ST. LOUIS – Senior
Milos Bisenic scored two goals, both in the second half, to lift the University of Rochester men's soccer team to a 2-1 University Athletic Association victory against Washington University in St. Louis on Friday evening at Francis Olympic Field.
The victory pushes URochester to 5-6-4 overall on the season, but moves the Yellowjackets into solo third place in the UAA conference standings with a 2-1-1 record. WashU is now 9-3-2 in 2026 and 2-2 in the UAA.
Washington's Ethan Wirtschafter started things up, notching the first goal of the game just past the 10-minute mark of the opening half. Bisenic rallied the Yellowjackets with an early second half tally, coming in the 48th minute, and later scored the game-winner from the penalty spot with just over 10 minutes remaining on the clock.
Rochester's win over the Bears is the fourth-straight in the all-time series, including the Yellowjackets posting a second half comeback last year against then #3 ranked WashU at Fauver Stadium.
The Bears had the first solid chance of the contest come in the 8th minute, when a long cross from the right side found the foot of Casper Leary inside the box. UR's defender on the play just missed a header to clear and fell, giving Leary a great look from just outside the six.
UR keeper
Aidan Hartman made a great read to come off his line and deny the great scoring opportunity with a kick save.
Three minutes later, Hartman wasn't as lucky, with Wirtfschafter scoring his 11th goal of the season off a double-assist from Sebastian Valdes and Leary.
On the play, a give-and-go in the midfield setup Leary for the through ball towards the right endline. Valdes slipped behind the 'Jacket defense and then set a cross in front to Wirtschafter for the easy one-timer tap-in goal.
With the early lead, WashU kept the pedal on the metal, holding the Yellowjackets without a shot for the opening 20 minutes, with the Bears earning several shots in the ten minutes after the go-ahead goal. None ended on frame though, with Leary and Nik Avillo having shots sail wide, while Colin Link and Wirthschafter had attempts blocked.
The first Yellowjacket shot of the game was by
Pasquale Carusone in the 24th minute. Some strong midfield pressure forced a turnover in the WashU end, leading to Carusone's right foot attempt from 12 yards on the right wing. Cal L'Hommedieu was there to make the save, keeping the Bears in front.
Later in the half, the Yellowjackets got their first corner kick of the contest, but were unable to get any shots off of the set piece and eventually headed into the locker room trailing 1-0.
After the break, UR equalized in less than three minutes on a transition goal. After a long clearance from the back line, the ball eventually made its way to Carusone deep along the left sideline. His pass flipped the field and found
Finn Basobas O'Carroll at the right wing near the edge of the box.
Basobas O'Carroll settled, took one dribble and sent a cross to the middle of the box where Bisenic was waiting for a 16-yard one-timer off the inside of his right foot. His shot ended up skimming off the foot of a Bears defender and into the low left corner of the net, knotting the game at 1-1.
Carusone looked to grab the lead for URochester a few minutes later, ripping a hard shot from the left sideline about 25 yards out, but L'Hommedieu made a diving stop to keep the match tied up.
At the other end, Hartman was able to make a diving stop to his left in the 60th minute, stopping a 22-yard blast from Daniel Kochen.
WashU's Nick Lam cracked a shot from the top of the box off the crossbar in the 78th minute, and the fortunate Yellowjackets used that to flip momentum and two minutes later would score the eventual game-winner.
After a short goal kick, UR's
Will Fallona applied pressure up front and forced a turnover just outside the WashU box. As he went to retrieve the loose ball, he was tripped up by Quentin Gomez and was ruled inside the box, awarding the Yellowjackets the penalty kick chance in the 80th minute.
Bisenic stepped up to the spot for the kick and slotted his shot perfectly into the corner of the net for the 2-1 Yellowjacket lead. The senior is now 4-for-5 on PK's in 2026 and moves into a tie for fourth all-time in Yellowjacket men's soccer history with nine game-winning goals (along with his head coach
Ben Cross '04, and Jason Walker '96).
The Bears were able to earn another corner in their attempt to make the game tied again, but WashU was whistled for a foul in the box, giving the Yellowjackets the ball back, clinging to the one-goal lead.
For the game, WashU ended up with a 10-8 lead in shots and also held a 9-4 advantage in corner kicks. Hartman finished with two saves in picking up the win for Rochester, while L'Hommedieu ended with four saves between the pipes for WashU.
The Yellowjackets will look for the Midwest sweep on Sunday, with Rochester playing at 10th-ranked Chicago at 11 am central time.
