Junior Gaelen Clayton in action earlier this season. The midfielder from Mountain View, California has been an important asset to the Bears this season. She scored two goals this past weekend. (Daniel Huinda | Student Life)

Scoreless in the first half, the #4 Washington University women’s soccer team looked headed toward its first draw of the season. A stubborn Rhodes College defense proved too difficult to break down. From counter after counter, crosses after crosses, the Bears’ attacks were not connecting. But all that changed in the 59th minute, when a handball inside the Lynx’ penalty box awarded WashU with a penalty.

Tasked to put the ball into the net was senior midfielder Jessica Greven, having done so in the Bears’ previous game.

“Jess does a great job in the midfield very well and stepped up when we needed her to,” said women’s soccer head coach Jim Conlon after the game. 

Stepping up is just what she did. With great composure and ease, the veteran from Carmel, Indiana, buried the ball into the bottom right corner beyond the reach of the Rhodes goalkeeper to give WashU a 1-0 lead.

“Let’s Go WashU, Let’s Go!” chanted a group of young girls who came to support the team in the stands.

This past Sunday, women’s soccer fought its way to a commanding 4-0 victory against Rhodes College to record its second win in three days. The Bears had previously beaten DePauw College 4-0 Friday evening. With these wins, the team improves their season record to 5-0, remaining undefeated. Not only did the team manage to stay undefeated, but it also recorded another shutout — their fifth of the season. Led by senior goalkeeper Sid Conner, the Bears have yet to concede a single goal this season, making them the most formidable defensive unit in Division III women’s soccer right now. This impressive defensive catalyst was backed by an offensive engine that scored eight goals in those two games, bringing the season total to 23 goals so far. 

“I feel like our women are really starting to understand what we’re trying to do on the training pitch and transfer it over to the game field,” Conlon said. “I mean, when you go that deep and everyone’s running, you want them to run in the game. I’m just proud of them for understanding what we’re trying to do from the whole team.” 

WashU vs. DePauw University

On Friday, Sept. 15th, WashU women’s soccer cruised to a comfortable 4-0 victory against DePauw University. 

From the first whistle, the Bears dominated the game both defensively and offensively. The team recorded 17 shots in the game — 13 of them coming from the second half — compared to DePauw’s 3 shots total. 

“I think the defense starts with our forwards and everyone being on the same page from a team defense standpoint,” Coach Conlon said. “Then when our backline is getting in one v one, isolated situations, they’re doing a good job of handling it because they are keeping us organized in the back.”

With great control of the game, the Bears’ positive start was rewarded with a goal in the 21st minute of the game. Junior midfielder Gaelen Clayton found herself in a goal shuffle inside the penalty box, surrounded by white and dark-blue shirts alike. But with determination, the junior applied enough pressure to bypass the DePauw defense, giving her team a well-deserved 1-0 lead. 

The Bears continued to dominate the game. The constant pressure on DePauw wouldn’t be rewarded until two minutes before the conclusion of the first half, when the Bears were awarded a penalty kick. Greven stepped up to take the penalty. 

The Bears would go on to score two more goals in the second half thanks to a counter-attack, breakaway goal by sophomore midfielder Grace Ehlert in the 58th minute as well as the first career goal for first-year Alexandra Weinmeister in the 75th minute.

WashU vs. Rhodes

“I think the first half we came out a little slow, then played to our standards,” said junior Meryl Mckenna. “But then I think in the second half, we came out strong, we were able to [play to our standards].”

On Sunday, the Bears faced Rhodes College. In a contentious game, the first half was overshadowed by several slide tackles and collisions that brought great entertainment to the common viewer, but not to several parents watching who  expressed their concerns and displeasure to the referee. “Hey ref, what was that?” one parent shouted after a WashU player was brought down by a challenge. 

But as the game resumed in the second half, the Bears brought their own intensity and energy to the match.

“[Coach Conlon]… reminded us [at halftime that] this is our field; we can defend it,” Mckenna said. “We played our standards, moved the ball our way — and then there’s obviously a lot of tactical elements that went into it, but that was the main message.”

The Bears’ intensity was rewarded when in the second half, a shot toward Rhodes’ goal hit one of its defenders in the penalty box, rewarding WashU with a penalty. Like the previous game against DePauw, Greven calmly stepped up to the plate, slotting the ball away for a much deserved 1-0 lead.

But the team was not done just yet. In more ways than one, that penalty goal opened a rain of goals that saw the women’s team cruise to yet another victory.

Specifically, in the 61st minute of the game, graduate student Samantha McKibben found herself in the penalty box. Scrambling to try and place the ball home, McKibben managed to direct the ball past a Rhodes player with enough pressure, giving WashU its second goal of the afternoon. 

As has been the case all season, you couldn’t talk about the Bears’ Sunday win without mentioning the defensive catalyst that has proven to be a nightmare for opponents. For McKenna and Conlon, this defense begins with their goalkeeper and the entire defensive backline, which has supplied much needed leadership to keep everyone up front organized. 

“I think in the second half, we decided to hold the ball a little bit and create numbers around the ball and a good technical ability which turned into goals,” Conlon said. “But it all starts with keeping the ball in the back three [defenders].”

“There’s a lot of communication said obviously from the back organizing us,” McKenna added. “We pressed together, shifted together, [and] all of that starts with Sid and then carries up. But we were all on the same page and that really helps.”

The Bears’ systematic approach to the game proved beneficial, as the team would go on to score two more goals into Rhodes College’s net in the 71st and 89th minute . 

The team travels to Illinois this Wednesday to face off against Illinois Wesleyan University. This game will be followed with another home contest against Rose-Hulman University on Friday night to finish off the Bears’ non-conference play. They then welcome Emory University next month — a team who beat the Bears 3-0 last year and will likely be their toughest opponent so far. The University Athletic Association (UAA) is known to be one of the toughest conferences in NCAA DIII. When asked if the team has delivered a strong statement to their conference rivals, Conlon responded by saying that it is still early in the season, and that his team can expect its UAA opponents to be strong and prepared.

“I think earlier in the year, I think every UAA team is gonna be really good and prepared for each other,” he said. “We got another two weeks and that’s a long time and a short season. So I think we’ll get a lot more preparation. I think our UAA opponents have a lot more preparation and everyone will be ready come October.”