Playing in front of the largest crowd of the season under the Francis Field lights, the Washington University men’s soccer team came up short in a 1-0 loss to No. 14 Wheaton College on Friday.

As part of Sophomore Spirit Day, an estimated crowd of 580 came to support the Bears, but the fans left the game disappointed as the defeat dropped the Bears’ season record to 4-2-1.

Freshman back Nick Knight prepares to make a pass on Sept. 15 against Westminister College. Despite eight shot attempts, the Bears remained scoreless in a loss to No. 14 Wheaton College on Friday night.

The game started off strong for Wash. U. with three early shots. In the 11th minute, Wheaton’s goalie deflected a ball straight back to freshman Andrew Zingone in the box, but Zingone was unable to finish the header. After that point, however, the Red and Green had no shots for the rest of the half.

The lack of opportunities by Wash. U. was mainly due to the Wheaton’s control of possession. The Thunder took the momentum from the home team early and had several solid shots on goal, but the biggest moment of the half didn’t come until the 27th minute, when Wheaton had significant control in its attacking third.

After a few quick passes into the box, Wheaton forward Stephen Golz sent a shot on goal, which was deflected by Bears’ goalkeeper Daniel Geanon right back to Golz, who then headed it into an open net. According to freshman Chris Rieger, Wheaton played “extremely physically” in the first half, which led to the game’s lone goal.

“They did a good job on the goal,” Rieger said. “It’s a team effort and we all let each other down on that one. Geanon was outstanding the whole game.”

Freshman Nick Knight passes the ball in his game against Westminster College (Mo.) earlier this month. The Bears lost their game this week against Wheaton College 1-0.

The Bears opened the second half with early shots from close range. Sophomore Noah Lieberman sent a powerful shot from inside the box in the 49th minute, but it missed wide right. In the 51st minute, Lieberman also came close to recording an assist on his pass to Zingone in the box, but Zingone’s shot fell into the hands of the goalkeeper. Sophomore Nick Politan pointed to tactical changes as what shifted the momentum toward the Bears after halftime.

“I think what changed for us in the second half was a bit of a mentality change. We knew we needed the goal and so we were willing to take more tactical risks to get that attacking edge,” Politan said.

The Bears’ offense didn’t create any more quality scoring opportunities until the final moments of the game. In the 89th minute, a cross to just outside the six-yard box led to an open header from Rieger, but the freshman hit it directly into the Wheaton goalkeeper’s hands. Head coach Joe Clarke said that the second half was pretty evenly matched, as both teams orchestrated effective counterattacks.

“Soccer is a game of ebbs and flows. Yes, they got us in tight spots at times, but as soon as we got out of those situations, we got to come right back and do it to them,” Clarke said.

The game ended shortly after Rieger’s near-miss with Wheaton nabbing the 1-0 victory. Despite the defeat, Politan had only positive takeaways from the game.

“Wheaton is a very fast, physical team that can really move the ball, and defensively, specifically in the midfield, we felt we went tit for tat with them and really raised the physicality of our play all over the field,” Politan said.

After the game, Clarke was similarly pleased with his team’s performance against a ranked team, but he acknowledged that the Bears have plenty of room for improvement.

“I think we’re about half as good as we’re capable of becoming. I have absolutely no problems with how we played tonight,” Clarke said.

Friday’s loss was the first of a three-game homestand for the Bears. The Red and Green will play again on Monday at home against Illinois Wesleyan University before beginning University Athletic Association play with a conference bout against No. 7 Emory University on Sunday.