The WashU women went 17-2-4 last season and were the NCAA Division III national runner-ups. (Photo: Primo Greenway)
With the new season set to begin in three weeks, the national soccer rankings are being released this week.
At the NCAA Division III level for women’s soccer, the Washington University Bears were ranked No. 2 in the country in the United Soccer Coaches poll.
The Bears had a magnificent season last year. They went 17-2-4 and advanced all the way the national championship game, which they lost 1-0 to Cal Lutheran.
WashU began last year by winning its first 12 games and went unbeaten in each of its first 15 contests. The Bears won the UAA league championship, then won five straight games in the NCAA Tournament to advance to the national championship game.
This year, WashU will be bringing back a number of its top players, including senior leading point scorer Gaelen Clayton, who had nine goals and five assists last year, and junior playmakers Grace Ehlert and Ella Koleno.
Ehlert led the Bears with 10 goals last season and Kolena led the team with six assists.
Cal Lutheran was the preseason No. 1 pick. Messiah University in Mechanicsburg, Pa., the team WashU beat in last year’s national semifinals, was chosen No. 3, while the other Final Four team from last year, Tufts University of Medford, Mass., was picked No. 4.
WashU will face five other teams named in the preseason poll this season. The first matchup will be against Calvin University, which is ranked No. 15, in a road game in Grand Rapids, Mich., on September 23.
The other four contests will all come in a row against UAA league foes No. 10 NYU (October 19), No. 19 Carnegie-Mellon (October 25), No. 16 Case Western Reserve (October 27), and No. 6 Rochester (November 3). The first three of those contests will be home games at Francis Olympic Field, while the final one will be a road game in Rochester, N.Y.
WashU will play its season opener on Friday, August 30, in a home game against Trine University.
United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III Women’s Soccer Pre-season Poll
| Rank | School | W-L-T |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Lutheran University | 19-1-6 |
| 2 | Washington University | 17-2-4 |
| 3 | Messiah University | 21-2-1 |
| 4 | Tufts University | 11-5-5 |
| 5 | Christopher Newport University | 19-0-3 |
| 6 | University of Rochester | 15-1-5 |
| 7 | University of Wisconsin-La Crosse | 20-1-2 |
| 8 | John Carroll University | 16-2-5 |
| 9 | Amherst College | 18-2-1 |
| 10 | New York University | 14-3-2 |
| 11 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 21-4-1 |
| 12 | Virginia Wesleyan University | 17-4-2 |
| 13 | Loras College | 18-2-1 |
| 14 | Bowdoin College | 11-5-5 |
| 15 | Calvin University | 16-2-3 |
| 16 | Case Western Reserve University | 12-2-4 |
| 17 | Johns Hopkins University | 16-3-2 |
| 18 | Hardin-Simmons University | 17-2-3 |
| 19 | Carnegie Mellon University | 12-1-6 |
| 20 | William Smith College | 14-1-4 |
| 21 | Williams College | 10-4-5 |
| 22 | Pomona-Pitzer Colleges | 16-1-3 |
| 23 | University of Hartford | 16-2-0 |
| 24 | The College of New Jersey | 16-3-1 |
| 25 | McDaniel College | 11-4-5 |
Records shown are final 2023 records.
Also receiving votes: Misericordia University, Rowan University, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, University of Chicago, Rochester Institute of Technology, Emory University, Simpson College, Montclair State University, University of Southern Maine.
2024 WashU Women’s Soccer Schedule
| Date | Time | At | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 30, 2024 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | Trine University | Francis Olympic Field |
| September 1, 2024 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Home | Centre College | Francis Olympic Field |
| September 6, 2024 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | North Central | Francis Olympic Field |
| September 10, 2024 (Tuesday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Westminster College (MO) | Fulton, Mo. |
| September 13, 2024 (Friday) | 6:30 p.m. | Away | DePauw | Greencastle, Ind. |
| September 14, 2024 (Saturday) | 2 p.m. | Neutral | Rhodes College | Greencastle, Ind. |
| September 17, 2024 (Tuesday) | 5 p.m. | Home | Illinois Wesleyan | Francis Olympic Field |
| September 21, 2024 (Saturday) | 12 p.m. | Away | Rose-Hulman | Terre Haute, Ind. |
| September 23, 2024 (Monday) | 2 p.m. | Away | #15 Calvin University | Grand Rapids, Mich. |
| September 25, 2024 (Wednesday) | 6 p.m. | Away | Webster University | Fenton, Mo. / World Wide Technology Soccer Park |
| October 1, 2024 (Tuesday) | 5 p.m. | Home | Greenville | Francis Olympic Field |
| October 5, 2024 (Saturday) | 10 a.m. | Away | Emory | Atlanta, Ga. |
| October 6, 2024 (Sunday) | 10 a.m. | Away | Piedmont | Demorest, Ga. |
| October 11, 2024 (Friday) | 10 a.m. | Away | Brandeis | Waltham, Mass. |
| October 19, 2024 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Home | #10 New York University | Francis Olympic Field |
| October 25, 2024 (Friday) | 3 p.m. | Home | #19 Carnegie Mellon | Francis Olympic Field |
| October 27, 2024 (Sunday) | 11 a.m. | Home | #16 Case Western Reserve | Francis Olympic Field |
| November 3, 2024 (Sunday) | 10 a.m. | Away | #6 Rochester | Rochester, N.Y. |
| November 9, 2024 (Saturday) | 11 a.m. | Away | University of Chicago | Chicago, Ill. |