DECATUR, Ill. – The Washington University in St. Louis men's soccer team opened the 2025 season with an 8-1 statement win over Millikin on Friday evening. It is the most goals scored by the Bears in a single game since 2002 when they scored eight against Maryville.
 
The Bears got on the board quickly, scoring at the 10:05 mark as sophomore Quentin Wallace scored on a pass from senior Zach Susee.
 
WashU doubled its lead in the 19^th minute as junior Ethan Wirtschafter put in a high goal on a pass from first-year Sebastian Valdes.
 
Less than four minutes later, the duo of Wirtschafter and Valdes connected again to make it a 3-0 edge for the Bears. Wirtschafter put in a low goal on a pass from Valdes.
 
Wirtschafter went for the hat trick just five minutes into the second half, scoring his third goal of the game.
 
In the 65^th minute, first-year Wole Adeoye scored his first-career goal on a low left shot to put WashU ahead 5-0.
 
Four minutes later, sophomore Yash Kshirsagar put in a low center ball on a pass from Adeoye and three minutes after that, Wirtschafter scored his fourth goal of the game with a high left shot, extending WashU's lead to 7-0.
 
Sophomore James Whitehurst put in the final goal of the game for the Bears in the 74^th minute on a ball from Kshirsagar for the 8-0 advantage.
 
Millikin scored its lone goal of the game in the 79^th minute as Bryce Davis put in a pass from Landon Welch.
 
As a team, WashU outshot Millikin 26-7 (15-2 shots on goal). Wirtschafter recorded a team-high 10 shots with five on goal and four goals scored.
 
In the net, junior Cal L'Hommedieu made one save in 90 minutes of action.
 
The Bears are on the road again on Sunday with a 5 p.m. match at Westminster.