St. Louis is one of America’s greatest soccer hubs, and that stretches all the way down to its college programs.

Washington University in St. Louis’s women’s soccer team has long been a force in NCAA Division III, making five national championship games and winning two titles, with a decorated history of iconic moments, incredible players, and winning.

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And now, for the first time ever this fall, FloCollege will be the exclusive home of the Bears as they chase even more trophies, with the entirety of the University Athletic Association women’s soccer conference slate being broadcast live throughout the season.

Learn more about WashU’s current run of dominance below — and join us along for the ride in following one of D-III women’s soccer’s blue-bloods.

Here are five things you need to know to get you up to speed on the Bears ahead of the 2025 season:

WashU Women's Soccer Is The Reigning National Champions

Let’s start with the fact that WashU enters the 2025 season on the D-III women’s soccer throne. Expected to be among the nation’s top contenders once again after making the national title match in 2023, the Bears were ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll heading into the fall last year, but quickly ascended to No. 1 and kept the top spot after they dismantled opponent after opponent in the regular season. 

WashU wrapped up their second straight outright UAA title — and eighth time clinching at least a share of the crown in nine seasons — with a game to spare, then only flexed its muscle harder in the postseason by rolling through the bracket and securing its first national championship since 2016 with a 3-0 win over William Smith College in Las Vegas. 

Across their six NCAA Tournament games, the Bears outscored foes by a combined 15-1, capping off a school-record 23 wins in style with some national hardware. The Bears’ second national title on the pitch also meant that they moved into a tie for fifth all-time in D-III among teams currently in the division, and a third national championship this year would mean that WashU would jump into a tie for second with Williams, The College of New Jersey, and Wheaton (Illinois).

Wash U Enters 2025 With A Big Unbeaten Streak

Also part of the Bears’ steamrolling of the competition last fall was the program’s longest-ever unbeaten streak, which stands at 25 games entering the 2025 campaign and is the longest active flawless run at any level of NCAA women’s soccer. 

As long as WashU gets past Westminster (Missouri) on Aug. 29 in its season opener, it will have gone a full calendar year without a loss as part of a stretch that started with an 8-1 win over Trine on Aug. 30, 2024 and has included four regular-season victories over ranked teams and the run to the national championship. 

The only blemishes on the Bears’ 23-0-2 record — which calculates to a school-record .960 winning percentage — at all last season came in the form of draws against No. 22 Calvin in late September and at UAA rival Chicago in their regular-season finale in early November; otherwise, every other opponent WashU faced last season felt its wrath as it outscored teams by a ridiculous 83-7 during the year. 

Powerhouse Christopher Newport’s (which WashU defeated in the national semifinals a year ago) all-time, D-III-record unbeaten streak of 84 games, snapped just last year, will be intact for now, even if the Bears have another unbeaten title run, but another D-III women’s soccer dynasty could be in the making in St. Louis.

Jim Conlon Has Taken WashU Women's Soccer To New Heights

Though WashU has rarely had a bad women’s soccer program, it wouldn’t be at the spot it is now without the leadership of Conlon on the touchline, having captured 11 UAA titles and both of the program’s national titles as the Bears’ leader to date. 

First hired on in 2008 after coaching both the men’s and women’s soccer teams at Wartburg from 2000-07, Conlon made the NCAA Tournament in each of his first 12 seasons at WashU along with four final four appearances, highlighted by the Bears’ 2016 national title win in which he was named the D3soccer.com National Coach of the Year and coached the NSCAA National Player of the Year, Lizzy Crist. 

Conlon’s sudden departure from the program in July 2021 — mere weeks before the start of the regular season — to coach at D-II Grand Valley State was a major shock, but it didn’t slow him down as he won the national title in his only season with the Lakers to pull off the rare feat of winning national championships in multiple NCAA divisions. 

WashU got Conlon back after a year away, however, and the Bears have largely been back to their former selves as Conlon (who has 259 career wins with WashU) has brought yet another natty to The Lou. 

Olivia Clemons Is A Budding Star At WashU

The value of an effective super sub is priceless on a soccer team, and Clemons played her role to perfection as a true freshman, becoming one of the country’s most efficient — and devastating — offensive threats. 

Despite not starting a single match and playing less than 1,000 minutes, well below team minutes leader and goalkeeper Sidney Conner (1,871) by comparison, Clemons made the most of her opportunities off of the bench by scoring a team-high 22 goals with six assists on the year, good for a tie for ninth nationally at season’s end and a sizzling scoring rate of one goal every 44.9 minutes. 

The Kansas City, Missouri native’s scoring prowess earned her a bevy of accolades, being named both the UAA’s Offensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year — being just the second player in league history to earn both in the same season — as well as the best offensive player at the NCAA Tournament, scoring the second WashU goal in the national title match to move her to third all-time on the program’s single-season scoring list. 

Back with the Bears for 2025 as a legitimate national player of the year candidate, Clemons will look to add to her goal tally while trying to make it 2 for 2 in her career on national championship runs in the process.

Defending Drives The Bears

With a combined 16 goals allowed over the past two seasons, the Bears’ iron curtain on the backline and between the pipes has made them a tough out every match, something that was especially true last year as they compiled a school-record 18 shutouts. 

WashU’s .292 goals against average last fall, led by shot-stopper and United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American Conner, ranked fourth nationally as the Bears never allowed multiple goals in a match and maintained an eight-game shutout streak in the regular season, frustrating forward lines throughout the year no matter their talent. 

Defender Ally Hackett — one of only two Bears to start all 25 games in 2025 — also played a major role in the Bears’ proficiency at the back by being named a First Team All-American alongside Conner, as well, and WashU will miss both as they’ve exhausted their eligibility. 

The ability of newcomers in important positions to thrive immediately will be crucial toward WashU’s repeat hopes, but if Conlon’s sustained success in both recruiting and on-field development is any indication, odds are that the Bears will be just fine on the defensive end.

WashU Women's Soccer 2025 Schedule Join The College Soccer Conversation

• Aug 29 (Fri), 4 p.m., vs Westminster College (MO)  
• Sep 2 (Tue), 5 p.m., at Illinois Wesleyan University  
• Sep 5 (Fri), 3 p.m., vs Calvin University  
• Sep 7 (Sun), 1 p.m., vs Rose-Hulman  
• Sep 12 (Fri), 5 p.m., at North Central College  
• Sep 14 (Sun), 11 a.m. ET, at Trine University  
• Sep 20 (Sat), 3:30 p.m., Neutral vs University of Mary Hardin-Baylor  
• Sep 21 (Sun), TBD, Neutral vs TBD  
• Sep 27 (Sat), 1 p.m., at Centre College  
• Sep 30 (Tue), 7 p.m., at Millikin University  
• Oct 4 (Sat), 1:30 p.m., vs Brandeis University  
• Oct 7 (Tue), 5:30 p.m., at Greenville University  
• Oct 11 (Sat), 12:30 p.m. ET, at Case Western Reserve University  
• Oct 19 (Sun), 1:30 p.m., vs Carnegie Mellon University  
• Oct 24 (Fri), 7:30 p.m. ET, at University of Rochester  
• Oct 26 (Sun), 1:30 p.m. ET, at Emory University  
• Nov 1 (Sat), 1:30 p.m., vs New York University  
• Nov 8 (Sat), 6:30 p.m., vs University of Chicago  

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