No. 7 Spartans Score Twice, Blank WashU in Road Win

No. 7 Spartans Score Twice, Blank WashU in Road Win

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The seventh-ranked Case Western Reserve University men's soccer team scored once in each half to defeat Washington University in St. Louis 2-0 on Saturday morning at Francis Olympic Field in St. Louis.

The Spartans remained undefeated this season, improving to 9-0-2 in 2026 and 1-0-1 in University Athletic Association play. The Bears fell to 8-2-2 overall and 1-1-0 in the UAA.

Stats and Standouts

  • Junior Owen Guffey scored a goal and earned an assist in the game
  • Graduate student Saiheed Jah opened the scoring, recording his second career game-winning goal
  • Sophomore Carter Shedd earned his fifth shutout in a row, saving a pair of shots
  • Seniors Philip Vlastaris, Cormac Apostolides, and Cameron Thayer and sophomore Alex Eby played all 90 minutes in the field in front of Shedd

First Half

  • The Spartans struck first, netting a goal in the fourth minute
  • Guffey took a long shot from the far corner of the box, hitting the crossbar just above the outstretched glove of the goalkeeper
  • Jah, standing in front of the goal, headed the ball into the back of the net for the opening strike
  • It was Jah's second goal of the year, and Guffey earned his team-leading fifth assist of the season
  • The Bears earned a pair of corner kicks in the 13th minute and 14th minutes, taking a shot that hit the crossbar but not scoring
  • CWRU also cleared corner kicks in the 25th, 28th, and 32nd minutes without allowing a shot
  • WashU ended the half with a 6-1 edge in corner kicks with both sides taking two shots

Second Half

  • The visitors quickly doubled their advantage, scoring in the 49th minute
  • A long throw-in into the box was punched out by the WashU goalkeeper
  • Guffey was positioned perfectly, controlled the ball, and fired a shot that hit the crossbar before bounding into the goal
  • It marked his second goal of the campaign and the third of his career
  • Shedd made his first save of the day in the 62nd minute, diving to his right to stop a long shot in the corner
  • A few minutes later, he made an easier save on a ball shot right at him on the ground
  • WashU earned a trio of corner kicks but managed just one shot in the 71st minute
  • Junior Mitchell Fein took a shot from just inside the box that required a jumping save for the only save of the game for the Bears
  • The hosts rallied in the final three minutes, taking a pair of attempts off two corner kicks, but the Spartans held on for the two-goal victory

Spartan Notes

  • The Spartans improved to 6-28-2 against the Bears in the all-time series, picking up their first win since 2018 and their first victory in St. Louis since 2011
  • CWRU entered the weekend ranked 14th in the NCAA Power Index (NPI). NPI is used to determine the at-large selections to the NCAA Championship with the top 22 teams who did not receive an automatic bid gaining entry to the tournament
  • The Spartans have not allowed a goal over their last 533:18 minutes of play and have not allowed a goal scored by an opposing player over their last 890:49 minutes
  • CWRU remained one of 10 schools to start the 2026 campaign without a loss in Division III
  • The team has not allowed a goal in the second half this season
  • Case Western Reserve matched its longest undefeated start to a campaign in program history, tying the team from 2006 that began the year with 10 wins and a tie in its first 11 matches
  • This marked the second time this season Guffey had a goal and an assist in a single game after he performed the feat in the season opener against Ohio Wesleyan on September 1