ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Illinois Wesleyan men's soccer team suffered defeat at the hands of Washington University in St. Louis on Sunday by a final score of 2-1. Sophomore Patrick Hickey got the ball rolling early for the Titans scoring in the 8th minute, but IWU was unable to hang on their 1-0 lead in the second half of action.

With a loss the Titans fall to 2-3-1 on the season while the Bears, who are receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaces Top 25 poll, improved to 4-0-1 in 2017. Illinois Wesleyan is now 0-15-2 against WashU in the all-time series between the two sides.

Sunday featured an evenly matched game between the two programs with each team recording nine shots on goal. Illinois Wesleyan held a slight advantage in corner kick chances, having seven to WashU's six. In total, the Bears out-shot the Titans 23-17 including a 16-9 shot difference in the second half.

Hickey added the early goal for IWU via header off the foot of junior Ben Nielsen, who set up the play with a free kick. The Titans had four more chances saved by the Bears in the first half, including a header from junior Chris Johnson that was cleared off the goal line by the WashU defense in the 43rd minute.

WashU knotted the match up at one early-on in the second half as Ryan Sproule netted his fifth goal of the season off a deflection. The sides stayed level for 10 more minutes before Camilo Haller scored the game-winning goal for the Bears in the 65th minute on a shot from 20 yards out.

Making just his second career start in goal, freshman Joe Johnson made six saves in the effort. The Bears collected two team saves while keeper Colin McCune made six saves of his own.

What's Next?

The Titans are at home on Wednesday, September 20 for a match against Fontbonne University. Fontbonne currently holds a record of 3-2-1, but will play Marian University (Wis.) prior to facing Illinois Wesleyan. IWU is 6-0 all-time against the Griffins which includes a 3-0 shutout during the 2016 season.