Jason HubertGoing into this past Friday night’s game against Case Western Reserve University, the Washington University men’s soccer team was looking for a bit of revenge. Having lost to Case Western Reserve last season, giving the Spartans their first conference victory in nearly five years, the Bears were looking to redeem themselves.
“A lot of the guys on the team were disappointed with the way last season ended with the loss to Case Western, and we were definitely looking for a win,” said senior forward Nick Kalscheur.
However, in Friday’s game, defeating Case Western Reserve did not appear as simple as usual for the Bears. The Spartans came into their match-up with coach Joe Clarke’s squad after defeating nationally-ranked New York University 1-0 the previous weekend. With momentum on their side, Case Western Reserve came in to Francis Field with considerable confidence.
The game started off fairly even, with both teams creating a few chances on either end. At times, the Bears appeared to dominate the game by successfully possessing the ball for extended periods of time. However, the Bears experienced a defensive breakdown in the 26th minute as a Case Western through ball was misplayed. This allowed R.J. French to slip past the Bears’ last defender and shoot home a simple finish to put the Spartans up 1-0.
Seemingly unfazed by the one-goal deficit, the Bears stepped up their offensive pressure and were eventually able to level the score eight minutes later. Sophomore Marshall Plow took the ball deep into Spartan territory and was able to drive a low ball across the goal mouth. Although the Bears’ original strike was denied by the Case Wester goalkeeper, junior forward Will Cockle was there with the rebound to place a hard-driven strike into the net.
“Scoring has been a problem for us this season,” said senior defender John Horky. “It’s an even bigger uphill battle for us when we go down in a game. We worked on offense all week in practice, and it paid off.”
With the game tied 1-1, the Bears continued to apply considerable offensive pressure. Then, a mere nine minutes after the Bears’ first goal, sophomore Plow dribbled into the Case Western Reserve penalty area and was taken down by a defender. Playing in his first game of the season due to injury, senior David Borton stepped up and calmly converted the subsequent penalty kick to put his team up 2-1.
“After we tied the game back up, momentum started to swing our way,” said Kalscheur. “And right before halftime Marshall [Plow] was able to catch a break by beating a defender and getting the penalty kick.”
Through stifling defense and skill possessing the ball, the Bears managed to hang on to collect their first University Athletic Association (UAA) victory of the season. The win not only boosted the Bears’ confidence going into their match-up against the fifth-ranked University of Rochester but also kept them in the mix for a potential conference title.
But standing in their way on Sunday was UAA powerhouse Rochester, who at 12-0-0 had yet to drop a single game all season. However, previous experience had shown the Bears that they could compete with any UAA team, so they maintained a positive outlook going into the match-up.
The Bears were able to hold Rochester without a shot for the first 25 minutes of the game, but the Yellowjackets made the score 1-0 on their first shot of the game in the 26th minute. Gary Stom was able to beat Bears goalkeeper junior Matt Fenn to the near post from 15 yards out to give his team a one-goal advantage.
Despite being down 1-0, the Bears continued to play solid defense and were able to hold the Yellowjackets to three shots during the first half. However, shortly after the half time break, Rochester was able to double their lead. Stom was once again involved in the scoring, though this time he provided the assist. Utilizing a flip throw-in, Stom was able to fire the ball into the box, where it bounced around before being headed home by Colin Fernie. The Bears were unable to close the gap for the rest of the game and ended up falling 2-0 to the national and conference power Rochester.
“Nobody enjoys losing a game,” said Kalscheur. “But we take some pride in the fact that we came out, played hard, and gave them a good game. After all, they’d been humiliating some other teams. Now we’ll just look to get back on track this weekend against [the University of Wisconsin] Platteville.”
The Bears have several days off before their next game, which will be at Francis Field on Friday against the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. The Pioneers currently hold a season record of 9-4-4, and should pose a considerable threat to the Bears. However, coach Clarke’s squad remains confident after playing fairly well against undefeated Rochester and should have a good chance to come away with a victory.