Forward Ella Koleno charges towards the goal, flanked by Maryville defenders in the Bears’ first-round match. (Ella Giere | Student Life)

Entering the NCAA DIII tournament, the Washington University women’s soccer team had hit their first run of adverse form. Two weeks before the regular season ended, the Bears conceded their only two goals allowed of the season in a loss to the University of Rochester. The next week, they were held to a 0-0 stalemate against the University of Chicago. Though the performances were enough to win the University Athletic Association (UAA) title, the No. 2 Bears needed a dominant weekend in the tournament to remind the country that they are national contenders.

They got it. 

Across the weekend’s two games, the Bears put the ball in the back of their opponents’ net six times. Their opponents didn’t score once. While the Bears tallied 40 shots, their opponents logged just four. 

From Saturday’s opening whistle to Sunday’s final tweet, WashU played 180 minutes of top-notch soccer to cruise through Maryville College and Sewanee: The University of the South and earn a spot in the Sweet 16. 

First Round – WashU v. Maryville

While the NCAA tournament brought a new challenge, the Bears entered the competition ready to go toe-to-toe with the nation’s best of the best. After winning the UAA — a conference which had 7 of 8 teams qualify for the postseason and win a first-round match — the Bears were ready for what would come their way. 

“Throughout the season, we play a really tough schedule, which prepares us well,” sophomore Grace Elhert said. “So it’s just trying to take that pressure off and realizing it’s just another game. The intensity and level of play [in the UAA] is really high, so NCAA tournament games feel similar to that. But a lot more [is] at stake, knowing that one loss and your season’s over. So just a new level of intensity comes with the tournament and postseason.”

From the start, the Bears brought the intensity. In the 14th minute of the match, when sophomore Kaci Karl played a ball to the back post, fellow sophomore and All-UAA Second Team recipient, Ella Koleno, beat her defender to tap the ball into the back of the net for her fifth goal of the season.

Just eight minutes later, the Bears doubled their lead. Off of a pass from senior Jess Greven, All-UAA First Team junior Gaelen Clayton cut in on her right foot, smashing the ball into the top right corner for her seventh goal of the season and first in over a month. 

While the offense only converted two of their 16 shots into goals, the Bears’ formidable defense ensured the pair would be sufficient. The back three of graduate student Ally Hackett, senior Sarah Neltner, and All-UAA First Team junior Emma Riley McGahan were quick to put out any chances, and didn’t allow a single shot from their opponents until the 78th minute. 

All-UAA First Team goalkeeper Sidney Conner wasn’t forced into action until the 80th minute, but she was up to the test when needed. When Maryville earned a penalty kick, they appeared to have a window back into the game. Conner quickly shut it down, diving to her right to make a leaping save and hold on to the ball as she fell to the ground. 

“Sid Conner has been a great goalkeeper for her entire career,” head coach Jim Conlon said after the match. “You don’t want to give up a pen. If it goes to 2-to-1, it might get a little dicey late in the game, but she just makes a great read. Then to hold it, not just save it, but to hold it — I mean, Sid Conner’s great.”

From there, the Bears cruised, finishing the game with a 2-0 victory and yet another clean sheet. WashU has still conceded just two goals all season–a mark that puts them four goals ahead of the program record of 6 set in 2018. The win to open the tournament play also provided valuable experience to the Bears going into the rest of knockout play, as Conlon noted after the match. 

“To get that first win kind of settled the nerves. We had a lot of young players play tonight and I was really proud of them doing their job,” he said. “I thought our seniors and upperclassmen that are used to being on the field did a good job of setting the tempo but you get the first win, it kind of settles everything down for the NCAA tournament.”

The Bears celebrate their second round win. (Bri Nitsberg | Student Life)

Second Round – WashU v. Sewanee

The Bears continued their dominance the next night, defeating the Sewanee Tigers 4-0. After a dominant first 20 minutes of play, they found the breakthrough when Koleno set up Ehlert for the opening goal.

“Ella ran onto a long ball, took it downfield, [and] I tried to follow to support her. She had a great pass back to me, then I didn’t feel a lot of pressure on me. I saw it was just me and one defender, so I took a touch and then just took a hit. Luckily got a nice bounce off the crossbar in,” said Ehlert after the match.

Twelve minutes later, Ehlert, who has been named to  All-UAA Second Team, did it again. After beating two defenders, she unleashed a left-footed strike from outside of the box that sailed into the top right corner of the net. The goal, Ehlert’s seventh of the season, puts her level with Clayton atop the WashU scoring charts. 

As the ball hit the net the crowd of students, parents, and Bears fans erupted. Throughout the first two rounds, WashU fans have shown up for the Bears in numbers.

“The crowds have been unbelievably great,” Conlon said. “Love the parents and the St. Louis community, but I think our WashU community and student body has really shown out and I really appreciate the love we have been getting from them.”

From there, the Bears never looked back. Throughout the one-sided affair, they dominated possession, and Sewanee rarely managed to even reach the Bears’ defensive half.

In the 74th minute, the Bears added one more goal to their lead. After junior Meryl McKenna was fouled in the box, the referee quickly pointed to the penalty spot. Greven lined up to take the shot for the Bears, and just like she did against Rochester earlier in the season, took care of business. The ball sailed into the bottom left corner of the goal, propelling the Bears lead to 3-0.

With five minutes left in the game, freshman Julia Moore received the ball and charged down the field through the Tigers’ defense, holding off defenders and sending a last-minute pass to graduate student Madeline Allburn who tapped the ball in for the fourth and final goal of the game. Making her debut in NCAA tournament play, Moore seized the opportunity to help seal victory for the Bears.

“It was a lot of excitement going in, I knew I needed to make a difference. The opportunity presented itself with a great ball from Reagan and then I just slotted it to [Allburn] who had a great finish,” Moore said after the match.

The Bears held on to the 4-0 scoreline, outshooting their opponents 24-2 and not allowing a single shot on goal. Though the Bears were led by impressive individual performances, the wins were the products of an all-around team effort. Across the two games, 24 different players saw the field, and just like the regular season, the Bears were able to count on high-quality showings from all of them.

“We can kind of run teams into the ground with our depth,” said Ehlert, a message that Conlon echoed. 

“I think that’s the great part about this selfless team is hey, you can just call my number and I’ll do my job,” the coach added. “We have a lot of people that can do a lot of different things based on what our opponent might throw at us.”

Sweet 16

With the two wins, the Bears clinched a spot in the NCAA Sweet 16 for the 18th time in program history, and established themselves as a team to watch out for in the national tournament. The Bears will face a tougher test when they take on No. 17 Calvin University, on on Friday, Nov. 17 on Francis Field. The winner will then play either No. 11 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse or No. 21 Loras College on Saturday with a Final Four spot on the line.

For the fourth season in a row, the Bears have made it to the second weekend of the tournament. This year, however, they will hope to become the first team since 2018 to advance past the Elite Eight. Though next weekend will undoubtedly bring steep challenges once again, Ehlert and the Bears are looking forward to it. 

”The team’s super psyched, super pumped. Excited to be playing once again at home for this coming weekend,” she said. “We have a couple of days here to prepare, sharpen our tools focusing on how we can play the best. We’re excited. Looking forward to the Sweet 16.”

The bracket is set: Bears move their name into the “win” column, officially moving onto their sweet sixteen berth. (Bri Nitsberg | Student Life)