Dan DaranciangAfter treading water near the .500 winning-percentage mark the past couple of weeks, the Washington University women’s soccer team stepped up their offensive production en route to two key victories over Fontbonne University and Webster University.
On Wed., Oct. 19, the squad slammed cross-Wydown rival Fontbonne at Francis Field for five goals en route to their sixth shutout victory of the season. The 5-0 score was the highest for the struggling Bears this season and featured a newly invigorated offense in which four different players each scored a goal in the game.
Sophomore Marin McCarthy led the effort, scoring the team’s first two goals late in the first frame. With five minutes remaining in the first half, McCarthy received a cross from sophomore Abbey Hartmann and one-timed the shot past the Fontbonne keeper. McCarthy followed suit and, 48 seconds later, scored once again off a pass over the defense from junior Talia Bucci. The goals were McCarthy’s second and third of the season.
The Bears headed into the second half with a 2-0 cushion and all the momentum in their direction. Four minutes into the start of the second frame, freshman Shirley Lane, who raised high expectations coming into the season, scored her first goal of the year with a shot from 15 yards out.
Six minutes later, at the 55:24 mark, sophomore Kim O’Keefe increased the Bear lead to 4-0 off another assist from Hartmann. The one-timer gave O’Keefe her third goal and Hartmann’s team-leading fifth assist of the season. Senior Meg Lag rounded out the scoring at five with her first goal of the season at the 78:26 mark.
The game was easily the finest game the Bears have played this season, and the victory can be considered nothing less than pure domination of Fontbonne. The Bears did not allow a shot on the goal throughout the entire game, nor did they allow a corner kick. All in all, the Red and Green outshot Fontbonne 41-0 and owned the advantage in corner kicks 9-0.
On Mon., Oct. 24, the Bears hoped to keep up the winning trend as they took on the threat of 13-2 Webster University in their last home game of the season. As in the game against Fontbonne, the Red and Green controlled the ball offensively and defensively, securing the 1-0 shutout win.
The game was knotted at 0-0 until the 30th minute, when freshman Caitlin Malone’s first career goal came on a cross and one-timer by Hartmann, extending her team-leading assists to seven. Her first collegiate goal would also prove to be her first game-winning goal as well, as the staunch Bear defense effectively shut down the Webster offense. The Gorloks could only get four shots off, only one of which was on-goal, and it was consequently saved by sophomore keeper Nina Sass.
The Bears outshot the Gorloks 21-4 and held the corner kick advantage 11-2. Ten different Bears were able to get at least one shot off in the effort, including seven by captain and leading scorer junior Meghan Marie Fowler-Finn.
With the two wins, the Red and Green improved their season record to 9-6-1, with a 1-3 showing in conference play. Next, the Bears travel to Waltham, Mass., to face off against University Athletic Association (UAA) rival Brandeis University on Fri., Oct. 28., after which the squad will vie for a win against UAA rival New York University on Sun., Oct. 30.