within 27 seconds on the next possession, collecting a loose ball in the Calvin box and firing it into the far corner with her left foot. Heymann’s 21st goal moves her all time points record to 54, good for tenth place on the all time list.

After taking the tie into the half, sophomore Lee Ann Felder scored the gamewinner in the 57th minute. Sophomore Emma Brown set up senior Caryn Rosoff with the assist by sending a thorough ball. Rosoff dribbled into the box before sending a cross that Felder one timed.

Felder, Brown and Rosoff have been involved in other big plays this season including the game-winning goal in overtime against the University of Rochester on Oct. 18.

Freshman goalkeeper Clara Jacques picked up her 16th career win with seven saves as the women’s team tied their team record of 17 wins in a season.

The Bears would not have made it this far without Jacques, who made several big saves in Friday’s 2-1 penalty shootout over No. 24 Wheaton (Ill.)

After two scoreless periods of regulation time followed by two overtime periods, Jacques had to face Wheaton shooters without her defense. Jacques made four of five saves as senior Carter Schwarberg and freshman Emily Gosche scored their penalty kicks to send the Bears to the Sectional Finals.

Wheaton won the national title in 2004, 2006 and 2007 while falling in the national championship match in 2008.

Several Wash. U. students including members of the men’s soccer team traveled to Rockford, Ill. The group called the Conlon Crazies led spirited cheers in support of the Lady Bears.

The No. 17 Bears face the winner of the undefeated No. 3 Trinity University (TX) and Lynchburg College match on December 4 at the Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio, Texas.

Sophomore Natalie Callaghan dribbles the ball in an Oct. 18 game against the University of Rochester. Callaghan scored the game winner against Brandeis University on Oct. 30. (Daniel Eicholtz | Student Life)

With this past weekend’s wins over Brandeis University and New York University, the No. 8 Washington University women’s soccer team held on to its top spot in the University Athletic Association standings.

After an intense but successful two-match sequence, the Bears have a week to rest injuries, including senior forward Caryn Rosoff’s lower calf strain, and gear up for the University of Chicago.

Wash. U. currently holds a one-point lead over the University of Rochester, and with one game left in UAA play, the Bears must defeat the Maroons to secure a share of the UAA championship and be guaranteed a NCAA tournament bid.

The Bears have not lost since a 1-0 decision to then-No. 6 Johns Hopkins University on Sept. 5.

Wash. U. 2, Brandeis 0

While the Bears’ first UAA matchup in 12 days ended with a win, it wasn’t the way they would’ve liked to start the long weekend and the final leg of league play, according to players. Rosoff, during the game, was pushed out of bounds and pulled her lower calf as her cleat became stuck in a grate in between the field and track.

Sophomore back Natalie Callaghan drew first blood 33 minutes into the first half. She received the ball from senior Elyse Hanly about 40 yards out from the Judges’ goal.

“The ball was passed back to me, and my teammates told me to cross it,” Callaghan said, “and I [did], and it went over the keeper’s head. I thought someone was going to flick it in, but it ended up just kind of going in on its own.”

While the Judges had many opportunities to score during the game, freshman goalkeeper Clara Jaques did not allow a ball past. The Judges’ offense outshot the Bears 15-13.

Senior Becca Heymann added another goal with 19 minutes left in the second half, off an assist from junior midfielder Julie Tembunkiart.

“[Tembunkiart] chased down a really long ball and miraculously got to it and made a cross to the near post about a yard or two off the endline and kicked it in,” Heymann said. With that goal, Heymann became the tenth most goal-scoring player in Wash. U. women’s soccer history.

Wash. U. 2, NYU 1 (OT)

In Sunday’s match, both teams were held scoreless in the first half, despite a 10-3 shot advantage for Wash. U. However, NYU found the back of the net first in the second half. During a shuffle in front of the goal, an NYU player fed the ball past Jaques five minutes in to make the score 1-0.

As the minutes waned and urgency loomed for the Bears, sophomore Lee Ann Felder was able to force the game into overtime on an unassisted free kick with 90 seconds remaining.

“Emma got fouled pretty close to the 18-yard-line. Becca [Heymann] and I were standing over the ball, and I decided to take it because I’m left-footed, and it was a good position for a left foot,” Felder said. “It went, luckily, into the goal and into the far post.”

With the score tied, the Bears went into their third overtime of the season. Only 1:28 into the extra time, Heymann yet again scored for the game winner.

The Red and Green face the University of Chicago on Saturday in Chicago at 1:30 p.m.

Correction Inserted-Bears must defeat Chicago.

Washington University sophomore Alyssa Marulli takes a shot in Friday’s 4-1 victory over Southeast Missouri State University. (Matt Lee | Student Life)

Senior Caryn Rosoff led the Washington University women’s soccer team to victory over Principia College and Southeast Missouri State with hat tricks this past week. The Bears extended their win streak to seven with a strong offense.

Wash. U. 7, Principia 2

After only seven minutes of gameplay, Rosoff found the corner of the net off a cross from sophomore Lee Ann Felder, which Rosoff one-touched off her left foot. Five minutes later, sophomore Emma Brown pushed the score to 2-0 in favor of the Red and Green when she received a pass behind the defense and shot far post.

The Bears pounded two more goals in, one by Felder from a give-and-go with Rosoff, and the other Rosoff’s second goal off a cross from junior Julie Tembunkiart.

“They were all good buildups, with everyone making good movement and making penetrating passes,” Rosoff said.

Principia then suffered an own goal, which raised the score to 5-0. However, the Panthers took it back by scoring from about 20 yards away and finding the far corner of the goal. The Bears responded quickly, as Rosoff scored 30 seconds later off an assist from Felder, her second, for her third goal of the game and fifth of the season.

The Bears went into halftime with a commanding 6-0 lead. The Bears didn’t see another goal until 20 minutes into the second half when senior Emily Bylsma scored her first career goal.

“One of the outside midfielders played it in to Lauren [Clatch],” Bylsma said, “and Lauren dropped it back to the top of the box, and I was lucky enough to get a good shot off.”

A minute after Bylsma’s goal, Principia found the net off a free kick from 25 yards out, the final goal of the game.

“The team came together, and it’s good to see seniors leading the way,” Rosoff said.

Wash. U. 4, SMSU 1

Even with a strong showing of Southern Missouri State’s fan base, the Bears dominated most of the game against the Division I team. Rosoff, coming off her hat trick against Principia College, scored 20 minutes into the first half off an assist from Brown, who passed the ball into the box. Rosoff took a left-foot shot under pressure from a defender to slide the ball far post past the Raven’s keeper. Nine minutes later, Brown scored her ninth goal of the season.

“Caryn and I had a buildup of a couple headers, and Lee Ann got to it and threaded in a great cross, and I just headed it in,” Brown said. The Red and Green led at the half, 2-0.

Following Brown’s method in the second half, Rosoff received a cross from graduate student Sam Murphy and headed the ball just inside the near post.

Just four minutes later, Rosoff finished her second hat trick in two games off a pass from Brown. Rosoff was able to break away from the defenders and go one on one with the goalie for her goal.

Missouri scored later from a pass that snuck behind the defense, which the Bears had no answer for. The game ended 4-1 as Wash. U.’s record improved to 7-2.

The Bears are averaging 3.22 goals scored per game, yet they are allowing opponents only 0.78 goals per game. Rosoff and Brown are tied for the lead in the University Athletic Association for most points per game.

“Caryn, Lee Ann and Emma are special, special talents, and the reason they are so special as a unit is because of their unselfishness to each other,” head coach Jim Conlon said. “The team is reaping the benefits, and everyone behind them in midfield and defense are setting them up really well.”

The Lady Bears take their seven-win streak on a road trip to Atlanta for a match against UAA conference rival Emory University on Oct. 4.

The first victim of women’s soccer was Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. The Athenas kept the ball mostly on Wash. U.’s side in the first half. Thirteen minutes into the game, CMS’s Nicole Sady-Kennedy struck from the right side, sending the ball across from 20 yards out and ricocheted it off the far post into the goal.

In the 32nd minute the Bears received a free kick just outside the box, resulting in a scramble just in front of the goal line. After three close range shots, all denied by CMS’s goalkeeper, the ball clipped a Claremont defender and rolled inside.

Sophomore Emma Brown scored a hat trick in a 10-0 victory over Grinnell College on Saturday. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Both teams took eight shots, tying the game at 1-1. Frustration was evident on the Bears’ side, who had missed some key scoring opportunities.
Senior Caryn Rosoff scored quickly with an assist from sophomore Rachel Haas.

Rosoff distracted the goalie during her run as sophomore Natalie Callaghan’s first career goal off a free kick from 40 yards out slipped in to make the score 3-1.

The brief homestead gave the team their first home win. According to Coach Jim Conlon, the team’s objectives were to get a shutout and finish opportunities.

Just how much offense, however, nobody could have guessed as Wash. U. demolished Grinnell 10-0.

Rosoff delivered the first punch only four minutes into the game, receiving a pass from midfield and pounding the ball in from the 15 yard line. Six minutes later, Rosoff fed junior Julie Tembunkiart for a successful one-on-one with Grinnell’s goalkeeper.

“Since [Caryn] moved out to the outside wing, I continued my run to fill in where she had been so I was in a position for a cross I would’ve given to her,” Tembunkiart said.
A mere 42 seconds later, Haas found the back of the net off a cross by sophomore Lee Ann Felder. A scoring drought ensued for 20 minutes until Felder scored with 15 minutes left and Wash. U. took a 4-0 lead into the half.

Felder opened the scoring after two minutes with a left side rebound from graduate student Sam Murphy. Eight minutes later, Murphy took one for herself off a cross by sophomore Ashley Nault.

“I just happened to be in the right place at the right time, and I tucked it in the corner,” Murphy said.

With a 6-0 lead, things were just starting to heat up. Sophomore Emma Brown received Nault’s second assist of the night to add another to the rising score.

“We pointed out that the goalie didn’t have the greatest hands and so we knew we had to follow up on shots,” Brown said. “[There was a] shot and it came off her hands and I knew it was coming out and I was there.”

Sixty-five seconds later, freshman Lauren Clatch received a perfectly placed corner kick by senior middie Emily Bylsma and headed it into the goal. Members of Clatch’s freshman floor cheered on her first career college goal. “Being a little jittery and having people cheering your name felt awesome,” Clatch said.

Brown complemented Clatch’s goal a little over a minute later, with a feed from Rosoff for a one-on-one with Grinnell’s goalkeeper for her second goal. With four minutes left to play, Brown completed her 18-minute hat trick with an assist from sophomore Michelle Peterson.“Once the team got into a rhythm, it was easier to go out there and just kind of have fun,” Brown said.

The last time Wash. U. scored in double digits was in 2004 against Blackburn, with the record being a 12-0 win in 1999 against Anderson.

Wash. U.’s defensive line allowed only four shots as freshman goalie Clara Jaques got her first shutout in the first half. Junior Katy Southworth and freshmen Caitlin Heim split the second half. “Hopefully it launches us for the rest of the season,” Jacques said.

The Red and Green prepare for Alma College and Calvin College next weekend. “It’s start from scratch,” Conlon said.

On Saturday, the Red and Green beat local rival Principia College 3-0 to advance. Junior Caryn Rosoff scored the game winner in the 16th minute. Senior back Shirey Lane hit a cross to Rosoff in front of the net. Rosoff found herself in a one-on-one situation with Principia goalie Mel Stein and one-timed the ball into the net.

Principia nearly tied the score 10 minutes later when freshman Alicia Girbes-Pierce broke away and was one-on-one with Wash. U. keeper Amanda Boe. Girbes-Pierce’s shot ricocheted off of the post.

The Bears broke away in the second half. Senior Caitlin Malone shot a ball into the corner of the net off of a Rosoff pass 10 minutes into the half. She added another insurance goal in the 63rd minute when she took a pass from senior midfielder Lauren Mehner and put the ball into the net from 20 yards out. Boe and sophomore Katy Southworth combined in the net for the shutout. With the loss, Principia ends its season with a 19-2 record with both losses coming against Wash. U.

“We knew we could beat them. We had done it before. They had nothing to lose, so it was harder in that regard,” Malone said.

The first half of the second round game against Illinois Wesleyan University was very evenly matched. The Titans had just come off of a 4-3 penalty kick victory over Rhodes College but showed no signs of weariness. Illinois Wesleyan had a great scoring opportunity in the 20th minute when sophomore Alyssa Feulner got off a powerful shot. Boe made a diving save to preserve the tie. Wash. U. answered in the 31st minute with a scramble in front of the net. The Bears, however, could not capitalize on the open net.

Boe played brilliantly in the second half as well, knocking two shots over the crossbar to keep the Titans off the board.

“It was the best save I have ever seen,” Head Coach Jim Conlon said of one of Boe’s punches.

The Bears looked like they might have put the game away in the 84th minute as freshman Lee Ann Felder took a free kick right outside the box before the wall was set. Illinois Wesleyan keeper Alli Novack made a solid diving save. Regulation ended in a 0-0 tie.

After one overtime, the game remained tied at 0-0. No one could find the net in the second overtime either, meaning the game would be decided on penalty kicks. Boe saved her best soccer for the end of the game, saving three of the four penalty kicks she faced. The Bears made three of theirs, enough to win the game and move on. Marulli nailed the winning kick. Mehner and junior Becca Heymann also made penalty kicks.

“I knew where they were going before the shot. I knew we were going to win,” Boe said.

The Bears will now face Wheaton College in the Sweet Sixteen. Wheaton will host the next two rounds of play. The Bears are excited to face their longtime rival for the first time this season.

“We will start to put together a game plan for the Wheaton match so that we can advance,” Conlon said.

The Washington University women’s soccer team won two fiercely competitive games this past weekend and emerged as the UAA conference champions for the third straight season and sixth season overall. The No. 8 Bears recorded 2-1 victories against No. 16 University of Rochester on Friday and then Case Western Reserve University on Sunday to seal the UAA title before the end of conference play. The Bears (14-2-1, 6-0-0 UAA) also secured an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III tournament by winning the conference title.

In the first game this weekend against Rochester, junior forward Caryn Rosoff scored twice in the 2-1 victory.

“We came really pumped. We knew we definitely needed a win… It was a really physical game. We really stepped it up and got the job done,” Rosoff said.

Rochester scored first in the match off of a corner kick in the tenth minute, but the lead was short-lived. After a spectacular offensive build-up, Rosoff chipped the ball over the opposing goalkeeper to even the score up at one apiece at the 13:15 mark.

Less then three minutes into the second half, Rosoff collected a deflected loose ball at the edge of the box, took it past a defender and launched the game-winning goal into the upper left corner.

“Rochester was a very physical game, but we were the much more skillful team,” junior back Cassie Scaman said.

With the win against Rochester, the Bears only needed to beat Case Western to get into the postseason and win the UAA championship.

“Against Case, it was about coming out and getting a championship. Everyone was into the game, and we played hard,” Rosoff said.

Again, the Bears fell behind first and entered the break trailing 1-0. The play in the first half was sloppy, and the team seemed to struggle to find any sort of offensive rhythm. After halftime though, the Bears came out roaring, moved the ball around better and thoroughly controlling the game.

“We woke up in the second half and realized what we were playing for. We were playing for the championship; this game was the season. We dominated the second half,” Scaman said.

Senior midfielder Caitlin Malone leveled the match after taking a cross from junior midfielder Elyse Hanly and heading the ball into the back of the net in the 62^nd minute.

The winning goal would not come until the 90^th minute. Rosoff hit a pass in front of the goal, which Malone drove into the back of the net.

“When the second goal went in, I had no idea how much time was left. They told me that there was 15 seconds left,” Malone said.

The team, which has National Championship aspirations, has not lost sight of what they need to do, despite the exciting and eventful weekend.

“Winning conference has always been our team’s goal. Had we not won conference, [we] would have been pretty upset,” Malone said.

“Third year in a row being UAA champs is a great feeling. It shows how much work we put in… how much we love it. But it’s only the beginning. Every single game is big. Every single game we will play is bigger game than any game we’ve had,” Scaman added.

Wash. U. finishes UAA play on Saturday against the University of Chicago. The game will be at 12:30 p.m. at Francis Field.

“The will of our team and the team dynamic is what’s getting us through all of these games. It’s our chemistry,” Scaman said. “It’s not because we have the most talented individuals, it’s because we play for each other and we play for the love of the game.”