Senior Kenvorris Campbell rushed for 142 yards, including an 80 yard touchdown, in a win over Illinois Wesleyan. (Sydney Strominger | Student Life)

While many WashU students were relaxing during their fall break, WashU’s student athletes were busy in competition. Both of WashU’s soccer teams began conference play in Atlanta, football rebounded after being blown out by the No. 1 team in the country last week, cross-country excelled in a pre-nationals meet, and volleyball played a mid-week non-conference game. Here’s everything you need to know about WashU sports from the week of Sept. 30-Oct. 6.

Football

After a 49-9 loss to No. 1 North Central College, football bounced back with a 33-23 victory over Illinois Wesleyan University. WashU took a 33-8 lead on a pair of rushing touchdowns from senior Kenvorris Campbell and junior Fred Ware and three touchdown passes from senior quarterback Clark Stephens, but the Titans made the game close with two touchdowns in the final few minutes of the third quarter. After two straight away games, the Bears will return to St. Louis to host Carthage College, who finished tied for seventh in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin last season, on Saturday, Oct. 12.

No. 1 Women’s Soccer

After beating Greenville University 7-0 on Wednesday, No. 1 women’s soccer took down No. 13 Emory University 2-1, winning their first University Athletic Association (UAA) game of the season. In a back-and-forth game, goals by first-year Olivia Clemons and sophomore Madison Foley were enough to overcome the Eagles, who brought the game within one score on a late goal. The next day, WashU beat non-conference opponent Piedmont University 9-0, their biggest win since 2016. On Friday, Oct. 11, the Bears will travel to No. 21 Brandeis University for another conference matchup.

Men’s Soccer

Coming off a 2-0 upset victory over No. 25 Ohio Northern University, men’s soccer fell 5-2 in their conference opener to defending UAA champions Emory. A long-range free kick from junior Zach Susee gave the Bears a lead in the first half, but Emory scored 5 in the second half to win 5-2. WashU will look to bounce back against Brandeis next Friday.

No. 10 Women’s Cross-Country

At the Nike XC Twilight Meet in Terre Haute, Indiana, the No. 10 women’s cross-country team took second and fourth place in two runs. In the first race, an open 6k race, senior Sophie Bekins was the top finisher, and the Bears finished second as a team, 1 point behind the No. 2 University of Chicago. In the second race, a Pre-National Division III Championships race, hosted on the same course as the D-III Championships in late November, WashU finished fourth out of 44 schools.

No. 21 Men’s Cross-Country

The men’s cross-country team finished second in the open 8k and fourth in the pre-nationals race at the Nike XC Twilight Meet. Sophomore Will Liu won the men’s open 8k, and the team finished second behind No. 3 University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. In the evening’s later race, WashU finished fifth. Graduate student Cullen Capuano led the team with a tenth place finish out of 405 runners.

No. 9 Women’s Volleyball

In a non-conference matchup on Wednesday, Oct. 2, WashU’s women’s volleyball team swept Illinois College 3-0. Though the first set was a tight 28-26 win, the Bears pulled away to win the final two frames 25-22 and 25-13. The Bears’ next matchup is on Wednesday, Oct. 9 against Westminster College.