The Calvin University women's soccer team will face Washington University (WashU) of St. Louis in a Round of 16 NCAA III Tournament game on Friday morning at 11 a.m. (CST) in St. Louis, Missouri. The game will be played at Francis Olympic Field on the campus of WashU.

The Teams: Calvin is ranked 17^th nationally and is 16-1-3 overall. WashU is ranked second nationally and is 16-1-2 on the season. Calvin carries an unbeaten streak of four games into Friday's matchup while WashU has an unbeaten streak of three games. Calvin's lone defeat came at the hands of Albion on October 24 with WashU dropping its only contest of the year back on October 29 with a loss to the University of Rochester (N.Y.). Calvin is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) while WashU is a member of the University Athletic Association (UAA).

The Series – Friday's game will be the 11^th meeting between Calvin and WashU in women's soccer. WashU has won all 10 prior meetings with the last matchup coming in 2019 with the Bears defeating the Knights 3-0 at Calvin. The two teams have met three times in the NCAA III Tournament with WashU winning at Calvin 3-2 in 1997 in a third round game, then defeating Calvin 2-1 in a national quarterfinal game in 2009 in Rock Island, Illinois (Augustana College), and then topping the Knights 3-1 at WashU in a second round game in 2013.

Common Opponents – Calvin and WashU have two common opponent this year in the University of Chicago and Carroll University (Wisc.).  Calvin defeated Chicago 3-2 on September 16. WashU drew with Chicago in a conference match 0-0 November 4. Calvin defeated Carroll 3-0 on September 5 while WashU defeated Carroll 5-0 on September 8.  

The Coaches: Emily Ottenhoff is in her sixth season as head coach of the Calvin women's soccer program. She is 71-21-11 (.661) as head coach and was named the 2023 MIAA Coach of the Year. She has led Calvin to four MIAA regular season titles, three MIAA Tournament titles and three NCAA III Tournament bids. She was a four-year member of the Calvin women's soccer and women's basketball programs from 2006-2010 and was part of two national quarterfinal teams in women's soccer (2006 & 2009) and one national quarterfinalist in women's basketball (2007). She was an All-American midfielder for the Calvin women's soccer team as a senior in 2009. Jim Conlon is in his 13^th year as head coach of the WashU women's soccer program. He led WashU to a national title in 2016 and has guided the Bears to four trips to the Final Four. He has won over 400 games as a collegiate head coach, 300 as a collegiate women's coach and over 200 at WashU with a winning percentage of nearly .830.

In the NCAA III Tournament -  Calvin is making its 14^th appearance in the NCAA III Tournament including its third straight under head coach Emily Ottenhoff. The Knights are 16-9-5 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play, reaching the national quarterfinals in 2006, 2009 and 2015. Calvin is making its first appearance in the Round of 16 since 2015.

The Players: Calvin is led in scoring by senior Liz Williams with 27 points (7 goals, 13 assists). Williams is ranked fifth nationally in total assists. 13 other Calvin players have at least two goals or more. Sophomore Lucy Iverson anchors the backline. She was the 2023 MIAA Most Valuable Player for the second straight year. Goalkeeper Kalex Dodge has a goals-against-average of 0.57 with 11 shutouts. She led D3 in goalkeeper shutouts in 2022 with 17. WashU is led in scoring by Gaelen Clayton with 18 points (7 goals and 4 assists) while Ella Koleno has 15 points (5 goals, 5 assists) and Grace Ehlert 14 points (7 goals). Sidney Connor has a 0.11 goals-against-average as the WashU goalkeeper with 16 shutouts. She leads the nation in goals-against-average and shutouts. Emma Riley McGahan is a stalwart at centerback for WashU. McGahan, Clayton and Conner were all named to the All-UAA First Team.

Tale of the Tape: Calvin has scored 54 goals and is averaging 2.70 goals-per-game on offense. The Knights have allowed 12 goals and are allowing 0.60 goals-per-game on defense. WashU has scored 54 goals and is averaging 2.84 goals-per-game on offense. The Bears have allowed two goals on defense and have an NCAA III-leading 0.11 goals-per-game average on defense.

Ticket Info: $7 - Adults; $5 - Seniors/Students/Children under 17; Children 2 and under - Free - 

Tickets are *CASH ONLY*

Media Coverage:

*Live Video will be available at: https://washubears.com/watch/?Live=332&type=Live
*Live Statistics will be available at:  https://washubears.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/summary

Social Media: Calvin athletics is represented on Facebook (Calvin Knights), Twitter/X (@CalvinKnights), Instagram (@CalvinAthletics) and TikTok (@calvinathletics). Follow all the happenings of Calvin University on social media by using the hashtag "#GoCalvin".