The Bears finished off their regular season unbeaten – a feat they last accomplished in 2018. (Bri Nitsberg | Managing Photo Editor)

For the first time since 2018, the No. 1 WashU women’s soccer team ends the regular season unbeaten. In its final match before the postseason, WashU tied The University of Chicago 1-1 on Nov. 9.

The Bears regular season record of 17-0-2, their best in the last five years, was enough to earn the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship last weekend with a 2-0 victory over the No. 15 University of Rochester and a berth to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. An unbeaten season also brings the hope of hosting the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament on Nov. 16-17, as the Bears did in their 2023 run to the national championship game.

“It’s something we’re proud of,” senior Meryl McKenna said. “I think, it’s not necessarily something we … always expected thinking back to preseason. But, we always take it one game at a time, and I think that mentality helped us get there.”

However, McKenna noted that despite the Bears stellar regular season record, when tournament play starts, “it’s essentially zero-zero again.”

Only five minutes into the match against UChicago, WashU’s offense continued its dominant form. Senior Gaelen Clayton broke past a UChicago defender and crossed the ball to McKenna, who slotted the ball into the back of the net to put WashU up 1-0.

“It meant a lot,” McKenna said about scoring the goal, her fifth of the season. “Gaelen did a great job [to] take it down the wing and get the cross off. And we always joke [that] as soon as I see Gaelen take it down the wing, I got to get to the back post … because you know she’s gonna take them [on] and play that ball. So, I was happy to finish up her [cross] and [for] the whole team to get us ahead.”

However, less than 10 minutes later, the Maroon responded, heading a ball over graduate student goalkeeper Sidney Conner, who has been a stalwart for the Bears’ back line during her five years at WashU. This tied the game 1-1, where the score would remain until the final whistle 75 minutes later.

The Bears’ defense dominated throughout the match. Led by graduate student Ally Hackett, senior Emma Riley McGahan, and Conner — who all played the full 90 minutes — WashU’s defense held the Maroon to only five shots and three corner kicks. 

Despite a hard-pressing offense, two early shots in the second half from sophomore Sophie Viscovich and senior Sara Giannotti that went off the woodwork, along with a late shot by Viscovich with five minutes left, the Bears were unable to capitalize, tying the Maroon for the fifth straight time. 

With the draw, the Bears, who have been nearly unstoppable in the regular season, will now turn their attention to the NCAA Tournament, where they finished as national runners-up last season.

The Bears’ No. 1 ranking in Division III and a perfect UAA season not only secure them a spot in the national tournament but also the possibility to host the round of 64 and 32 in St. Louis. In the NCAA tournament, where games often come down to a single goal or penalty kick, having a home-field advantage can make the difference. In 2023, the Bears defeated then No. 11 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in their last game at Francis Field, sending the Bears to Salem, Va. and the Final Four. Many factors — including how WashU is hosting a football game next Saturday, Nov. 12 — play into whether or not the Bears will host the tournament in St. Louis. The team will learn whether it is hosting and who it will be competing against when the tournament bracket is released on Monday, Nov. 11.

Despite transitioning from conference play to the national stage, the team’s approach remains exactly the same — to go one game at a time — according to head coach Jim Conlon.

“The mindset is exactly the same if not a little bit more focused on one game at a time. You know, you don’t look at the bracket as 64 teams in there. You don’t have to beat 63 other teams. You got to beat one team at a time. And if you’re lucky, you get six chances at that,” he said.

Editors note: On Monday afternoon the NCAA announced that WashU women’s soccer will play DePauw University in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Francis Field on Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. The winner of that match will face the winner of the match between Simpson College and UW-La Crosse on Nov. 17 at 7:00p.m.