The WashU women’s soccer team advanced to the Final Four for the third straight year in 2025. (Bri Nitsberg | Managing Photo Editor)

They say good things come in threes: For the third consecutive season, the WashU women’s soccer team will play in the Final Four, with WashU in pursuit of its third national championship in program history. WashU will face their University Athletic Association (UAA) rivals, the No. 7 University of Chicago, at 2 p.m. on Dec. 4 in Salem, Virginia with a second consecutive title in their sights. 

“We’re trusting what we do,” junior forward Madi Foley, the winning goalscorer in the Bears’ Elite Eight win, said. “The preparation that we’re putting in is paying off, so we can rely on each other, rely on our plan, and trust that what we’re doing can help us in these tough games.” 

WashU has dominated its opponents on both sides of the ball throughout the first four rounds of the NCAA tournament. In the first two rounds, the WashU offense exploded to outscore Wilmington College and North Central College by a combined 12-1 margin. In the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds, the Bears’ defense recorded two clean sheets against two top-10 teams. WashU defeated the No. 8 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1-0 in regulation in the Sweet 16 but needed a dramatic, overtime winner to beat Messiah. 

Five Bears — senior forwards Ella Koleno and Grace Ehlert, junior midfielder Anna Rosato, and sophomore forwards Cami Colpitts and Olivia Clemons — have each scored twice in the tournament. On defense, the backline of senior Kaci Karl, junior Keira Smyser, and sophomore Addi Soroka have held opponents to just one goal in four games. Clemons, Ehlert, and midfielders junior Sophie Viscovich and sophomore Kate Martin were named first-team All-Region VIII by the United Soccer Coaches after the season.

“We’ve got a couple of key partnerships on our roster,” head coach Jim Conlon said after WashU defeated MIT. “Some people might be the primary headers, some people might be the primary goalscorers, but on any given day, I think the efforts of our women complement each other well.” 

The Bears’ Final Four opponent is arguably the team that came closest to breaking WashU’s 47-game unbeaten streak this year: conference foes, UChicago. WashU women’s soccer has played more games against the Maroons than any other team in program history, but the conference rivals have only played each other in the NCAA tournament once. The lone matchup was last season, when a late Clemons goal sent WashU to the Final Four. Most of UChicago’s top players — forward Mary Stuart Kerrigan and midfielders Lucy Harrison-Caldwell and Jamie Nguyen — were on the field when WashU eliminated them last year. The Maroons advanced to the Final Four with a win over Carleton College.  

The Bears and Maroons played to a 1-1 draw in their final regular season game on Nov. 8. Despite a late onslaught of WashU offense, the UChicago defense held WashU to just one goal and converted an early penalty kick to get on the scoresheet. The Bears’ draw with UChicago was just their fourth tie in the last two seasons. To beat the Maroons in Salem, WashU will have to continue generating lots of shots and be more clinical in finishing its chances. 

The winner of the WashU-Chicago match will face either No. 2 Emory University or No. 3 Tufts University in the national championship game. As a fellow UAA member, both WashU and UChicago faced Emory in the regular season. WashU beat Emory 2-1 on Oct. 26 — Clemons scored an 81st-minute winner to knock off Emory, the then-No. 1 team in the nation. The Eagles beat the No. 6 Pomona-Pitzer Colleges to advance to the Final Four. 

Despite boasting a powerhouse reputation in Division III women’s soccer, the Bears have never faced Tufts, who won the always-competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC) championship this season. The Jumbos knocked off conference opponent No. 12 Middlebury College and the University of Mary Washington to claim their spot in the national semifinals. 

While the field is tough, the Bears are looking ahead to the challenge, and trying not to let their prior success affect their mindset in this year’s tournament. 

“It’s a privilege to be back in the Final Four, but [the team] has emphasized that it’s about this season,” Karl said. “As much success as we’ve had in the past, we’ve got to focus on this team and what we are going to do this year.” 

The Final Four and national championship games will be hosted by Roanoke College in Salem, Virginia. WashU’s opening matchup with UChicago will take place on Thursday, Dec. 4, at 2 p.m. CT, and the national championship will be on Saturday, Dec. 6, at 11 a.m. CT. Both games can be streamed for free on the NCAA website.