Senior Zach Susee scored the Bears’ lone goal in their win over Case Western. (Matt Eisner | Managing Sports Editor)

This past Saturday, Oct. 11, the No. 4 men’s soccer team traveled to play University Athletic Association (UAA) opponents Case Western Reserve University. Despite several injuries at the start of the season, this year is panning out to be the team’s most successful since 2021, when it was ranked No. 3 and won the UAA Championship.  

The Bears came into this game with a 9-1 record on the back of eight straight wins, and last Saturday, they began conference play with a convincing 4-0 win over No. 12 Brandeis.

This Saturday, while the Spartans outpaced the Bears in shots and shots on goal, WashU brought back the lead in the most important statistic: goals. They won 1-0 with a goal by senior Zach Susee in the 21st minute.

The Spartans got off to a quick start, firing three shots in the first 17 minutes, with junior goalkeeper Cal L’Hommedieu being called on to make a couple of saves. 

However, it was the Bears who grabbed a rather fortunate goal against the run of play. After earning a corner, Susee stepped up to take the ball. He delivered it to the near post, and amidst the crowd of players, nobody cleared the ball as it bounced into the net. Despite deflections off players from both teams, Susee was credited with the goal for his first of the season.

“[Susee’s] goal was huge for us,” L’Hommedieu wrote in a statement to Student Life. “Case [Western] is a disciplined team that doesn’t concede a lot of goals, so for us to get an early goal and let the game open up a bit was massive. We’re at our best when the space between the opponents gets bigger and we can find solutions between the lines.”

However, the Spartans maintained their foot on the gas for the rest of the first half. L’Hommedieu saw four more shots head his way, but only needed to make one save. For his contributions against Case Western, L’Hommedieu was named UAA Defensive Player of the Week. 

In the second half, the Bears challenged the Spartans’ defense. First-year forward Sebastian Valdes, who has had the most playing time out of any player for the team outside of L’Hommedieu, had the team’s first shot of the half in the 49th minute. First-year Daniel Kochen and Susee then forced back-to-back saves in the span of two seconds in the 60th minute.

Despite increased offensive pressure from both sides, L’Hommedieu made two more crucial saves to shutout the Spartans, securing the 1-0 win for the Bears.

The starting defensive core for the Bears, made up of L’Hommedieu, junior Quentin Gomez, first-year Miles Newman, and sophomores Quentin Wallace and Luca Violone, earned their third consecutive third clean sheet.

 “I think we’ve grown a lot as a defensive unit,” L’Hommedieu wrote. “A lot is asked of our back line because of the way we play. They have to be switched on all 90 minutes, and understand how each other plays, and that just takes time. Everyone who has been a part of the defense this year has put in a lot of work to become a more cohesive unit and I think that’s been reflected over the last few games.”

Susee spearheaded the attack in this game, leading the line with two shots on goal. Overall, the Bears were outshot 10-8 and had to soak up pressure for large parts of the match, but Susee’s unexpected goal ensured the Bears return with another win under their belt.

Now 2-0, the Bears sit squarely atop the UAA standings. Their next conference clash, and the team’s Latiné Heritage Games, are this Sunday, Oct. 19, against Carnegie Mellon, who are 0-0-2 in UAA play thus far.