Reoert Cohen | St. Louis Post-Dispatch | MCT

Fireworks light Busch Stadium following a Cardinals World Series victory celebration on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2011, at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Mo. The Cardinals defeated the Texas Rangers in a series that went seven games.

8. Football blows out Chicago to end its season – After a tough loss to Case Western Reserve University the previous week, junior quarterback Dan Burkett and the Red and Green offense let off some steam in the annual Founders Cup battle with the University of Chicago. Burkett lit up the Maroon defense for 316 yards and four touchdowns, and the defense suffocated the Chicago offense as the Bears rolled to a 38-20 victory.

7. Women’s golf dominates its fall season – Freshman Olivia Lugar jump-started the women’s golf program as soon as she stepped on campus this fall, winning four of her first five varsity tournaments this season. Junior Hannah Buck won the tournament that Lugar lost when Buck set a school-record score of 69 (-3). All in all, the Bears had a strong start to their 2011-12 season by demolishing the competition en route to four tournament victories and the lowest average round score in Division III golf. Lugar currently ranks as the No. 1 golfer in the nation.

6. Women’s soccer reaches the Elite 8 with comeback win – After overcoming injury after injury, most recently to senior forward Emma Brown, the women’s soccer team’s magical run through the NCAA play-offs looked to be coming to an end against the College of St. Benedict. The Blazers had a 1-0 lead late in the second half before Wash. U. kicked things into gear. Sophomore Lauren Steimle recorded her 11th goal of the season when she drilled in a shot after a deflection found her three yards from goal in the 77th minute. Senior Lee Ann Felder found the back of the net eight minutes later off a corner kick from sophomore Kate Doyle, and the Bears continued onwards.

5. Volleyball comes back to beat Emory in the University Athletic Association Championship – The volleyball team had its back against the wall. Emory University handed the Bears their first loss of the season on Oct. 16, and the Eagles had a 2-0 lead after winning the first two sets 25-22 and 25-16. Not to be denied, the Red and Green mounted a furious comeback, winning the remaining sets 25-17, 25-20 and 15-8. Senior Lauren Budde recorded four kills in the decisive fifth set and Wash. U. triumphed after a service error.

4. Men’s basketball upsets No. 1 Augustana College at home – Sporting eight players taller than 6’7” and the nation’s top ranking, Augustana College came in to the Lopata Classic with a lot of swagger. But it was the Wash. U. men’s basketball team, led by senior guard and Lopata Classic MVP Dylan Richter, that got the last laugh. Richter went four of seven from three-point range and overcame early foul trouble to score 27 points and lead the Bears to a 71-68 victory, prompting the holiday-garbed Bomb Squad to rush the court at the final buzzer.

3. Putterman wins men’s tennis regionals and finishes second nationally – Junior Adam Putterman ran the table to capture the 2011 ITA Central Region Men’s Tennis singles championship in late September, winning seven straight matches over four days. Putterman defeated Kenyon College’s C.J. Williams 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the USTA/ITA Small College Championships, where he defeated two more players before falling to Emory University’s Dillon Pottish in the finals.

2. Women’s cross country wins national championship, men finish third – The women’s cross country team earned the school’s first-ever national championship as all five point-scorers finished in the top 40. Senior Erica Jackey finished fourth individually with a season-best 21:04.21, and freshman Lucy Cheadle finished 20th with a season-best 21:28.59. On the men’s side, senior Michael Burnstein finished 10th overall with a time of 24:25.25, and senior Tucker Hartley came in 30th in 24:41.99, helping the men to a best-ever mark of third place.

1. Cardinals win the World Series – The Cardinals’ improbable run gripped the campus and prompted raucous celebration on multiple occasions. Professors sported their Cardinals gear, students gathered in crowds to watch the games anywhere that had a television and many found their way downtown to celebrate the Cardinals’ Game 7 victory. It was a time for the campus to come together. It was a great time to be a Wash. U. student.

“Any time you make the NCAA tournament and then advance to the second round, you’ve now gotten yourself into the top 10 percent of all Division III soccer schools,” head coach Jim Conlon said. “So I think we understand that we achieved something great this year, but I also think that maybe we left a little bit on the field.”

Just 15 minutes into play, the Bears found themselves down 2-0. In the 11th minute, Cardinals forward Lindsey Rudibaugh got a ball past sophomore goalkeeper Clara Jaques into the lower left corner of the Bears’ net.

Five minutes later, Otterbein scored again, coming off of a corner kick. After the kick, Otterbein’s Adrienne Novak came up with a loose ball in the box and rocketed it into the net.

“Even when you’re up a goal, you play like you’re down, so our intensity was the same as if [the score] had been otherwise, and people played until the final whistle, just trying to get at least one goal,” junior co-captain Emma Brown said. “Unfortunately, it didn’t come.”

Despite the early deficit, Wash. U. fought back. The Bears outshot the Cardinals 8-5 in the period and 14-10 in the game, although none of the shots found the back of the net.

“It’s pretty demoralizing when you’re down 2-0, but it’s definitely not something that’s impossible to overcome, and we definitely still believed that we couldn’t hold out hopes until the last whistle,” senior co-captain Julia Tembunkiart said.

In the second half, the Bears shut down Otterbein’s offense but failed to climb out of the early two-goal hole.

“If anything, I think we had some regrets because we came out a little bit slow, and once we started playing our style of soccer, we had them under a lot of pressure,” Brown said. “We definitely would’ve liked a second chance at them.”

With the loss, Wash. U. ends its 2010 season with an 11-8-2 record.

“We gave a fabulous effort, it was heart-filled, and the game just didn’t treat us well,” Conlon said. “We got down 2-0 and had a lot of great opportunities and weren’t able to crack their net. Sometimes, when the game of soccer is cruel, it leaves a taste in your mouth that fuels you for next year.”

On Friday, in the opening round of the the Division III NCAA tournament, the Bears upset Allegheny College 2-1.

“Especially because we didn’t even know that we’d be in the tournament, there was a lot of excitement and anticipation and just a huge drive to prove that we deserved to be in the tournament and that we could make it in it,” Tembunkiart said.

In the 17th minute, freshman Becky Berels, after receiving a pass in the box from Brown, beat goalkeeper Emily Carr to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.

“We had a lot of opportunities, and it was a shame we didn’t put a couple more in, but [the goal] really set the tone for the rest of the game,” Brown said. “We kept them on their heels the whole time, so that was a good thing to see.”

Wash. U. doubled its lead in the 49th minute. Sophomore Emily Gosche rocketed a volley into Allegheny’s net after junior Lee Ann Felder’s header was deflected off of Carr and sent back to the top of the box.

In the waning minutes of the game, the Gators cut the deficit in half, but the Bears held on to win the game and advance to the second round.

“The team is obviously very upset after the loss,” Tembunkiart said. “It’s always hard when your season ends, but I think that everyone realizes that we played a good game and it just didn’t fall our way [on Saturday].”

Matt Lee

Junior Lee Ann Felder fires a shot on goal in the second half of play against Brandeis University on Oct. 29. Her corner kick on Oct. 31 set up freshman Jen Reed for her first goal of the season against New York University. Reed’s goal tied the game with the Violets at one.

“We needed to win [against NYU] to have a chance of moving on [to the NCAA Tournament],” sophomore Lauren Clatch said.

The Bears picked up the intensity after freshman Kate Doyle was taken down and left the game with an inury, but the NYU Violets would score first at the 22:44 mark. Serra Tumay ripped the ball left-footed from 20 yards out into the top-right corner of the goal, far out of sophomore goalkeeper Clara Jaques’ reach.

Wash. U. responded five minutes later with a goal from freshman Jen Reed off a corner kick taken by junior Lee Ann Felder. Felder’s cross went into the middle of the box, ricocheting off an NYU defender right to Reed, who got a foot on the ball and slammed it into the back of the net.

“I was really pumped about the [goal] because we haven’t scored off of a corner kick the whole year,” Felder said. “I saw Jen Reed, and I was looking to get it to her.”

The goal was the first of Reed’s collegiate career. “Jen put in some good minutes and had a really big game for us today,” head coach Jim Conlon said.

The game went into the second period tied 1-1, but the tie didn’t last long, with a game-winning goal coming after only 10 minutes of play. After receiving a pass from Felder, captain Julie Tembunkiart, a senior, played the ball to freshman Becky Berels. Berels took a right-footed hook shot that soared over the keeper.

“I wasn’t facing the net, so I just wanted to turn and shoot it,” Berels said. “It looked like it was going over the goal, but then it luckily dipped at the last second.”

The Bears played very physically against the Violets, fueled by Friday’s loss to Brandeis. “Two days ago, we felt a little soft, and we pride ourselves on being tough. We wanted passion and got inspired by the men’s game,” Clatch said on Sunday.

Besides Doyle’s injury, Clatch and freshman Darcy Banco were both hurt as well. Clatch was taken down in the middle of the field while Banco was spiked. “We finally had some college physicality,” Conlon said.

The Bears outshot the Violets 12-8 and accumulated 18 fouls to NYU’s eight. “Today’s game was one of our best games of the season because we were in it the whole time and were connecting,” Felder said.

On Friday, the Brandeis Judges upset the Red and Green. After a very slow first half, with no scoring opportunities for either team, Brandeis scored two goals in the second half. Rebecca Assing scored the first goal from 20 yards out after the ball ricocheted off the post and into the goal. Five minutes later, the UAA’s leading goal scorer, Leslie Smith, ripped the ball from the top corner of the box into the far corner of the Bears’ net for the Judges’ second goal.

“We were hoping to win at home, but we didn’t get it done,” Conlon said. “We played well but were a little short on some of the details.”

Even though the team was down two goals, the Bears never stopped playing, outshooting the Judges 15-10 in the second half.

“We never gave up. We stayed in it after their two goals. We never stopped trying, which is a testament to our character,” sophomore Nicole Martin said.

The Bears will face the UAA-leading University of Chicago Maroons on Saturday, Nov. 6, in their last home game at noon at Francis Field.

“It feel pretty awesome to have another shutout,” junior Lee Ann Felder said. “We always really want to have a shutout when we play at home, so it feels great.”

Wash. U. outshot Fontbonne 17-0, in the first half and recorded three goals. At 19:35, Felder rocketed a left-footed shot from 20 yards out passed the Fontbonne goalkeeper Kaniz Abbas, making the score 1-0.

The Bears scored their next two goals in the final two minutes of play pushing the lead to 3-0 at halftime. Off of an assist from sophomore Emily Gosché, junior Mari Greenberg scored at 43:38. Freshman Lauren Steimle scored off of a left-footed shot with 22 seconds left before half. These were Greenberg’s and Steimle’s first career goals.

“It’s great to see confidence building and see people scoring who haven’t scored yet,” Felder said.

Gosché scored two goals in the second half at 69:37 and 87:13. Sophomore Jodi Rosenzweig and Steimle added two more goals in the second period. The Bears outshot Fontbonne, 40-0, for the game, and had a 4-0 advantage in corner kicks.

“We have been on the road and haven’t been traveling our whole team, so we haven’t all been playing together for a while. It was great to finally all get on the field,” Felder said.

Sophomore goalkeepers Clara Jaques, last week’s UAA defensive athlete of the week, and Caitlin Heim split time as Wash. U. recorded its ninth shutout of the year.

The team hosts Concordia College (Minn.) tonight at 5 p.m. in its final non-conference game of the season.

(L-R) Forwards sophomore Lee Ann Felder, sophomore Emma Brown and senior Caryn Rosoff console each other after falling 1-0 to Messiah College in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer National Championship on Dec. 5. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

The rankings would have put No. 1 Messiah College five goals ahead of No. 17 Washington University, the same score the Falcons won with last year. But the underdog gave the No. 1 team a true batttle, allowing only one Messiah goal in 90 minutes and nearly sending the game into overtime.

“The score was only one-nothing. Last year, [the championship game] was five nothing,” junior Laura McGinnis said. “We did stay in it till the last minute. We didn’t stop fighting.”
The Falcons, who are on a 56-game unbeaten streak, held the Bears to six shots in San Antonio on Saturday, with only one on goal, one of their lowest amounts this season, en route to the Falcons’ second straight NCAA Division III national title.

Offensive opportunities were few and far between, except for the last few minutes of the game as the Red and Green were determined to leave all their efforts on the field. In the 89th minute, senior Emily Bylsma took the last shot the team had in the game.

“The last few minutes were pretty exciting…We were pressing until the very end,” Bylsma said. “Elyse [Hanly] had a really good cross, and the keeper managed to get a hand on it, and I was off by a few inches or a foot from getting a better shot off.”

The Bears had the daunting task of recovering after Friday’s draining game against Lynchburg College, which they won in sudden-death penalty kicks. Coming back on the field less than 24 hours later to try to defeat the team that had won the championship last year in a decisive 5-0 rout was a challenge the Bears came very close to overcoming.

In addition to stifling the Bears’ normally effective attack, the Falcons took 16 shots and were awarded two corner kicks to the Red and Green’s zero. Wash. U.’s lack of opportunities, namely corner kicks, sealed the Bears’ fate.

Messiah found the back of the net in the 23rd minute of the first half when Amanda Naeher received a cross and shot just outside the box into the near corner of the goal, just inches past the diving freshman goalie Clara Jaques, who had six saves throughout the game.

The Falcons kept the Bears’ momentum in check as they opened the game with three forwards, something head coach Jim Conlon had not expected.

“They had us on our heels in the first half with three forwards, and we were able to adjust,” Conlon said. “They did get the goal in the first half, but we just could not get the equalizer.”

Even when the time was short, Wash. U.’s effort was relentless. The Bears’ passion was matched closely by the 23 students on the fan bus, namely the “Conlon Crazies,” a group of men’s soccer players and other fans. According to Bylsma, one of the referees commented on how impressed she was with the dedicated Wash. U. fans.

Senior captain Libby Held and sophomores Emma Brown and Lee Ann Felder were named to the NCAA championship all-tournament team.

The team’s group of eight graduating seniors led the team to its best NCAA appearance in history, making it to the Final Four for the second time ever and the first championship game appearance.

The group also led the team to four consecutive UAA championships.

“These eight seniors have been through a lot together—been through coaching switches, people playing, not playing, people quitting…It’s all about the heart and the common goal all of us shared from the beginning,” senior captain Carter Schwarberg said. “I love my team; I’m so proud of them, and I know they’ll be here next year.”

While the departing eight will be sorely missed in next year’s roster, their influence will remain.

“I’m just excited that our team made it this far,” Brown said. “Our seniors especially pulled our team together. I’ve never been on a team that played for each other as hard as we played for each other all season.”

With additional reporting from San Antonio by Johann Qua Hiansen

Senior Libby Held clears the ball in the national championship game over the weekend. Wash. U. fell 1-0 in the game against Messiah College who repeated as national women’s soccer champions with a 25-0-1 record. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Senior Becca Heymann heads the ball in the national championship game against Messiah College. The Bears fell 1-0 in their program’s first-ever appearance in the national championship game. (Matt Mitgang | Student Life)

Volleyball:

In a rematch between two familiar foes, Washington University triumphed over Juniata College 3-1.

With the victory, the Bears extended their NCAA record to ten national championship titles. This is the 17 NCAA team title in Washington University history.

Staking an 18-12 lead in the second set, the Bears held on for the 26-24 win.  The Bears took the momentum into set three with a 25-17 win.

Juniata brought the fourth set to 10-8 but the Bears came back with an 18-12 lead.

Washington University extended their lead and won the championship with a 25-21 on a Juniata serving error.

Full story

Women’s Soccer:

The Washington University women’s soccer team advanced to the Final Four in San Antonio, Texas with a 2-1 win over Calvin College.

Senior Becca Heymann scored for the Bears to knot the game at one all in the 43rd minute. Sophomore Lee Ann Felder one timed the game winner off a cross from senior Caryn Rosoff.

Full story

Editor’s Note: Stick with studlife.com for  full coverage of both teams. Updates from Cleveland, Ohio can also be found on Twitter (@studlifesports).

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.

“We left it all on the field. We knew what we were up against. It was just unfortunate that they got the first goal. It really took us down a little,” junior Caryn Rosoff said.

“I don’t think anyone on our team was ready for the season to be over this weekend. At the same time, we have a lot to be proud of. It wasn’t a rebuilding year; we maintained our level of play. I’m so proud of all my teammates,” senior, co-captain Shirey Lane said.

The game, played at Wheaton, puts the No. 6 Bears final record at 15-4-2 (6-1 UAA) and ends the team’s title run led by first-year Head Coach Jim Conlon.

Wash. U. recorded just two shots on goal the entire match, compared to eight by Wheaton. The Bears could only muster seven shots the entire game compared with 22 by the Thunder.

After a scoreless first half, the Thunder got on the board on the 10th goal of the season by Kari Klynstra just more than eight minutes into the second half.

Conlon adjusted the team’s strategy to push for the equalizing goal, but Wheaton took advantage with an insurance goal from Erin Hodina in the 79th minute. A final goal in the 90th minute gave Wheaton its 3-0 victory.

“Overall it was a successful season, especially with the transition to a new coach. We really united as a team more than ever before,” Rosoff said.

“I just think everyone played really well. In general, we played our hearts out. Unfortunately, we didn’t go as far as we wanted to, but the season was successful,” senior Kristen Hilligoss said.

The 2008 season brought with it a third straight UAA title and NCAA tournament birth. Junior Libby Held, senior Caitlin Malone and Rosoff earned first-team all UAA honors while junior Becca Heymann earned second-team honors.

Senior goalkeeper Amanda Boe, freshman Lee Ann Felder and junior Carter Schwarberg all earned honorable mention all-UAA accolades. Boe was also named First-Team Academic All-American by ESPN The Magazine.

The team graduates eight seniors but retains leading goal scorers Rosoff and Felder.

“It’s hard for me as a senior to think that it’s really all over. But we [the seniors] are going to stay as involved as possible,” Lane said.

“The junior class all played really well in the game on Friday. I have no doubt on their abilities and our potential to go further next year,” Hilligoss said.

The team will look to add its fourth consecutive UAA title and NCAA tournament berth next season but also to improve on this season’s finish.

“Our goals for next year are going to be pretty much the same. Every year, we want to improve and go farther in the tournament. The number one thing on everyone’s mind is the national championship,” Rosoff said.