Sophomore Sophie Viscovich plays the ball in the win over North Central. (Marco Zhang | Student Life)

With time dwindling in the first half against North Central College, No. 1 Washington University women’s soccer found themselves in a familiar situation — tied 1-1. However, after first-year forward Olivia Clemons connected with a corner kick from sophomore midfielder Allie Goulding to put WashU ahead 2-1 with seven minutes left in the half, the Bears never looked back. Three second-half goals landed a third-straight decisive win in three games to start the season for the Bears, who defeated North Central 5-1 on Sept. 6.

On Sept. 10, the Bears, who now sit back on top of Division III, continued their winning ways with a 3-0 win over Westminster College in their first away game of the season. Junior Kerrigan Ferland, sophomore Anna Rosato, and junior Grace Ehlert scored for WashU in the dominant victory.

Against North Central, the Bears had an offensive charge that was led by Clemons, who achieved her first collegiate hat-trick and now leads WashU with five goals in three games. Clemons, in her third game for the Bears, showed her speed, tearing past North Central defenders twice to score two of her three goals on breakaway plays to earn the University Athletic Association’s Athlete of the Week honor.

“I think we’re putting her in positions of success around her teammates, and I think it’s just allowed her to play to her abilities,” head coach Jim Conlon said about Clemons’ performance. “I don’t think we’re asking her to do too much. We’re not asking her to be our leading scorer. We’re not asking her to put the weight of the team on it. We’re just asking her to play within herself. And in the first three games, it’s allowed her to capitalize on some goals.”

Graduate-student defender Ally Hackett, who earned second-team All-American honors last season, recorded her first two goals of the season. Hackett, who brings years of experience at both the Division I and III level, has been a key part of the Bears’ defense since transferring from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2023. Last season, she was named a second-team All-American and played the second-most minutes of any WashU player, only behind graduate goal-keeper Sidney Connor. Against North Central, she showed that she’s also an integral part of the Bears’ set-piece strategy — playing 50 yards up on corner kicks to help the Bears capitalize on opportunities. 

“I think we just expect Ally Hackett to continue to be the player and leader she is, day in and day out,” Conlon said.

Hackett, who is playing in her fourth year of collegiate soccer and second year at WashU, is hoping to enjoy her last season at the collegiate level while cherishing the moment.

“I’m really just focusing on enjoying it, living in the moment, taking it day-by-day,” she said. “We, as a team, have a one-game mentality. So I’m kind of, you know, taking that everyday mentality to hope we can continue to build from each practice in each game, so that we show up our best day in and day out.”

In the 66th minute, with the Bears up only one goal, sophomore defender Regan Cannon was sent off after a second yellow card, leaving WashU to defend their lead down a player. However, the Bears were unphased, finding the net three more times to topple the Cardinals in an effort Conlon described as “unheard of.”

“I thought our team did an absolutely tremendous job of mentally understanding the situation, making the tactical and personnel adjustments to mak[e] sure that we could continue to keep them with only one goal on the scoreboard, which would assure the win,” Conlon said.“With some transitional moments, we were able to capitalize and get some goal-scoring chances, even though [we were] a man down.”

After the win over Westminster, their first game away from home, WashU will continue its road stretch with back-to-back games against DePauw University and Rhodes College on Sept. 13 and 14 in Greencastle, Indiana. The road stretch, the first for the Bears this season, will provide good prep for conference play later down the line, which will take the Bears as far away as Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts.

“I think that’s going to be the big test this week, is going on the road three times and then trying to make sure that we’re maintaining the right mental level of excellence that we’ve got on the field,” Conlon said.

For Hackett, away-games also provide a unique opportunity to prepare for playing in different environments.

“Of course, we love hosting and being at home, but being on the road is a whole ‘nother experience, and it’s a new environment to be in, and it’s fun to just compete elsewhere and take who we are and what we do everywhere we go — we don’t change,” Hackett said. “I think that’s what we’re all looking forward to, is being able to see and test ourselves throughout the season in different places against different great opponents every day.”