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.

“[The win] was huge for us,” co-captain Marshall Plow said. “We beat a good team when we beat Truman [State], but we weren’t sure yet if we could compete with the top teams in the country, and we showed with this win that we could do it.”

“With every game we win, we grow in confidence, but we especially do when getting a conference win,” junior Nat Zenner said. “The UAA is tough, and wins are tough to come by, so getting one on the road against a top 10 team was a really good feeling.”

Wash. U. got off to a fast start when senior Cliff Goldkind netted the game’s first and only goal just 1:57 into the game on a pass from junior John Hengel. The goal was Goldkind’s first of the season and of his career and was just the fifth goal allowed by Carnegie Mellon all season. Hengel, who is the team’s leading scorer with six goals and two assists, has either scored or assisted Wash. U.’s game-winning goal in each of its last five games.

“[The early goal] set the tone for the game,” Plow said. “We were pretty confident that we could keep the shutout with our defensive play. Cliff finished the ball really well. It was a great shot, and it got us on track.”

Junior goalkeeper John Smelcer turned away all seven of Carnegie Mellon’s shots on goal to extend Wash. U.’s shutout streak to seven games, a school record. The Red and Green have not allowed a goal since losing 2-1 to Westminster College on Sept. 6, a total of 666 minutes of scoreless play.

The streak is emblematic of Head Coach Joe Clarke’s season-long commitment to defense.

“Our team gives away a bit physically, particularly in terms of size, so we have to work very hard to reduce the amount of opportunities teams are going to get,” Clarke said. “It probably does sometimes reduce players going forward when they should, but that’s what we have to do in order to be successful.”

“Everybody is buying into it, everybody’s working hard and we make it difficult for the other team to get good chances to score,” Clarke added.

Though Carnegie Mellon outshot Wash. U. 15-3 after Goldkind’s goal, the game was not nearly as lopsided as the numbers suggest.

“I actually think we had the better chances to score overall or at least had as many good chances to score as they did,” Clarke said, explaining that the Tartans only had one good opportunity to score.

The Bears return to action Sunday at Francis Field at 1:30 p.m. against No. 9 Emory University, their second top-10 opponent in as many games.