Sports | Women's Soccer
Women’s soccer wins program’s second-ever national championship

Sidney Conner and the Bears celebrate after winning the National Championship. (Courtesy of Anne Marie Soleta)
They say “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” but the Division III national championship trophy is coming home to St. Louis with the WashU women’s soccer team. For the second time in program history, the Bears are national champions, after defeating No. 11 William Smith College 3-0 on Dec. 8, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
“I’m just so proud of everybody, so excited for us,” graduate student Ally Hackett said after the game. “It’s been a tough few months, and to get the job done, and know that all the hard work we’ve put into it has been worth it is just so rewarding and so exciting.”
In 2015, WashU made the national championship game and fell to Williams College to finish as national runners-up. One year later, the Bears found themselves back in the title game and won.
This year, the Bears repeated history.
After finishing as national runners-up in 2023, the Bears left no doubt who the best team was in 2024. WashU has been ranked No. 1 since early September and completed the first unbeaten season in program history.
“For the entire senior class, the idea was ‘we want to be back [in the national championship] one more time and win,’” senior midfielder Gaelen Clayton said after the game. “Everything we’ve done up until now has been about getting back here.”

With the tournament win, the Bears become the first team in program history to go an entire season without a loss. (Courtesy of Anne Marie Soleta)
For the fourth consecutive game, the Bears were shut out in the first half. Though WashU had the majority of possession, William Smith proved a tough opponent. Each team had three shots in the half and went scoreless into the break.
“William Smith is a great team, and we were able to capitalize on a couple openings,” Conlon said. “It was just a great battle.”
Six minutes into the second period, first-year forward Olivia Clemons tore down the field before a Herons defender tackled her in the box. The ref blew her whistle for a WashU penalty kick — its second in the tournament.
Graduate student Ally Hackett, whose spot kick last year sent the Bears to the Final Four, stepped up with just the Herons’ goalie to beat. As in the previous year’s tournament, she sent the ball past the keeper and into the net to put WashU up 1-0.
“Huge credit to our offense, and Olivia Clemons for drawing that foul,” Hackett said about the penalty kick. “ I stepped up there because that’s something we’ve been working on all season, and I’m just happy that I had the opportunity and could bury it, but we practiced those for a reason.”
After the goal, the Bears continued applying pressure on the William Smith defense. Sophomore Madison Foley came close to adding a second goal when she put the ball in the back of the net but was ruled offside by the referee.
In the 76th minute, the Bears doubled their lead with Clemons’ 22nd goal this season. She received the ball near midfield, split two defenders, and then slid the ball past the goalie on a one-on-one.
Clemons, who finished with the third most goals in one season of any WashU player ever and the most for a first-year, scored or assisted in all six of WashU’s postseason games, and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Offensive Player. Hackett, junior Grace Ehlert, and graduate student Sidney Conner joined her on the All-Tournament team.

Senior Gaelen Clayton scored WashU’s third and final goal in the win over William Smith. (Courtesy of Anne Marie Soleta)
Just 75 seconds after Clemons’ goal, Clayton finished off the scoring for WashU. When a corner kick was cleared to the edge of the box, she fired a volley into the top right corner of the net.
“I sat in the box, and my mind just went blank for a couple moments,” Clayton said. “Then I saw it in the top corner of the net.”
As it has all season, WashU’s defense stood strong when it was needed. The Bears had their fourth straight shutout and 18th of the season, a program record. Conner made five saves in the game, including a diving save on a free kick with six minutes to play.
“It all comes down to discipline for this team,” Hackett said. “We defend as a team. It starts up at the top, and it is hard to do for 90 minutes, and it is something we pride ourselves on keeping focused and locked in for the full 90 to ensure that we get that clean sheet as often as we can.”

Senior Emma Riley McGahan and the WashU backline set a program record with 18 shutouts. (Courtesy of Anne Marie Soleta)
In the 89th minute of the game, senior midfielder Nicole Schmidt was given a yellow card for a slide tackle, which was upgraded to a red card after a video replay. It didn’t matter much though, as the Bears stormed the field to celebrate shortly after.
With the win, the Bears wrap up a historic season. The team recorded its first unbeaten regular season since 2018, won its second consecutive conference title, and set the program record for wins and single-season shutouts.
“We never got too high, we never got too low, we never lost our focus,” Conlon said. “We just kept doing what this group was capable of doing.”
The Bears were led by seven seniors — Schmidt, Clayton, Olivia Foster, Sara Giannotti, Katie Leeker, Emma Riley McGahan, and Meryl McKenna — and three graduate students — Conner, Hackett, and Sam McKibben — who will now leave WashU as national champions.
“There is no better way to go out,” Hackett said after the game.
After the game, Conlon said this graduating class was “special.”
“I don’t think you can do anything special without special people leading the way by great example, and I think that’s exactly what these seniors are. They’re special human beings… Their play is one thing; their leadership and friendship is really what propelled us to be what we are.”

The Bears pose for a photo after Sunday’s championship win. (Alonzo Everett Media | Courtesy of WashU Athletics)
Junior Sports Editor Matt Eisner contributed reporting to this article.
This article was originally published at 5:05 p.m. CST. It was updated at 6:31 p.m. CST to include grammatical edits and additional quotes from Jim Conlon. It was updated again at 9:45 p.m. CST to include additional quotes from Ally Hackett.