Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
Pittsburgh, Pa. Nov. 15, 2014 – The Washington University in St. Louis football team suffered a heartbreaking 17-16 loss at Carnegie Mellon University in the season finale for both teams Saturday afternoon in Pittsburgh.
Zach Cree scored from one-yard out to cap a nine-play, 68-yard drive to tie the score at 16-16 with 11 seconds left. The extra point by Gabe Renna was good to give the Tartans the come-from-behind victory.
Carnegie Mellon and Washington U. both conclude their season with a 4-6 record, and finished in a three-way tie for second place in the University Athletic Association (UAA) standings with a 1-2 mark. The Bears finished the year 0-5 on the road, and have lost six-straight games away from home dating back to 2013.
Junior kicker Alex Hallwachs tied a Washington U. single-game school record with three field goals in the loss, and also tied the single-season school record with 15. Hallwachs connected on field goals from 36, 41 and 18 yards, and finished the season 15-of-21.
Carnegie Mellon had the advantage in total offense 460-316, and dominated the ground game rushing for 286 yards. Freshman RB Sam Benger picked up a career-best 175 yards on 24 carries, while junior QB Andrew Hearon also ran for 98 yards on 13 carries.
Hallwachs gave WUSTL a 3-0 lead with 10:28 to play in the first quarter, and the Bears pressed their luck going for an onside kick after the field goal. CMU recovered the onside kick, and six plays later Cree scored from one-yard out to make it 7-3. Hallwachs drilled a pair of field goals in the second quarter to give Washington U. the 9-7 lead at half.
Washington U. extended the lead to 16-7 after Tomlin connected with junior tight end Max Elliott for a four-yard touchdown pass with 3:00 left in the third quarter. The touchdown for Elliott was his first of the season and second of his career.
Gabe Renna trimmed the lead to 16-10 with a 20-yard field goal late in the third quarter, before Washington U.'s offense was halted in the fourth quarter. The Bears had three possessions in the fourth quarter, turning the ball over twice and a punt.
Washington U. sophomore quarterback J.J. Tomlin was 15-of-27 for 157 yards and a TD, as the Bears were limited to 185 yards passing. WUSTL was also picked off twice, once on a fake punt and once on a halfback pass, and turned the ball over three times.
Senior RB Zach Lonneman and junior RB Cody Ratermann each ran for 37 yards in the loss. Sophomore WR Kevin Hammarlund had five catches for 54 yards, while sophomore WR Hank Childs had six catches for 39 yards. Washington U. was limited to 316 yards of total offense, and did not score 20 or more points for the first time this season.
Senior defensive back Patrick Cantwell had 10 tackles and a tackle for loss to lead the defensive unit, while senior linebacker Fade Oluokun and senior defensive back Joe Quinlan had seven tackles each. Junior defensive backs Dylan Petre and Jonathan Way each had an interception in the loss.
Bear Notebook: Carnegie Mellon and Washington U. have split the all-time series 16-16 … Senior Connor Meneough made his 41st-straight start at left tackle … Washington U. is 22-8 when playing in the month of November since 2000 … The Class of 2014 led the Bears to a 23-18 (.561) record in four seasons.