Box Score The 11th-ranked Case Western Reserve University women's soccer team dealt third-ranked Washington University (Mo.) its first loss of the 2021 campaign, as the Spartans claimed a 1-0 win over the Bears behind a goal by sophomore forward Kati Davis and a dominant defensive effort on Sunday afternoon at DiSanto Field in Cleveland, Ohio.
The Spartans improved to 13-1-2 on the season following the win, matching the program record for wins in a season set during the 2011 and 2019 campaigns. CWRU also improved to 3-1-2 in University Athletic Association play following the victory and moved into sole possession of second place in the conference standings.
Meanwhile, the Bears (who clinched the UAA Championship with a win over Carnegie Mellon on Friday night) suffered their first loss since September 7, 2019 to fall to 13-1-1 on the year with a 5-1-0 UAA record. The win was the Spartans' first over WashU since the 2014 campaign.
CWRU took the lead in the 33rd minute of the game on Davis' second goal of the season. Davis was able to run onto a ball that was originally crossed into the box by senior midfielder Anika Washburn, and then deflected by first-year forward Carolyn Koutures. The deflection sent the ball into an open portion of the six-yard box, and Davis was able to connect with it, sending a shot across the face of the goal and into the back corner to give CWRU a 1-0 advantage.
Koutures picked up her third assist of the year on the goal, while Washburn secured her eighth assist of the season. Washburn now has 32 points this season, one short of her own program record of 33, set during the 2019 campaign. In addition, she now has 69 career points, and is tied with Hallie Graor (1997-00) for the second-most ever by a CWRU player.
The CWRU defense was able to hold strong for the remainder of the game after taking the lead, allowing the Bears just seven shots through the rest of the contest, and only four in the second half of play. Sophomore goalkeeper Maggie Storti turned away all four shots on goal she faced on Sunday (each of which was in the first half), lowering her season goals-against average to 0.51, and raising her personal record to 13-1-2. The shutout was her second in UAA play and her eighth overall this season, tying her for the fourth-most all-time in a campaign by a Spartan goalkeeper, and placing her just two shy of Anna Kennedy's program single-season record, set in 2011. The win for Storti also matched Kennedy's 2011 total for the most by a keeper in a single season in team history.
The victory gave the Spartans their third UAA win of the season, marking just the fifth time in program history that the Spartans have won three or more games in UAA play, and the first time since the 2011 season.
The Spartans will look to finish out their regular season strong next weekend, when the team travels to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to face the 16th-ranked Carnegie Mellon University Tartans on Sunday, November 7 at 11:00 a.m. CWRU can clinch second place in the UAA with a win or a tie against the Tartans.
