The No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis women’s soccer team brought home the program’s second national title Dec. 8 at Peter Johann Memorial Field in Las Vegas with a 3-0 win over William Smith College. The Bears finished the season at 23-0-2, setting new program records for single-season wins (23), single-season winning percentage (.960) and unbeaten streak with ties (25).
WashU Athletics now has 26 national championships in department history.
“It feels great, I’m really proud of these women,” said Head Coach Jim Conlon. “We are fueled by Justin Hardy. William Smith is a fantastic team, and we were able to capitalize on some openings. We tip our hats to William Smith. It was a great battle.”
First-year student Olivia Clemons finished the Final Four weekend with two goals and was named the All-Tournament Offensive Player, while graduate student goalkeeper Sidney Conner, graduate student defender Ally Hackett, junior forward Grace Ehlert and Clemons were all named to the All-Tournament Team. Regan Cannon earned the Elite 90 Award, which is presented to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA at the finals site for each of the NCAA’s 90 championships.
After playing a scoreless first half, a William Smith defender was whistled for a foul on Clemons in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Hackett stepped up and ripped the penalty kick into the goal, making it 1-0 for the Bears.
“I was so proud of Liv for drawing that foul, it was great work for our offense,” Hackett said. “We’ve been practicing PKs for as long as I can remember. I was just happy to get up there and get the job done for my team.”
In the 77th minute, Clemons scored her team-leading 22nd goal of the season, putting her in third for single-season goals, all-time. Clemons made it through several defenders and scored past a diving William Smith goalkeeper for a 2-0 lead.
Just over a minute later, following a corner kick, senior Gaelen Clayton corralled the ball in front of the goal and fired in the Bears’ third goal of the game.
The Bears outshot William Smith 20-10 with 10 shots on goal. Both teams had two corner kicks.
WashU remained atop the national rankings all season. After checking in at No. 2 in the preseason poll, the Bears were ranked No. 1 in all subsequent polls.
