St. Louis, Mo.- Making its ninth NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Championship appearance, the DePauw women's soccer team fell to the No.1 Washington University in St. Louis Bears 2-0 in the tournament's first round.
From the first whistle, the Tigers were purposely on the defensive, double-teaming every ball in the midfield and sprinting to cover any passing lane for the Bears. After 20 minutes of aggressive defense, WashU broke through, chipping a ball across the goalie box to the back post for their first goal of the night. Despite being down by a goal, the Tigers continued to press, clearing the ball quickly out of their half and creating a wall at the midfield.
Down by a goal at the half, DePauw adjusted their defense slightly, allowing time and space for certain clears to make a move towards the WashU defensive end. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the Bears defense was in lock step with DePauw, allowing just one shot in the second half. Though the Tigers' efforts to go on the offensive came up short, the Bears did start to look rattled, forcing the ball out of bounds due to bad touches.
With just over 15 minutes left in regulation, WashU turned up the offensive pressure and scored what would ultimately put the game out of reach for the Tigers. The Bears finished the night out shooting DePauw 19-3 and held a 6-1 edge in corner attempts. In goal for the Tigers was sophomore keeper
Aubree Empie, who tallied seven saves, while Sidney Conner of WashU finished with three.
The Tigers complete the year with an overall record of 12-6-3, while the Bears improve to 18-0-2 and host the second round on Sunday.
