Elmhurst Soccer Falls Late to Washington University
The Elmhurst University soccer team battled back from a slow start against Washington University in St. Louis and took some brief control in the second half. But a run of three goals from the WashU Bears was the decisive blow as the Bluejays fell 3-2 on Sept. 7 at Langhorst Field.
After no score for the first 45 minutes, EU came out of halftime with new energy and quickly turned the momentum in their favor. The Jays broke through in the 59th minute with a penalty kick from Andrew Walters to put EU ahead 1-0.
Just over five minutes later, the Jays were able to double their lead with a goal from Brian Biederman, taking advantage of a chance that was assisted by Isaac Puchalla and Ashton Kerrigan. With two goals in less than a minute, it seemed like EU had full control of the contest.
However, WashU responded immediately.
Wole Adeoye cut their deficit in half in the 69th minute, scoring off an assist from Roshan Greene. Less than four minutes later, the Bears evened out the match when Daniel Kochan scored on an assist from Ethan Wirtschafter.
The Bears comeback was completed in the 81st minute when Colin Link scored a goal to make it a 3-2 lead for WashU. EU was unable to even the score in the final minutes, allowing WashU to pull out the victory.
This was a particularly difficult loss for the Jays, given the dramatic swing in momentum during the second half. EU entered halftime trailing in several statistical categories but remained within striking distance thanks to the play of goalkeeper Niyen Ruffin, who made four saves during the opening period.
WashU controlled much of the possession and attacking territory throughout the match, finishing with a 22-4 advantage in shots and a 12-4 edge in corner kicks. The Bears also put 11 shots on target, forcing Elmhurst’s goalkeepers to make eight saves.
Ruffin finished with six saves across 71:37 in goal, while Jakub Wiktorczyk added two saves during his 18:23 of action.EU made their shots count. Walters recorded his second goal of the season from the penalty spot, while Biederman scored his first. Puchalla and Kerrigan each picked up an assist on Biederman’s goal.
The Bluejays also showed defensive resilience at several points, particularly in the first half, when WashU managed to get eight shots but could not break through. That effort kept the match scoreless heading into the break and gave EU an opportunity to make their second half push.
Ultimately, the Bears’ offensive pressure proved too much in the final 25 minutes. WashU scored three times between the 68th and 81st minutes to erase EU’s two-goal advantage and hand the Bluejays their first defeat of the season.
EU falls to 1-1-1 while WashU improves to 2-0-1. The Jays look to rebound on an upcoming road trip to California, as they lost to Caltech 1-2 and tied 1-1 with Whittier College in their next two contests.
