No. 11 Washington To Travel To No. 6 Denver For Round Of Sixteen

Saturday, November 26

Denver, Colo.

3:00 PM

University of Washington

Denver

No. 11 Washington To Travel To No. 6 Denver For Round Of Sixteen

November 23, 2016 | Men's Soccer

Game Notes Tickets Live Stream Live Stats

NCAA Round of Sixteen Match Preview
No. 11 Washington (14-6-0, 7-4-0) will travel to No. 6 seeded Denver (18-0-3, 5-0-1) this Friday for a Saturday, Nov. 26 matchup at CIBER Field. The match us set to kickoff at 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT. The game will be available via live stats and live stream through denverpioneers.com.

Huskies in the Tournament
This season's selection will make the program's 23rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The last time the team participated was in 2014. The squad is 12-22 all-time in the in the NCAA Tournament. At home the squad has a favorable 8-6 record. Their most appearance was in 2014 where they hosted Furman in the second round, advancing on penalty kicks. Their journey to the championship was put to an end when they fell to Michigan State in the third round. The teams went to penalty kicks and Michigane State came out on top, 4-3. In 2013, the squad made it all the way to the quarterfinals where they lost to New Mexico 0-1. The team's advancement to the third round is the program's fourth time in history.

Second Round Review
A powerful offensive presence led the No. 14 Washington men's soccer team to a 4-1 win over New Mexico Sunday evening in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Lobos were first to put a goal on the board after a pass from Niko Hansen found the feet of Patrick Khouri who netted the ball in the 21st minute. The shot was one of five from New Mexico, but the only one allowed by goalkeeper Auden Schilder. Just seven minutes later, defender Justin Schmidt sent a corner kick soaring over the chaos inside the box to the inside of the far left post, tying the score at 1-1. Less than two minutes into the half, Scott Menzies gave the Huskies the lead for the first time in three matches off a pass from Henry Wingo. Just ten minutes later, Menzies assisted freshman Elijah Rice with a long pass that found the back of the net to give the Dawgs a 3-1 lead. The two goal advantage was not enough for the Huskies, as they continued to charge the Lobos' net. Senior captain Beau Blanchard earned his first goal of the season with a shot assisted by Justin Fiddes put the win out of reach for New Mexico in the 64th minute.

How it Works
The 48-team field consists of 16 seeded programs. The top 16 squads receive byes, therefore not playing in the first round. Washington sat out the first round match, awaiting the winner of the New Mexico/Portland first round match. This weekend. the winner of the Washington/Denver match will face the winner of the No. 3 Clemson/No. 14 Albany contest.

Freshman of the Year
This week Handwalla Bwana was named the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Bwana becomes the fourth recipient of the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year award in program history and first since Cristian Roldan in 2013. The other Huskies to win the award were Ely Allen (2004) and C.J. Klaas (2001). In his first season wearing the Purple and Gold, Bwana has been a consistent play-maker. Born and raised in Kenya until he was 12, the freshman forward played in 18 matches, starting in 8; totaling for 1,051 minutes. He had four total goals on the season, one of which helped the team in their 4-0 shutout at UCLA. He finished second in the conference for assists (7) and assists per game (.39).

All-Conference Team
Redshirt senior defender, Justin Schmidt, was named on the All-Pac-12 First Team. Redshirt junior goalkeeper, Auden Schilder, junior midfielder, Henry Wingo, and Bwana were named All-Pac-12 Second Team honorees. Earning honorable mention was junior forward, Kyle Coffee.

TopDrawer National Team of the Week
After his stellar performance in the second round, Scott Menzies was named to TopDrawer's National Team of the Week for the week of Nov. 21.

Dawgs in the MLS
Cristian Roldan and Darwin Jones find themselves playing in the MLS Western Conference Final with the Seattle Sounders. The squad will be in Denver this weekend for a Sunday, Nov. 27 matchup against Colorado at 1 p.m. In game one, Roldan had an assist that helpd lead the Sounders to a victory. 1997 alum, Ian Russell, was named the head coach of Reco 1868 FC for its inagural season in 2017.

Starting I
One Husky has started all 20 matches this season - Luke Hauswirth. Hauswirth has played 1,716 minutes. He has has one assist and one goal.

In the Rankings
After starting unranked, the Dawgs entered the rankings at No. 16. They are currently ranked No. 14 in the NSCAA Coaches poll and No. 11 in the NCAA RPI.

Surpassed Goals
Last season proved to be an offensive struggle for the Huskies. In the entire 2015 season the team scored 18 goals. In the ten matches this season they have surpassed that amount by scoring 34.

A Look at the Pioneers
Denver won its first NCAA Tournament game since 1970, advancing to the NCAA Round of 16 with a 3-0 win over UNLV on Sunday evening at CIBER Field. Following this week's final exams, the Pioneers will stay put, and welcome No. 11 Washington to the Mile High City for the third round match. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 5 p.m. MT. The winner of the third round match at CIBER Field will play the winner of No. 3 Clemson and No. 14 Albany in the quarterfinals. The higher seed remaining will host the quarterfinals on campus either December 2 or 3.

The Series With Denver
The Huskies have a 2-1-2 all-time record against the Pioneers. The last time the two met was in 2009 where they ended in a draw in double overtime during the regular season.

In the Net
Redshirt junior Auden Schilder will most likely get the nod in the upcoming week after starting and playing in all but one match this season.

A Look at the Dawgs
Summer was very beneficial for the Huskies. The team took advantage of the time off school and voluntarily worked to improve their fitness and ball handling. The 2016 men's soccer team includes nine freshmen newcomers and 20 returners. The backline made of Justin Schmidt, Quentin Pearson, Luke Hauswirth and Justin Fiddes, who allowed only 13 goals in all season, returns fully intact. Mason Robertson will be returning after spending the majority of the 2015 on the bench due to a leg injury. Henry Wingo and Kyle Coffee will be returning as key attackers for the Huskies.

Nation's Top 100
Junior and Seattle native, Henry Wingo, has earned the No. 57 spot on Tap Drawer Soccer's Top 100 list. Last season he played in all 19 games in 2015, starting in 17. He was named to the NSCAA All-Far West Region Third Team, earned All-Pac-12 Second Team honors as well as given Second Team Academic All-Pac-12 honors. Wingo led the Dawgs with 50 shots and had a team-leading 18 shots on goal. Most recently, Wingo was named on the 2016 Preseason Men's Soccer All-Pac-12 Team.

2016 Captains
This season, the Dawgs will be led by senior captains Justin Schmidt, Beau Blanchard and Auden Schilder. The trio embodies the mentality Coach Clark expects from his players. Their leadership and dedication to the team show on and off the field. Last season Blanchard saw action in all 19 games, with eight starts. He scored the team's only goal in the season opener against Gonzaga, leading the team to a win. Schmidt started in 18 games and was named to the NSCAA All-Far West Region First Team. Schmidt played a team-high of 1,737 minutes in the season with 5 points scored in the season. Schilder, in 2015, only allowed one goal in his 135 minute total playing time.