Bears clinch conference with wins over Carnegie, Case Western

| Senior Sports Editor

The Washington University women’s soccer team punched its ticket to the postseason this weekend, beating Carnegie Mellon University, 1-0, and Case Western Reserve University, 2-1, to clinch its fifth straight University Athletic Association title.

Against Carnegie Mellon on Friday, the Bears struck early. In the 12th minute, junior Ellie Moreland drove forward, forcing the defense to collapse from the wings to defend her. She sent the ball out to where the defense had just vacated, where sophomore Erin Flynn was running unmarked into space. Flynn corralled the pass and sent in a cross that got past the goalkeeper and to the feet of senior Taylor Cohen. Cohen sent a shot whizzing into the far corner to give the Bears the lead, 1-0.

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Senior forward Taylor Cohen celebrates after scoring against Carnegie Mellon University on Friday, Nov. 1. Cohen also had two assists on Sunday against Case Western Reserve University.

The Tartans were aggressive in their search for an equalizer. They only managed two shots in the first half, but they probed the Wash. U. defense for holes, forcing the Bears to tighten up their defense. In the second half, they took three shots, forcing junior keeper Emma Greenfield to make two saves to preserve the lead. In the 79th minute, a Carnegie Mellon cross lingered dangerously in the box, but Greenfield stopped a header to keep the Tartans off the board. Another shot by Carnegie bounced into the box after a Greenfield save in the 87th minute, but no CMU player was in the area to catch the ricochet. That was the last opportunity for the Tartans as time elapsed with the Bears on top.

“[CMU] did an incredible job of really packing in,” Moreland said. “When they were able to get the ball back, they pushed all their numbers forward and really put us under pressure, so they did an amazing job there.”

Carnegie’s defense was also tight. They slowed the pace down. They did not allow the Bears to play in the middle of the field and only allowed eight shots in the entire game.

“Carnegie does a really great job of keeping it condensed and compact,” Wash. U. head coach Jim Conlon said. “We were just trying to spread them out and keep the ball moving.”

While the Bears were beating the Tartans on Friday night, Case Western was defeating No. 12 University of Chicago, dropping the Maroons to 3-1-1 in conference play. With Chicago having a loss and a tie, Wash. U.’s Sunday game against Case became pivotal for the Bears. A win would clinch the conference.

Beating the Case Western Spartans was easier said than done. With the short turnaround between the games and the different playstyles of the Spartans and Tartans, winning on Sunday posed a unique challenge to the Bears.

“Case is a good opponent,” Conlon said. “They’re going to be dynamic and run a good style of soccer. They’re just going to be different than Carnegie. So, we gotta be ready for two games.”

Grace Bruton | Student Life

Sophomore Erin Flynn lines up a pass on Friday night against Carnegie Mellon University. Flynn had an assist on Friday and scored the game-winning goal against Case Western Reserve University on Sunday in double overtime.

Case Western lived up to Conlon’s praise. They were more energetic than Carnegie had been, forcing Greenfield to make two saves in the first half and keeping Wash. U. off the scoreboard in those first 45 minutes. There were a couple of scary moments for the Bears in the waning moments of the half. The Spartans played a ball forward past the Wash. U defense. Greenfield raced to get to it before Case Western’s forwards could capitalize on the defense’s misstep.

Case got on the board first after they earned a penalty kick to open the second half. Case Western’s Anika Washburn, the leading scorer in the UAA, sank the ball into the bottom left corner to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead.

“We’re a team that’s got multiple game plans, and resiliency is one of them,” Conlon said of his team trailing for just the second time this season, adding, “We needed to take care of our business and Case put in a great goal. We needed to make sure we just keep playing one minute at a time.”

Wash. U. kept firing, creating chances that narrowly missed materializing into goals. In the 61st minute, sophomore Ariana Miles shook past two defenders but she could not get the left-footed shot from the top of the goalie box on target. In the 77th minute, Miles sent in a cross that Cohen narrowly missed. Junior Ellie DeConinck corralled the ricochet, but her shot hit the post.

The Bears finally broke through in the 79th minute. Flynn found Cohen running down the field into space. The Case Western defense managed to bump Cohen at the top of the goalie box, but she recovered and found Miles, who tapped the ball into a wide open net.

“There was one opportunity where I shot the ball on a play before I played it to Ari[ana Miles] and I was like ‘I should have passed it,’ so on the next opportunity I was like ‘I’m going to take it and pass it to Ari,’ and she was in the perfect spot two plays in a row and just had a perfect tap-in goal,” Cohen said.

Once the score was level, 1-1, the crowd and the Bears seemed energized. Wash. U. kept attacking, getting four shots off in the last 10 minutes of regulation. However, Case Western kept the Bears from scoring again in regulation.

Overtime was an extension of those last ten minutes as the Bears generated opportunities while the Spartans tried to survive. In the first 10 minutes of overtime, the Bears got off seven shots and earned two corner kicks. On one of those shots, Miles threaded the ball past the keeper and a defender. It hit the near post and bounced out for a goal kick. It was clear that the Bears were hungry to end the game. Greenfield even came forward to send in a free kick from 45 yards out.

In the fourth minute of the second overtime period, the Bears finally ended it. Cohen beat multiple defenders and had a shot opportunity at the top of the box. But instead of taking it, she sent a pass towards Flynn who took one dribble before sending it past the charging keeper for the game-winning—and conference-clinching—goal. The game ended with the score at 2-1.

“I thought I had the shot, but Erin Flynn had the better angle on it, and I gave it to her and she also perfectly placed it in the back of the net,” Cohen said. “I couldn’t be prouder of my two teammates for getting that done today.”

The Bears are now 15-1-1 on the season and 6-0 in the conference. They will close out the regular season on Saturday at No. 12 University of Chicago.

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