Teammates pile on Olivia Clemons (right) after her goal with 10 minutes to play lifted WashU to thrilling NCAA Tournament win, Sunday at Francis Olympic Field. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
| NCAA Women’s Soccer | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| #3 U. of Chicago (13-7-2) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| #1 WashU (21-0-2) | 0 | 1 | 1 |
SCORING SUMMARY
| Time | Team | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 80:02 |  | Olivia Clemons (20) Unassisted. |
Cedric Williams
Senior Editor
CLAYTON, MO — The freshman phenom did it again.
The No. 1-ranked and undefeated Washington University women’s soccer team stayed that way and punched its ticket to the NCAA Division III Tournament Final Four on Sunday, thanks to a late goal by freshman forward Olivia Clemons.
The Bears defeated longtime rival, the University of Chicago, 1-0, in a game at Francis Olympic Field and are now headed back to the national semifinals for the second straight year. Last year, WashU made it to the national championship game before falling to Cal Lutheran.
This year, the Bears (21-0-2) are one win away from getting back to the national title game.
On Sunday, WashU did it with brilliant defense and even greater brilliance from Clemons, who broke free up the right side and outran two Chicago defenders to get near Maroons goal with the ball. Then, when U. of Chicago goalkeeper Sophie Pilarski tried to cut off her angle on the right, Clemons fired a fierce shot to her left that got past Pilarski and into the back of the net to give the Bears the lead.
It was Clemons’ 20th goal of the season and fourth game-winner this year, which set off a wild WashU celebration on the field, as the Bears knew they were now only 10 minutes away from going back to the Final Four.
From that point, the WashU defense turned up its energy and did everything it could to prevent any U. of Chicago scoring chances. The Maroons did manage to get two close attempts in the final 10 minutes, but the Bear defense swarmed in to stop one chance and goalkeeper Sidney Conner made a save in the 85th minute to help preserve the lead.
Conner finished with three saves, one of which helped set up Clemons’ break and game-winning goal 16 seconds later.
The Bears controlled the ball for much of what was a tight-knit contest. WashU outshot Chicago 11-5, with nine of its shots on goal to just three for the Maroons.
The WashU Bears celebrate advancing to the D3 Final Four by defeating U. of Chicago on Sunday. (Photo: Thomas Grove)
WashU will play No. 2-ranked Christopher Newport in the national semifinals on Friday, December 6. The Final Four will be played in Las Vegas, with the other game of the day being William Smith versus Emory.
The two winners will play in the national championship game on December 8. All three contests will be streamed live on NCAA.com.
2024 WASHU WOMEN’S SOCCER SCHEDULE
Aug. 30 vs. Trine — W 8-1 (1-0)
Sept. 1 vs. Centre — W 2-1 (2-0)
Sept. 6 vs. North Central — W 5-1 (3-0)
Sept. 10 at Westminster — W 3-0 (4-0)
Sept. 13 at DePauw — W 4-0 (5-0)
Sept. 14 vs. Rhodes — W 3-0 (6-0)
Sept. 17 vs. Illinois Wesleyan — W 4-0 (7-0)
Sept. 21 at Rose-Hulman — W 5-0 (8-0)
Sept. 23 at #22 Calvin — T 0-0 (8-0-1)
Sept. 25 at Webster — W 3-0 (9-0-1)
Oct. 1 vs. Greenville — W 7-0 (10-0-1)
Oct. 5 at #13 Emory* — W 2-1 (11-0-1)
Oct. 6 at Piedmont — W 9-0 (12-0-1)
Oct. 11 at #23 Brandeis* — W 1-0 (13-0-1)
Oct. 19 vs. #17 NYU* — W 3-0 (14-0-1)
Oct. 25 vs. #3 Carnegie Mellon* — W 3-0 (15-0-1)
Oct. 27 vs. Case Western Reserve* — W3-1 (16-0-1)
Nov. 3 at #15 Rochester* — W 2-0 (17-0-1)
Nov. 9 at U. of Chicago* — T 1-1 (17-0-2)
Nov. 16 vs. #16 DePauw** — W 2-0 (18-0-2)
Nov. 17 vs. #8 Simpson**– W 5-1 (19-0-2)
Nov. 23 vs. #4 Colby** — W 1-0 (20-0-2)
Nov. 24 vs. #3 U. of Chicago** — W 1-0 (21-0-2)
Dec. 6 vs. #2 Christopher Newport** — 12:30 pm
* – denotes UAA league game
** – denotes NCAA Tournament game