Sophomore David Kanoff passes the ball in a game on Sept. 16. Kanoff scored a goal in a 3-2 loss to Principia College on Sept. 22. (Jared Bullock | Student Life)

After consecutive trips across the Mississippi River, the men’s soccer team finished two games of a three-game road stint with one loss and one win against Principia College and Greenville College.

Both Washington University and Principia came into Tuesday’s contest undefeated. The Panthers, currently ranked eighth in the nation, began the game with a quick offensive attack.

“[John] Smelcer had to make an incredible save on an absolute bullet in the first seventeen seconds, and we faced three corner kicks in a row…after that onslaught, then we took over the game,” head coach Joe Clarke said.

Although Principia outshot the Bears 8-4 and held a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks, the teams played a scoreless first half. Clarke said the team missed crosses that would have allowed the Bears to be a scoring threat.

Wash. U. scored first with a goal from sophomore David Kanoff, his first goal of the season, but Principia countered less than a minute later to tie the game. Clarke explained that a formation change helped the team answer the Panthers’ defense and score.

“They had three in the middle, but we played with a tight diamond. Our two wingers pinched way in so we could try and cover their center three. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, they were finding that extra player too easily,” Clarke said. “We switched to a 4-3-3 of our own and that gave us more players high on the forward line, and I think that helped us get the goal.”

Later in the half, the teams traded goals once again. But after scoring on a penalty kick to tie the game at 2-2, senior co-captain Nat Zenner was issued his second yellow card of the game. The Bears played the game’s final 19 minutes one man down, and the contest was ultimately decided on a penalty kick by Principia’s Ricky Seaman in the last 30 seconds.

“There’s a need to minimize fouls because fouls turn into goals,” Clarke said.

The Bears rebounded from the loss Friday night against Greenville. Freshman midfielder Brian Wright said the Bears found strategies to create offensive attacks despite strong play from Panthers forward David Dunlop and their power on corner kicks.

“We swung the ball across the middle. We kept the ball and made the other team chase it…which helped us to open up, and we were able to get the ball wide and get it across and score,” Wright said.

The Bears netted the game’s only goal in the 33rd minute with a score by sophomore Kevin Privalle, the first of his career.

“We had the ball in the middle of the field, and then Dylan [Roman] passed the ball to me out on the sideline,” Wright said. “I beat the defender and served…all the way across the ball to Zach [Hendrickson], and he shot it toward the goalie and Kevin tapped it in right before the goalie got there. ”

The Bears outshot the Panthers 13-8, while Smelcer had three saves en route to his fourth shutout of the season. The team continues its road trip with its first University Athletic Association contest of the year on Oct. 4 against Emory University in Atlanta.

In their Wednesday game against the Blue Jays, the Bears (4-0-3) scored their only goal early.

Sophomore Patrick McLean looks to pass in Wednesday’s game against Westminster College. The Bears remain undefeated on the season after their victories on Wednesday against the Blue Jays and on Friday against the Birmingham Southern College Panthers. (Jared Bullock | Student Life)

“Pat [McLean] was driving down the right side, and he saw me making a diagonal run, and he flicked it right over the defenders,” senior John Hengel said of his goal in the ninth minute.

In the 1-0 victory, senior goalkeeper John Smelcer got his third shutout of the season, while the Bears outshot the Blue Jays 18-2 for the game. Despite the University’s shooting advantage, Westminster threatened offensively on corner kicks, with six for the day.

“They had some really big guys. They had [Ky Millard] running up top, so they were their most dangerous on their long throws and set pieces, free kicks and stuff,” senior tri-captain Nat Zenner said. “Their big guys just kept looking ahead, so that was their biggest challenge [to us].”

Despite the win, the Bears recognized a need for increased scoring.

“We would have liked to put in a couple more goals so we could have relaxed,” Zenner said. “Sometimes when you get that [first] goal, it’s tough to keep pushing for the rest of them, but it’s important to get two and three goals to put teams away because the longer they stay in it, the more confidence they get.”

In its game against Birmingham Southern on Friday, the team did just that. With a 2-1 win, the Bears issued the previously undefeated Panthers their first loss.

“We obviously went out really hard. Our goal from the beginning was to get a goal quickly and get on top of the game,” senior tri-captain Alex Neumann said. “It’s something we’ve been working on all season.”

Junior Harry Beddo struck first for Wash. U. with a goal in the game’s first minute.

“Well, personally, I hadn’t scored yet, and I started up top, and I just wanted to get on the scoreboard at first, so I was really happy when we scored a minute into the game,” Beddo said of his first goal of the season. “I don’t think the other team actually touched it…the ball was played in the middle and got wide to [John] Duncan, and Duncan crossed it and I just got in front of their defender and hit it low, near [the] post.”

The Panthers answered with a goal on a free kick from junior Tony Crocker in the seventh minute to tie the game, but the Bears countered before the end of the half. Wash. U. capitalized on a corner kick from junior Cody Costakis that was finished by sophomore Pat McLean on a recovery from Hengel.

“We let up a little when we let in the goal, but then I thought we were playing hard throughout the first half and really bossing the game,” Neumann said.

In the second half, the Bears increased pressure on the Panthers. But the game called for adjustments when sophomore Kevin Privalle collided with Birmingham Southern goalie Shachar Hovan. Hovan left the game due to injury, and Privalle was issued a red card. The team finished the last 30 minutes one man down.

“After the red card, we all came together as a team and said, ‘Hey, this is sort of what we’ve been working toward all year. This is why our fitness and all the hard work we put in [during] the preseason is going to pay off,’” Neumann said. “We basically made the commitment that we were not going to give up another goal, and so everyone sort of came together, and it was really a team effort to keep the score 2-1 and to get the victory.”

The Bears continue play Tuesday on the road at Principia College; game time is set for 8 p.m.