Box Score St. Louis, Mo., November 13, 2021 – The No. 6 Washington University in St. Louis women's soccer team scored three first-half goals en route to a 4-0 win over Beloit in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday at Francis Olympic Field.
The Bears move on to host Dominican (Ill.) tomorrow at 1 p.m. for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16. Dominican defeated Hanover, 2-1, in the first round.
WashU wasted no time in putting a point on the board, as senior Erin Flynn took a pass from Jess Shapiro just 4:50 in to give the Bears a 1-0 edge. The goal marks Flynn's team-leading sixth of the year.
Senior Gabbie Cesarone scored her first of two goals on the day in the 13th minute, as she took a pass from Flynn off a corner kick and headed the ball into the left side of the net, giving the Bears a 2-0 lead.
It was Cesarone again, scoring the third goal of the game in the 18th minute on a pass from Shapiro. The assist gives Shapiro a team-leading five assists on the season.
Following a 3-0 first half, the Bears added another goal 15 minutes into the second. First-year Nicole Gulati started the play with a short shot on goal, which was saved by goalkeeper Briana Arteaga. The ball bounced away and junior Sydney Essler collected it and fired it into the back of the net, extending WashU's lead to 4-0.
WashU's offense pressured Beloit from the opening whistle, registering its first corner kick just 21 seconds into play. Flynn put the first shot on goal, which was saved by starting goalkeeper Audrey Ketterer, but deflected out of bounds, which resulted in the corner kick prior to the first goal.
Shapiro had a chance in the 27th minute, but Arteaga made the stop. Junior Leandre Pestcoe put a shot on target in the 71st minute – the last shot-on-goal of the game – but that ball was also saved.
The Bears offense registered 18 total shots, including eight on goal, while WashU's defense did not allow a single shot by Beloit. The Bears also earned 14 corner kicks to the Bucs zero.
In the net, sophomore Sidney Conner notched her ninth shutout of the year and now has a goals-against average of 0.40 which ranks among the top 20 in Division III.
WashU will take on Dominican tomorrow afternoon and the winner of the game will advance to face the winner of St. Catherine and Wis.-La Crosse next weekend in the sectionals.
