Box Score St. Louis, Mo., October 17th, 2021 – The No. 9 Washington University in St. Louis men's soccer team bounced back with a 2-0 shutout victory against Brandeis at Francis Field on Sunday afternoon.
The Bears earn an important UAA victory and move to 8-2-1, (2-1-1 UAA) on the season.
Sunday's contest was Senior Day, and before the game seniors Matt Martin, Alex Jaberi Vivar, Armando Sanchez-Conde, Alistair Shaw, Nao Yanase, Chad Wunderlich, Nolan Wolf, Michael Gemmell, Alex Smith, and Max Panagos were all recognized.
WashU looked to gain the early edge as they stayed on the attack from the opening whistle.
The Bears recorded eight shots in the opening half, as the best looks on-goal were from Shiv Lamba and Sergio Rivas, but the Bears were unable to break the scoreless tie.
Brandeis' opportunities were limited in the first half as WashU's defense set the tone with solid play.
However, the Judges still had a great chance to score late in the first half on a put-back shot attempt with an open goal, but the ball was saved and headed away by Alistair Shaw off the line to keep the contest scoreless on a great defensive play.
In the 51st minute, Sergio Rivas netted the first goal of the contest to put WashU ahead 1-0 on a shot off a pass from Nolan Wolf just inside the 18-yard box.
The Bears' defense was tested in the second half as the Judges tried to break through and tie up the contest, firing off six shot attempts.
WashU eventually put the finishing touches on the game in the 85th minute as Owen Culver found Sergio Rivas who scored for the second time, and more importantly gave the Bears a 2-0 lead.
Rivas leads WashU this season with a team-best seven goals this season.
Shots were even across the board at 11-11, as Sergio Rivas led the Bears with a team-best four shots, with three shots-on-goal.
Matt Martin earned the shutout in goal with five saves on the day. In home contests this season, Martin has allowed just five goals this year.
The Bears are back in action on Saturday at Millikin in non-conference play.
