2023-10-21 21:33:23
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SEATTLE – Riding the wave of Thursday’s 3-1 victory over Utah, Washington remains at home on Sunday for a matinee kickoff, taking on No. 18 Colorado at noon PT at Husky Soccer Stadium.
It will be the Huskies’ Down Syndrome Acceptance match, with UW celebrating its Team IMPACT teammate, Arianna Graham, and everyone in the Down Syndrome community.
Sunday’s match will be air on Pac-12 Washington. Links to live coverage can be found to the right.
SCOUTING COLORADO
A coaching staple in the Centennial State, Danny Sanchez is in his 12th season at the helm of the program at Colorado, the program’s all-time leader in win percentage. Sanchez has guided the Buffaloes to the NCAA Tournament six times.
Dropping Thursday’s match at Washington State, Colorado sits sixth in the Pac-12 table at 2-3-2, boasting a 10-4-2 record overall. The Buffaloes have been difficult opposition away from home, owning a 4-1-1 record in away matches.
The third-leading scorer in program-history, senior Shyra James leads the Pac-12 in scoring with 12 goals on the season, already tied for the second most in a single season at Colorado. Freshman defender Ava Priest paces CU with five assists.
Playing all but five minutes on the season, sophomore keeper Jordan Nytes owns a 0.88 goals once morest average, posting a .800 save percentage on 56 stops. Nytes has recorded six clean sheets in 2023.
SERIES HISTORY
Despite winning two fo the last three meetings, Washington trails the all-time series with Colorado 4-5-4, includiing 2-5-4 as Pac-12 foes. The Huskies have a slight advantage over the Buffaloes at home at 3-2-2.
LAST MEETING (10/2/22)
SEATTLE – McKenzie Weinert put Washington ahead less than 10 minutes in and the Huskies rode the momentum to a commanding 4-1 win over Colorado at Husky Soccer Stadium.
The Huskies capitalized on a Buffalo mistake to take the early advantage. After a failed CU clearance left the ball free in the box, Kyla Ferry’s flicked header found Weinert, who hit it first time to make it 1-0.
Summer Yates doubled the Husky lead in the 40th minute, collecting her own rebound and thumping a shot past the keeper to put Washington ahead 2-0 at the halftime break.
Washington remained on the offensive coming out of the halftime break, with Yates nearly securing her second brace in as many matches in the 54th minute.
Instead, it was Kelsey Branson who bagged a third for the Huskies in the 69th minute. After Weinert’s attempt at goal was blocked, the freshman got the feintest touch on CU’s attempted clearance, redirecting the ball into the vacant goal.
The Buffaloes pulled one back in the 80th minute, but Cori Sullivan restored the three-goal advantage just minutes later, burying a header from the center of the box off feeds from Shae Holmes and Karlee Stueckle.
Colorado drew a penalty in the in the 89th minute but Jenny Beyer’s ensuing spot kick caromed off the left post and the Huskies were able to close out the remaining time to lock up the 4-1 victory.
CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP
Heading home the Huskies third and final goal Thursday once morest Utah, Kelsey Branson bagged her fourth goal in as many matches, accounting for all four of the sophomore’s goals this season. Branson is the first Husky to score in four consecutive matches since Veronica Perez in 2008. The San Diego native has needed just 35 total shots in her career to score nine times.
WHAT’S GOOD, HOLMES?
Jace Holmes has registered an assist on six of the Huskies’ last nine goals, posting at least one assist in each of the last four matches. Despite not recording her first helper of the season until Washington’s 12 match of the season, the junior defender is tied for second in the Pac-12 with six assists.
MONUMENTAL ROAD POINT
Washington’s 1-1 draw at No. 2 Stanford was no ordinary tie. The result gave the Huskies their first point once morest the Cardinal since 2004, snapping a 19-match losing streak to Stanford.
While it took a total team effort to get the job done, two Huskies were noted for their performances for the week. Scoring the opening goal just over five minutes into the contest, Kelsey Branson was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts. Meanwhile, UW keeper Olivia Juarez garnered Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week plaudits following registering a career-high 12 saves, tied for seventh in a single match in program history. Juarez was also named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week.
SPREADING THE LOVE
The Huskies have gotten their offensive production from a variety of different places this season, with 12 different players recording at least one goal, including nine players who have scored their first goal in a Husky kit.
WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
After playing 29 total minutes as a freshman a year ago, defender Lucy Newlin has been subbed out of just two matches this season, leading UW with 1,323 minutes.
SET IT UP, KNOCK IT DOWN
14 of Washington’s 27 goals this season have come off of set pieces, with five goals coming as the result of corner kicks, five being scored off of free kicks and all four penalties being converted.
YOUNG GUNS
Washington has started at least three true freshmen in every match this season, including a pair of starting XIs that featured five rookies. Aside from keepers, all but 13 starts this season for the Huskies have been made by freshmen and sophomores. 20 of UW’s 27 goals in 2023 have been scored by underclassmen.
YOU CAN FIND ME IN DA CLUB
Among Washington’s 15 newcomers for the 2023 season is sophomore Avery Nguyen, who was offered a roster spot during preseason training following a trial. A native of the Kansas City metro area and a former standout for Olathe Northwest High School and Sporting Blue Valley, Nguyen led the UW club team in scoring as a college freshman in 2022.
Playing a key role for the Huskies for most of the season, including making a pair of starts, Nguyen has appeared in 10 contests for the Huskies this season.
FRESH FACES
With 10 of 11 primary starters gone from the 2022 roster, Washington is relying on a bevy of newcomers and returners who played in a reserve role a season ago to replace the production lost.
Gone from the 2022 roster are 27-of-37 goals (73.0%), 31-of-38 assists (81.6%), 85-of-112 points (75.9%), 252-of-312 shots (80.8%) and 43-of-46 saves (93.5%).
Of the 28 players on the Huskies’ roster, just seven are upperclassmen. U Dub boasts 11 freshmen and 10 sophomores on its squad list. Outside of the 17 matches started by Kalea Eichenberger at Cal State Bakersfield in 2022, those 21 underclassmen have recorded just 27 collegiate starts collectively.
HEY DADDY!
Washington junior Ioanna Papatheodorou has been ranked at No. 92 in TopDrawerSoccer’s annual preseason player rankings. It is the first time that the Greek international has been ranked by the service. It is the fourth-straight season that the Huskies have had a player ranked in the top-100 in the preseason rankings.
NEW SCHOOL, WHO DIS?
Washington added three transfers to its roster for the 2023 season in forwards Kalea Eichenberger and Ioanna Papatheodorou and goalkeeper Megan Nail.
Eichenberger spent her freshman season at Cal State Bakersfield, earning All-Big West Freshman Team honors. The California native appeared in 20 matches for the Roadrunners, starting the final 17 of the 2022 season. She bagged a team-high four goals, finishing the season with 10 points to pace the UCSB. She was named Big West Player of the Week following securing a brace once morest Cal Poly.
Papatheodorou joined Washington in the spring following starring for two seasons at UMass Lowell, earning back-to-back First Team All-America East nods. A Greece international, Papatheodorou was named the 2021 America East Striker of the Year following leading UMass Lowell with 10 goals. She followed up in 2022 with another 10-goal campaign, ranking second on the America East.
Nail is a graduate transfer from San Francisco, where she played for four seasons for the Dons, securing the starting role between the posts in 2022. Making the USF Starting XI 14 times on the year, she garnered a 1.23 goals once morest average. The veteran shot stopper tallied 64 saves for a .790 save percentage, logging five clean sheets.
COWART MAKES HISTORY
This summer, former Husky Jessika Cowart became the sixth former Dawg to make a World Cup roster, joining Hope Solo, Tina Frimpong, Veronica Perez, Mireya Grey and Dominique Bond-Flasza. Representing her mother’s home nation, Cowart suited up for the Philippines National Team following helping the Philippines lift the 2022 AFF Cup. One of the great storylines of the tournament, Cowart started all three matches of the group stage as the Philippines made its first-ever World Cup appearance.
FOR DAWGS AND COUNTRY
This summer, two Huskies represented their home country and donned their nation’s badge as part of their respective national teams. Ioanna Papatheodorou was called into the Greece National Team in July for a pair of friendlies once morest Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Budapest, Hungary.
Meanwhile, Husky freshman Enora Matté made the squad list for Belgium’s Under-19 team for the 2023 UEFA U19 Championship, receiving one cap during the group stage.
Another freshman on the Dawg’s roster, Daniella Alali was called into the Nigeria U17 Women’s National Team Camp ahead of the 2022 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, but did not attend the camp due to injury.
PROS MADE HERE
Over the past two seasons, Washington has developed 11 different players who have gone on to play at the professional ranks. Following the 2021 campaign, Olivia Van der Jagt was selected in the 3rd round of the NWSL Draft by OL Reign, while Ameera Hussen signed with Icelandic club IBV. Since finishing her Husky career, Jessika Cowart has gone on to ink deals with Çaykur Rizespor (Turkey), Spartak Subotica (Serbia) and IFK Kalmar (Sweden).
10 former Huskies from the 2022 roster are now playing at the professional level. Shae Holmes was drafted in the second round of the NWSL Draft by OL Reign, followed in the fourth round by Summer Yates, who was selected by the Orlando Pride. Olivia Sekany and McKenzie Weinert also signed NWSL contracts with Racing Louisville and OL Reign, respectively.
Overseas, Vanessa Millsaps signed with Liga MX club Pachuca. Cori Sullivan also signed a Liga MX deal with Cruz Azul and has since signed with Glasgow City in Scotland. Evelina Pettersson returned to her native Sweden to play for Trelleborgs FF, while fellow Swedish product Alice Sondergaard has signed with Serie A club Sampdoria. UW has two former players playing in Portugal in Kala McDaniel (Racing Power FC) and Shaye Seyffart (S.F. Damaiense). Following her stint with OL Reign, Weinert has signed on with Melbourne Victory in Australia.
RAPHA’S RETURN
A former standout player and coach for Washington’s men’s soccer team, Raphael Cox returned to Montlake ahead of the 2023 as an assistant coach following one season as a men’s team assistant at San Diego State.
Cox spent three seasons on Jamie Clark’s staff at Washington as volunteer assistant coach from 2019-21. As a player, Cox a two-time All-Pac-12 selection at UW where he played from 2006-2008. After graduating, Cox was selected in the fourth round of the MLS SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake, where he was part of the MLS Cup Champion squad in 2009.
B1G THINGS COMING
The 2023 season will be Washington’s last in the Pac-12 Conference, with the university announcing in August that it has accepted an invitation to the Big Ten Conference, beginning play in the conference in Fall 2024.
UW was one of the four founding members of what started in December of 1915 as the Pacific Coast Conference, which eventually grew to become the Pac-12.
2023 PAC-12 PRESEASON COACHES’ POLL
Team
1. UCLA (9)
2. Stanford (3)
3. USC
4. Cal
5. Washington State
6. Arizona
T7. Washington
T7. Arizona State
T7. Colorado
10. Utah
11. Oregon
12. Oregon State
FOLLOW THE DAWGS!
Fans can keep up with all the goings on around the Washington women’s soccer program by following the Huskies on the team’s various social media platforms. You can find the Dawgs on X at @UW_WSoccer, on Instagram at @uw_wsoccer or on Facebook by searching “Washington Women’s Soccer”. Fans can also follow the Huskies through the women’s soccer page at GoHuskies.com.
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