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ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The Washington University in St. Louis women's soccer team, which checked in at No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, begins its quest for a repeat national title on Friday with a 4 p.m. match against Westminster on Francis Olympic Field.
 
After a record-setting 2024 season that culminated in the program's second national championship, the Bears are back and poised to take on tough competition during the 2025 regular-season slate.
 
Following the season-opener against Westminster, the Bears make the short trip on Tuesday, September 2 to Illinois Wesleyan for a 5 p.m. game. Before returning home on Friday, September 5 to take on Calvin, who checked in at No. 5 in the preseason national poll.
 
On Sunday, September 7, the Bears celebrate their five seniors – Kerrigan Ferland, Ella Koleno, Marilee Karinshak, Kaci Karl and Grace Ehlert – with a 1 p.m. match against Rose-Hulman, which will also serve as Cancer Awareness Day.
 
WashU hits the road for a six-game stretch, starting with North Central on Friday, September 12 at 5 p.m. followed by Trine on Sunday, September 14 at 11 a.m. ET. Next up is Mary Hardin Baylor on Saturday, September 20 at 3:30 p.m. (at Rhodes), followed by an opponent and time to-be-determined on Sunday (at Rhodes).
 
On Saturday, September 27, the Bears are at Centre College for a 1 p.m. match before closing out the road stretch with a 7 p.m. game at Millikin on Tuesday, September 30.
 
WashU opens the UAA slate at home on Saturday, October 4 with a 1:30 p.m. game against Brandeis, which will be Youth and Campers Day.
 
In one final non-conference game of the year, WashU heads to Greenville on Tuesday, October 7 for a 5:30 p.m. match and gets back to UAA play on Saturday, October 11 with a trip to Case Western Reserve University, who received votes in the preseason national poll, for a 12:30 p.m. ET match.
 
The Bears return home on Sunday, October 19 for a 1:30 p.m. kickoff against Carnegie Mellon, who checked in at No. 16 in the preseason national poll. Following a battle with the Tartans, WashU heads to the East Coast for a 7:30 p.m. ET game at Rochester on Friday, October 24 and a 1:30 p.m. ET game at Emory on Sunday, October 26. In the preseason national poll, Rochester ranked No. 24 and Emory was No. 4.
 
WashU is home for the final two regular-season games of the year. On Saturday, November 1, the Bears host NYU at 1:30 p.m., which will serve as The Hidden Opponent game. WashU closes with a 6:30 p.m. match against Chicago on Saturday, November 8. The Violets checked in at No. 17 in the preseason national poll while the Maroons were No. 11.
 
While the Bears graduated some key components to the 2024 campaign, they also return a large group of seasoned veterans and talented newcomers. More than half the starting lineup from last year's season returns with many players who received important minutes.
 
In that group of returners are the team's top two scorers from the 2024 season – sophomore Olivia Clemons (22 goals, 6 assists) and senior Grace Ehlert (14 goals, 1 assist).
 
Clemons was named both the UAA Rookie of the Year and UAA Offensive Player of the Year and earned a United Soccer Coaches All-Region nod while Ehlert went on to be named a United Soccer Coaches First Team All-America selection. Additionally, junior Madi Foley netted six goals while junior Sophie Viscovich and sophomore Cami Colpitts each had five goals.
 
On the defensive end, junior Regan Cannon and senior Kaci Karl will bring valuable experience while junior Allie Goulding, sophomore Addi Soroka, sophomore Sophia Smith and junior Alexandra Karolak will add depth to the position.
 
Viscovich, junior Jadyn Aling and sophomore Kate Martin will play veteran minutes in the midfield. Junior Anna Rosato also returns to add depth to the midfield.
 
The Bears have three returning goalkeepers in junior Charlotte Shapiro and sophomore Heid Schultz and Suzie Green. Although serving primarily as backup goalies in the previous years, Green and Shapiro each earned a start during the 2024 season.
 
At forward, in addition to Clemons and Ehlert, seasoned senior Ella Koleno, junior Madi Foley, junior Julia Moore, sophomore Cami Colpitts, junior Alexandra Weinmeister and senior Kerrigan Ferland add depth. Senior Marilee Karinshak will also add depth, while serving in a versatile role playing midfield and defense as well.
 
Additionally, the Bears bring in nine first years and two transfers. Among the first-years are Annika Park, Lauren Simon, Ridley Newton, Maya Stevenson, Heidi Fesler, Chandler Davey, Monica Morales-Martinez, Grace Lynch and Noelle Dolan. Sophomore Kassidy Lanthier and junior Keira Smyser join the Bears after playing at the University of Iowa.
 
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Where to Follow: FloSports (video) | washubears.com (live stats)
All WashU women's soccer games will be streamed on FloSports with live stats available on washubears.com. In June it was announced that the UAA and FloSports entered an exclusive, five-year media rights agreement to stream all UAA competition.
 
FloSports – How do I sign up?
By signing up with the UAA and WashU landing page, subscribers using an email that does not have a previous Flo account will receive a discounted subscription cost of $19.99 a month or $107.88 a year ($8.99/month). Subscribers who register with a UAA member institution .edu email address (@wustl.edu) will also receive a further discounted monthly rate of $9.99 or $71.88 a year ($5.99/month). In addition to all UAA and WashU contests, the subscription also provides access to the entire FloCollege library of 40,000 events across 25 different sports. The link to access the discounted rate can be found at the link below. During the last two weeks of August, FloSports will offer 15% off annual subscriptions purchased through UAA schools. The subscription also provides access to the entire FloSports library of 40,000 events across 25 different sports. SIGN UP HERE
 
FloSports Mobile App
In addition to being accessible on any desktop, laptop, tablet or web browser, FloSports is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play or Roku and Amazon Fire TV.