St. Louis, Mo., Oct. 6, 2019 – A goal by junior Sean Connors and a stellar defensive effort led the Washington University in St. Louis men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over the University of Rochester in the University Athletic Association (UAA) opener for both teams Sunday at Francis Olympic Field in St. Louis.

WashU improved to 6-2-1 and 1-0 in the conference with the win, while Rochester had its seven-match win streak snapped and fell to 7-3 and 0-1 in the UAA.

Rochester outshot WashU 12-11, but the Bears had the 5-0 advantage in corner kicks. Senior goalkeeper Connor Mathes made one save and improved to 2-0.

Rochester outshot WashU 8-5 in the first half, with only two shots on goal combined between the two teams. Mathes came up big late in the first half with a diving save that kept it scoreless at half.

With the game tied in the 78th minute, Connors was fouled which resulted in a free kick 30 yards out. Connors took the kick and bent it around the ball into the back of the net for the game-winner.

The back line of freshman Shiv Lamba, senior Isaac Plutzer, freshman Sergio Rivas and sophomore Alistair Shaw secured the Bears' third-straight shutout.

WashU continues University Athletic Association (UAA) play at Emory on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 1:30 p.m. (ET).

BEAR NOTEBOOK: Rochester leads the all-time series with WashU 16-10-12 … The goal for Connors was his first of the season and second of his career … WashU is 9-1-1 at home in the past two seasons … The Bears have allowed a conference-low five goals this season and is tied for the league lead with six shutouts.