Senior Zach Susee looks to make a play around a Trinity defender. (Ella Giere | Photo Editor)

The last time the WashU men’s soccer team made it to the Sweet 16 was in 2007, when its season ended with a loss to Trinity University. Eighteen years later, history repeated itself, with the Bears once again falling to the Tigers 3-0 on Nov. 22 at Francis Olympic Field. Trinity eliminated WashU from the NCAA Division III tournament, and then it defeated Augsburg University the following day to continue its playoff run and secure a spot in the Final Four.

The loss doesn’t take away from the Bears’ success this year, but it is a bitter ending to the season. WashU became University Athletic Association (UAA) champions for the first time since 2021 and reached its highest national ranking in program history. This impressive regular season performance led to the Bears’ 25th appearance in the NCAA Division III tournament, but the first for every current player on the roster, as well as second-year coach Andrew Bordelon. The Bears have made massive improvements in just a short period of time, going from 8-5-3 last year to 13-3 this year.

“Coming from where we were last year and the year before, the team culture, and everything about our team [this year] just seemed different,” junior defender and team captain, Quentin Gomez, said. “We’re all striving for the same goals and want the same things, which produced the results on the field.”

After two narrow victories for WashU against the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Chicago, the Bears earned their first postseason home game since 2015, taking on Trinity with a chance for both teams to keep their playoff streaks alive. WashU went into the match feeling confident with its exceptional team of players.

“The camaraderie amongst the group is outstanding, unselfish, disciplined, hard working,” Bordelon said. “The list goes on and on. It’s a special group.”

The Tigers began play with intensity and a hunger to win. After three months of continuous gameplay, the Bears were dealing with some injuries to key players. Injuries to senior defender Nate Szpak and first-year forward Wole Adeoye forced Bordelon to start first-year defender Roshan Greene, who had never started in collegiate play, and bring sophomore forward Jamie Lee off the bench, even though Lee played just 24 minutes in the regular season.

With Trinity primarily dominating possession, it took just 13 minutes for the Tigers to get a one-on-one breakaway, a chance that was saved by junior, second team All-UAA goalkeeper, Cal L’Hommedieu. Unlike many other games this year, the Bears’ offense never truly clicked at any point in the first half. Junior all-UAA first team striker Ethan Wirtschafter and senior Zach Susee were the few bright spots in the first half, each with a shot on goal. In the 31st minute, Trinity broke the deadlock. This put pressure on the WashU offense for the rest of the game. 

Going into the second half, the Bears needed a spark to come out of this game with a win and keep their season alive. Trinity continued to maintain the ball in its attacking half of the field, piling the pressure on the already ailing Bears’ defense. 

For the rest of the match, it didn’t get much better for the Bears, as Wirtschafter left the game with an injury. Wirtschafter’s injury was a major loss for WashU, as its offense had scored just three times in its last five games. Now, WashU would have to search for its equalizer without its leading scorer or backup striker. Less than 10 minutes later, the Tigers added an insurance goal with a ball buried into the bottom left corner of the net. In the 82nd minute, Trinity completely put the game out of reach with a half-volley shot into the corner of the goal, extending its lead to 3-0. The statistics tell the tale of the game: Trinity had double the shots of the Bears (10-5), as well as double the corner kicks (4-2), dominating the majority of the game. 

Despite falling short against Trinity, Bordelon is still proud of the team’s performance all season long.

“I thought it was an excellent season,” Bordelon said. “Today, we didn’t come out with the win that we wanted, but I think you saw a reflection of a team that really performed well, like we did throughout the season.”

The Bears still have a lot to look forward to next season, after this playoff run, and with just five seniors graduating. With a young roster, the Bears will gain experience and depth in the upcoming season, helping grow their chemistry as a team. Additionally, the 11 rising seniors are a strong class who have big ambitions for their last year.

“We’re trying to get back to the Sweet 16, but that’ll always be a tough journey,” Gomez said. “We’ll take it game by game, starting with going into the spring, making sure we’re grinding during practices, and our junior class, we’re a pretty strong group. We all have a lot of commitment, so even next year, we keep going, keep trying to do more.”