Winter is coming, and while the thought of relaxing at home for the holidays may pacify some students, the Washington University women’s soccer team must stay sharp for its final week of tournament action. On Friday, the Bears will square off in the city of fountains against No. 1 Messiah College (22-0-2) with a chance to advance to the finals the next day.

The weather is colder and the days are shorter, but the Washington University women’s soccer team does not seem to be slowing down. In the opening rounds of the NCAA Division III tournament in Granville, Ohio, the Bears took down York College 4-0 on Saturday afternoon, and then followed up with a 1-0 victory against Denison University on Sunday.

On Saturday, both the Washington University men’s and women’s soccer teams travelled to the Windy City to take on the University of Chicago in their regular season finales. With a University Athletic Association title on the line, women defeated the Maroons 2-0, clinching the conference title and an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in the process.

Senior forward Olivia Lillegraven notched two goals late in the second half to propel the No. 7 Washington University women’s soccer team over University Athletic Association (UAA) rival Emory University 2-0 on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta.

It was November of last year when Olivia Lillegraven had to watch from the sidelines as the Washington University women’s soccer team was upset 1-0 by University of Puget Sound in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.

In what has become a common theme this year, the Washington University women’s soccer team called upon the foot of senior Olivia Lillegraven to inject much-needed offense—and for the fourth and fifth time this season she provided, netting two goals in six minutes and leading the Bears to a 3-1 victory over No. 23 Wheaton College on Saturday afternoon.

Behind a balanced scoring attack, the No. 1 Washington University women’s soccer cruised to a 4-0 victory over Greenville College on Tuesday night at Francis Field to improve to 6-0 on the young season.

Following a record-setting 20 victories last season, but a third consecutive heartbreaking defeat in the NCAA Quarterfinals, the No. 4 Washington University women’s soccer team returns to the field this fall hungrier than ever for a deep postseason run.