From Washington University Athletics
Washington University in St. Louis junior Jack West converted a pair of second-half penalty kicks to give the Bears a 2-0 win over Greenville College Wednesday night at Francis Field.
The Bears dominated the possession in the first half, and Washington U.'s defense stopped the Panthers every time they appeared to be making a run before they could fire a shot. WUSTL finished with an 11-2 shot advantage in the first half, and the Panthers were unable to get a shot off until the 31st minute.
Greenville had its best scoring opportunity of the night in the 56thminute on a free kick from 25 yards out. The shot skipped along the wet turf, but sophomore Daniel Geanon gathered the ball up to preserve the shutout. Washington U. broke the scoreless tie in the 65th minute when West was pulled down in the box. West sent the ensuing penalty kick to the right of the Greenville keeper to give the Bears a 1-0 lead.
Geanon made another big save in the 86th minute after a free kick by the Panthers. After the goal kick, the Bears quickly pushed the ball back into Greenville's scoring third. West made a run into the box and was pulled down for a second time to give the Bears another penalty kick opportunity. West sent this kick into the right upper 90 of the net to make it 2-0 in favor of Washington U.
The Bears finished with a 27-7 shot advantage in the match. Washington U. also had 10 corner kicks to zero for the Panthers. Geanon (1-0) recorded four saves to earn the shutout victory in the first start of his career.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. leads the all-time series between the two teams 20-3-1 … The Bears have won each of the last seven meetings between the two teams, and have outscored the Panthers 16-1 in those matches … There have been 16 shutouts in the series, including 14 wins for the Bears … The win for Washington U. was head coach Joe Clarke's 199th victory with the Bears … Clarke is now 199-89-38 in 18 seasons on the Danforth Campus, and 404-163-68 in 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach … The goals for West were the first two of his career.