Sophomore midfielder Cami Colpitts scored the game-winning goal against MIT. (Jonah Glass | Staff Photographer)
In the waning minutes of the No. 1 WashU women’s soccer team’s NCAA quarterfinal game against No. 4 Messiah University, the score was drawn at 0-0, both teams in need of a hero. WashU had scored in all 21 games this season, but Messiah’s stout defense held them scoreless for 90 minutes of regulation play, leaving the Bears in need of an extra-time breakthrough.
In the seventh minute of the first overtime period, Madi Foley answered the call. With one flick of her boot, the junior forward scored the golden goal. Off a cross from junior midfielder Sophie Viscovich, sophomore midfielder Kate Martin headed the ball directly to Foley, who scored the winning goal to defeat Messiah and send the Bears to the Final Four.
“The second Kate [Martin] went up with the ball, I knew it was coming down into the goal mouth, because that’s what she does really well,” Foley said. “I’m just happy I was able to be there to finish a full team effort of a game.”
For all three seasons that Foley and Viscovich have been a part of the WashU women’s soccer program, the Bears have advanced to the Final Four. In the two seasons that Martin has been at WashU, the Bears have not lost. WashU will return to the national semifinals and play the No. 7 University of Chicago on Dec. 4.
“I sometimes have in my head that this junior class is kind of the ‘rebirth’ of the program, coming in when I came back,” head coach Jim Conlon said. “I’m really proud of that group for understanding their roles and being great teammates. So for this particular class, three Final Fours is pretty cool.”
WashU began its weekend against the No. 8 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), which, entering play, had conceded just one goal in its previous 15 games.
The Bears and Engineers fought hard in the first half. WashU’s defense, led by senior Kaci Karl, junior Keira Smyser, and sophomore Addi Soroka, successfully limited the Engineers’ chances in the first half, and sophomore goalkeeper Kassidy Lanthier saved all four MIT shots on goal.
After halftime, WashU came out more energized. In the 54th minute, sophomore forward Olivia Clemons broke through the Engineers’ defense and brought the ball into the corner. Double-teamed by defenders, Clemons made a quick pass to senior Ella Koleno, who then found sophomore midfielder Cami Colpitts open in the box. With a strike into the bottom left corner of the net, Colpitts scored her second goal in as many games to give WashU the 1-0 advantage.
“At halftime, we talked about getting more crosses across the goal,” Colpitts said. “It definitely was very effective, and we performed it right.”
Even with their season on the line, MIT did not play aggressively until the 80th minute. An Engineers’ midfielder sent a wide-open header opportunity well above the crossbar with just four minutes to go. As the clock wound down, MIT sent a number of shots towards the goal, but all of them were stopped by the Bears’ defensive backline or Lanthier.
“Having composure with a lot of pressure was a big thing for us,” Soroka said. “We were keeping calm, especially in the last 10 minutes, and doing everything we could to keep the goal.”
In the final minute, WashU got a fortunate non-call on a potential foul in the box. With a well-needed clearance out of the WashU end, the Bears escaped with a 1-0 victory.
The next day, the Bears played Messiah for the third time in four seasons. All five matchups in program history between WashU and Messiah have taken place in the Elite Eight, Final Four, or national championship game. In the first 30 minutes of play, it looked like the Falcons had the edge against WashU, outshooting the Bears 8-1. In the final 10 minutes of the first half, however, WashU flipped the script, outshooting Messiah 8-1 with a late attack. Much like the game against MIT, the Bears’ defense kept WashU in the game.
“We’ve always prioritized cutting the field in half, making sure we stick together as a team, and having each other’s backs,” Karl said. “So when they were driving at us, that’s what we were staying true to.”
WashU turned on the jets toward the end of the first half and into the second half, but couldn’t pierce the Messiah defense. The Bears’ backline successfully prevented Messiah from getting shots on target, forcing Lanthier to make just one save. Like the previous four matchups between WashU and Messiah, the game was tied after regulation and needed overtime.
Seven minutes into the overtime period, Foley scored the golden goal. While WashU and Messiah have met five times since the 2009 Division III national championship game, this was the first time that WashU defeated the Falcons without needing a penalty shootout.
“They’re just such a good team,” Messiah head coach Scott Frey said of WashU in a postgame press conference. “They’re relentless, they press, they’re hard, they’re physical, and they’re athletic. There’s a reason they’ve been on a roll these past few seasons.”
The Bears will travel to Salem, Virginia to compete in the D-III Women’s Soccer Championship weekend for the third year in a row on Dec. 4 and 5. The Bears will face No. 7 UChicago, whom they drew with on Nov. 8 in a hard-fought game that UChicago nearly won. The winner of WashU’s match with UChicago will face either No. 3 Tufts University or No. 2 Emory University. WashU is seeking its second straight national title, but the path to a title could run through UChicago and Emory — the two University Athletic Association opponents that played the Bears the hardest this season.
“Making the Final Four is an extremely special feeling,” Conlon said. “We’re going to travel home and get some rest … and then come back and put together the right plan.”