Owen Culver dodges a Rochester defender. (Photo by Maddix Cradlebaugh | Student Life)

This past Sunday, the Washington University men’s soccer team (7-7-1) battled the Rochester University Yellowjackets (8-2-5) in their penultimate game of the University Athletic Association (UAA) season. Though the Bears dominated ball possession throughout the game, they were unable to win the match due to the Yellowjackets’ strong defense. The game ended 1-0  with the Yellowjackets on top. 

The match was played on home turf for the Bears at Francis Olympic Field. As the whistle blew to start the first half, both teams came onto the turf with confidence. Despite the rain and cold weather conditions, the Bears and the Yellowjackets played neck-and-neck, grappling for a win. 

The Bears managed to take control of the ball early on in the game, generating multiple scoring opportunities, but none reached the back of the goal. The Yellowjackets tried their best to get control of the ball but had limited success as the Bears put on a strong offensive front. Senior Owen Culver and junior Landon Green played with much zeal, producing most of the critical plays for WashU throughout the match. Culver created a match-high of seven shots, three of which were on target. Culver has been on fire for the Bears, scoring five goals in their previous three matches. But unfortunately for Culver, on Sunday, all of his shots on target were saved by the Rochester goalkeeper. Green also produced multiple attempts for the Bears, but none of his four shots throughout the game were on target. Although the Bears outshot the Yellowjackets 5-1 in the opening 45, the first half ended with both teams tied.

Once both teams came back onto the field for the second half of the game, the Bears continued their dominance on the offensive front. However, even though the Bears had 13 attempted shots during the second half of the match, Yellowjackets’ goalie Santino Lupica-Tondo ensured no shot reached the back of the goal, making five saves throughout the match.

In the 66th minute of the game, the Yellowjackets capitalized on their one golden chance of the game. After an unfortunate turnover, they gained control of the ball in the midfield. As they raced down the right side of the field to score, the Bears were unable to defend against them. Rochester senior Santi Ponce Ocampo got possession of the ball and sent a shot to the far side of the goal that WashU freshman goalie Cal L’Hommedieu was not able to save, giving the Yellowjackets their first goal of the game. 

“Sometimes, when we give up goals, we can definitely point to our team not performing the way they need to. But [over the course of the season] it [has] gotten better, and [we have] reduced how many times we make those kinds of errors. It’s a team with a lot of talent,” coach Joe Clarke said about the goal his team conceded. 

With less than 30 minutes of the match remaining, the Bears attempted to mount a comeback — but to no avail. This was WashU’s first loss against Rochester since 2017. Despite the defeat, Clarke remained positive about his team’s performance.

“The guys played fantastic [in today’s match]. Rochester scored on the only chance [they had], and their goalkeeper played a great game. Every single player on our team played well [today]; we just did not get [the] results we wanted,” he said after the match.

Green shared a similar sentiment, saying, “[We were] disappointed with the result of today’s game. It would have been nice to come out and beat this team, [given our efforts]. [Our team is a] good group of people. Hopefully, we can end the season on a high note against UChicago.”

The Bears look to rebound when they host UAA rival University of Chicago on Saturday, Nov. 4. Despite WashU’s three-game win streak — the longest of the season — coming to an end, the Bears look to end the season on a high note in their final game of the season. To do so, they will face a tough task from the nation’s No. 21 team. The match, which will be preceded by a celebration of WashU’s seniors for Senior Day, will be on home turf at Francis Olympic Field at 1:30 p.m.

From earlier in conference play: 

Men’s soccer triumphs over Case Reserve and Carnegie to earn its first conference wins of the season