In their first game of the season on Tuesday night, the No. 22 Washington University women’s soccer team bombarded Greenville College with 33 shots on their way to trouncing the Panthers in a 5-0 victory.

With five different players scoring for the Bears, head coach Jim Conlon praised the team for its cohesiveness.

“I thought it was just a great team effort. Everyone did the job they were supposed to do. We had five different goal scorers…and came out with a multiple-goal win,” Conlan said.

Senior Sam Ezratty echoed the same sentiment. “Everybody was just really dynamic, we played really high pressure…everyone was working hard to move up the field together,” Ezratty said.

Right out of the gate, the Bears’ offense controlled the tempo, consistently pressuring the Greenville defense.

The Red and Green broke through in the 38th minute when Ezratty headed a corner kick from junior Hannah Rosenberg into the net for a 1-0 Bears advantage.

Just three minutes later, Rosenberg offered another corner kick. This time, it was sophomore Megan Renken who headed the ball for the second goal of the game. By the end of the half, the Bears fired 15 shots compared to only three from Greenville.

The Bears continued their offensive barrage in the second half, with a goal from senior Olivia Lillegraven on an assist from sophomore Rachel Mickelson in the 55th minute.

Under six minutes later, junior Megan Nicklay added an unassisted score.

In the 82nd minutes, the Bears tacked on their final goal courtesy of freshman Maggie Crist off an assist from senior Liz Collins.

As the Bears’ offense steamrolled the Panthers’, the Red and Green’s defense held Greenville to three shots all game, only two of which were on target.

Conlon, always thinking about ways to improve his team’s performance, lent insight into how the girls could step up their already-high level of play in the next game.

“We got to get the ball moving a little faster; we were sloppy with some of our touches,” Conlon said.

The Red and Green will take the field next on Sept. 5th at Cal Lutheran University.