WHITEWATER, Wis. – A familiar foe awaited the No. 12 Washington University in St. Louis men's soccer team in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday as the Bears took on No. 3 Chicago for the second time in a week after defeating the Maroons on Nov. 8 for the UAA title.
This time the result stayed the same as WashU claimed the regional title with a 1-0 win over Chicago on Sunday afternoon and advances to the Sectional Round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2007.
The Maroons controlled the offensive side of the ball for most of the first half, preventing a shot by the Bears until junior
Ethan Wirtschafter took one that went out right at 42:34. Despite having the 4-1 lead in the first half in shots, junior
Cal L'Hommedieu did not need to make a save as all four were off target.
L'Hommedieu made the first of his four saves in the 53rd minute on a shot low and to the left. A quick move upfield saw senior
Zach Susee take a shot less than a minute later that went high.
Still scoreless going into the 75th minute saw Chicago force another save by L'Hommedieu low and in the middle of the goal. The Bears immediately responded, moving quickly upfield in response once again. This time the ball found the foot of Wirtschafter who fired the ball past the Maroons' keeper at 75:45, giving WashU the 1-0 lead late in the contest.
The Bears had looked to add an insurance goal in both the 70th and 80th minutes but Chicago was able to make saves on both. The Maroons tried to find the equalizer with two shots in the final 10 minutes. However, both shots in the 84th and 89th minutes were saved by L'Hommedieu, preserving the lead and just a minute later the win for the Bears.
WashU flipped the script on Chicago in the second half, taking five shots to the Maroons' four.
Wirtschafter scored on one of his three total shots to lead the Bears on the day. Susee, sophomore
Luca Violone, and first-year
Sebastian Valdes took the three other shots for the Bears.
The winner of Texas Lutheran and Trinity (TX) advances to take on WashU in the Sectional Round next weekend. The Tigers and Bulldogs play at 8 p.m. CT tonight, Sunday, Nov. 16. The location has yet to be determined.
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