Dawgs Open Season At Utah Valley

Friday, August 26

Orem, Utah

6:30 PM

University of Washington

Utah Valley

August 25, 2016 | Men's Soccer

Live Stream

Coming Up

After playing an exhibition game at New Mexico, the Dawgs are ready to get the season started. Washington will begin the season on the road at Utah Valley on Friday, Aug. 26. Kickoff at Clyde Field is at 6:30 p.m. PT. Live stats and live streaming will be available at wolverinegreen.com.

2015 Season Recap

Last season, the team was denied an NCAA bid, despite finishing third in the conference. The men finished with an 8-5-6 overall record and a 4-3-3 record in conference play. Injury played a large part in the 2015's team's struggles after James Moberg and Mason Robertson saw minimal playing time due to injury. The Huskies saw strong performances from the senior class, Ryan Herman, Michael Gallagher, Ian Lange and Josh Heard.

Exhibition Replay

Last week, the Huskies fell, 1-0, in an exhibition match at New Mexico. The game's only goal came in the 84^th minute from UNM's Niko Hansen. Husky goalkeeper Auden Schilder recorded six saves. Saif Kerawala played the remainder of the match in the goal, making two saves without allowing a goal. A total of 26 UW players saw action in the exhibition match.

Home Opener

Looking ahead, the Dawgs will play in their season home opener on Sept. 4 against Oral Roberts in Husky Stadium at 3 p.m.

Roldan on a Roll

Seattle Sounders midfielder and former Husky, Cristian Roldan, has been a key role in the Sounders recent three-game winning streak. A second year player in the MLS, Roldan started in 11 games last season, the third-most starts for a rookie in club's history. In 2015 he ranked eighth on the club with 12 shot attempts.

2016 Captains

This season, the Dawgs will be led by 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. He 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.

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.

Scouting the Competition

Utah Valley made it to the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament, but fell to No. 11 SMU in the first round, a first for the program. The Wolverines return all but one of their men to the roster this season after Tyler Brown graduated in 2015. Washington's opponent reached the NSCAA Top 25 twice last season.
Likely Starter Quickfacts

Goalkeeper

Auden Schilder- R-Jr… started in exhibition game against New Mexico… Has played behind two now professional players, Spencer Richey and Ryan Herman.

At the Back

Justin Schmidt and Quentin Pearson led the team as one of the nation's top defenses with Pearson allowing only .63 goals per game.
Garret Jackson- Played in seven games in 2015, including three starts.
Steven Wright- converted to a left back position
Justin Fiddes- played as left back in 2015… converted to right back.
Jose Ocampo- played in 11 games primarily at right back in 2015.

In the Midfield

Henry Wingo and Luke Hauswirth expected to ancho the middle after a successful spring season.
John Magnus- Freshman… expected to play.
Corban Anderson- played 445 minutes as a holding midfielder in 2015.
Beau Blanchard expected to play out wide.
Joey Parish, Handwalla Bwana and Jaret Townsend all contenders to join Blanchard.

Up Front

Kyle Coffee key contender after starting in eight games last season and playing in 19…. Played 1,143 minutes over 19 games in 2015.
Scott Menzies a probable contender after spring season.
David Coly- played in 16 games last season, with four start... played 629 minutes as a freshman.
Freshman standout, Elijah Rice.
Danny Gavin- started in nine games last season, playing in 12… plays as striker for Dawgs.
Mason Robertson- healthy after missing much of the 2015 season due to injury… Finished season with 12 shots, including two on goal.

Dawgs on the Pac-12

The Pac-12 Networks are set to televise 10 of Washington's 19 matches, including nine of the Dawgs' 10 conference contests. Washington's first appearance on the Network is a nonconference match against Seattle Univeristy set for Sept. 25 at 5 p.m. PST.