Photo by: Red Box Pictures
Huskies Sign Eight for the 2019 Season
November 23, 2018 | Men's Soccer
SEATTLE --- Washington men's soccer head coach Jamie Clark announced the addition of eight new players to the 2019 roster during the fall national signing period.
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The Huskies added two forwards, four midfielders, a defender and a goalkeeper to the roster for the upcoming year. The class feature four local players from the Sounders and Crossfire US Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) teams.
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Forward Jayson Baca is a Colorado Rapids Academy product but is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Last season Baca was one of the leading scorers for his Colorado Rapids U17 Academy team with eight goals in 19 games.Β This season Baca has appeared in eight games for the Rapids U19 team.
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"Jayson is a gritty forward that defenders hate playing against," said Clark. "He has a great combination of power, determination and ability that we believe will translate very well into the college game. He moved from Albuquerque to join the Rapids a few years ago to ensure he was part of an MLS set up and quickly became a huge piece of their youth academy.Β He has now chosen to make UW his next destination and we believe his transition will be just as smooth."
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Khai Brisco is one of the country's top young defenders and is a local product, joining the Huskies from the Sounders Academy. The Renton native is ranked as the No. 3 defender and the No. 24 overall player in the 2019 class according to topdrawersoccer.com. Brisco has also been a part of the US U19 men's national team, recently helping the team win the USA U20s Invitational against three other U20 teams. Brisco and future Husky teammate Ethan Bartlow earned US Soccer Development Academy West Conference Best XI defender honors last year and is expected to repeat when the honors are announced in July.
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"Khai is possibly the top defender in the entire 2019 recruiting class," said Clark. "He already has two years of USL experience and some youth national caps as well. There is no more athletic defender in the country, and he's a young man that will not back down from any challenge. Some of the top attacking players feature in the Pac-12 each year and Khai will look forward to shutting them down."
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The Huskies add a strong holding midfielder to the roster in Euan Clark, who comes to the Huskies from Sacramento, Calif. Clark played every minute for the Sacramento Republic U16/17 team, which reached the quarterfinals of the 2017-18 USSDA playoffs. He appeared in 32 matches, making 26 starts, for the team in 2017-18 and has played in six matches for the U18/19 team this season.
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"Euan is a very smart holding midfielder that connects the game very well," said Clark. "He does all the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet but ensure that his team wins. We have a great history of midfielders like this who have been key to our success over the years and we believe he will grow into this same key role."
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Jensen Jabara is originally from San Diego but comes to Seattle from the IMG Academy in Florida where he played his senior season. Jabara played three seasons at The Bishops School in San Diego and for Albion FC before finishing his schooling at IMG, playing six matches for the program's U18/19 team last year. While at Bishop's he led the team in goals and assists as a freshman and sophomore before suffering a knee injury. Overall he had 26 goals and 24 assists in two seasons.
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"Jensen is a fun attacking player to watch," said Clark. "He loves to run at players and is fantastic at unbalancing defenses.Β He is a focused young man who has moved to IMG for his senior year of high school.Β This determination and commitment blended with his natural ability on the ball is exactly why we believe Jensen will be a great player at UW."
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Midfielder Christian Soto is another local product, joining the Huskies from Crossfire Academy. Soto started all 36 games for the Crossfire U18/19 team in 2017-18 season, scoring six goals on the season and helping lead his team to the final eight of the Academy Playoffs.Β He has also started all nine matches for his Crossfire U18/19 team this season.Β In 2016 Soto was also called into a U.S. Under 17 National Team Camp with fellow Husky and Crossfire Teammate, Ethan Bartlow.
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"Christian is a local player we have known and loved for a long time," said Clark. "He's the engine of every team he plays for and is a player that wins battles and then transitions play into attack immediately. He was club teammates with current Huskies Ethan Bartlow and Charlie Ostrem last season at Crossfire, and we look forward to doing this group back together in the coming seasons at UW."Β
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Washington adds another solid midfielder in Nick Scardina, a talented player out of Timbers Academy in Portland. Scardina played up top as a U16/17 player for the Timbers Academy, scoring 13 goals in 32 games last season. He has already scored three goals in eight starts with the U18/19 team this season.
Β
"Nick is a Timbers Academy player that we fortunately convinced to come North into Sounders territory," said Clark. "He has the power and athleticism that allows him to play all over the field but emerged as one of the top attacking players on the west coast last year. He puts defenders on their heels with his positive movements and will find a way to make a difference in any game he plays."
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Gabe Threadgold comes to the Huskies from Sounders Academy. The Bremerton native who drove two hours each way to play in Sounders system, is another three-star rated prospect according to topdrawersoccer.com. He played 33 games for the Sounders U18/19 team last year, scoring six goals. He also played a handful of games for Sounders 2 over the summer season and has appeared in eight matches with the Sounders U18/19 team already this season.
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"Gabe is a Sounders Academy player that has also featured for Sounders 2 in the USL last season," said Clark. "He has incredible quickness and loves get behind defenses.Β I love his attitude to work on both sides of the ball and think his style will work very well at UW. He always has a smile on his face, but don't let that trick you as he's determined and ready win any duel he's a part of."
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Also joining the team in 2019 is Sam Fowler. Fowler, who comes from Issaquah and the Sounders Academy, originally signed a letter of intent last year, but used a gap year to continue playing academy soccer. He finished the Sounders 2 season this fall and will start a new season with them while also playing for the U19 Dev. Academy team before joining the Huskies. Β
Β
"Sam was already a top GK, and now he has another year of top experience both at the USL and international levels," said Clark. "We are excited to get him here as he's a GK that is an extension of the ten field players and really allows a team to build out of the back."
Β
Β
The Huskies added two forwards, four midfielders, a defender and a goalkeeper to the roster for the upcoming year. The class feature four local players from the Sounders and Crossfire US Soccer Development Academy (USSDA) teams.
Β
Forward Jayson Baca is a Colorado Rapids Academy product but is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Last season Baca was one of the leading scorers for his Colorado Rapids U17 Academy team with eight goals in 19 games.Β This season Baca has appeared in eight games for the Rapids U19 team.
Β
"Jayson is a gritty forward that defenders hate playing against," said Clark. "He has a great combination of power, determination and ability that we believe will translate very well into the college game. He moved from Albuquerque to join the Rapids a few years ago to ensure he was part of an MLS set up and quickly became a huge piece of their youth academy.Β He has now chosen to make UW his next destination and we believe his transition will be just as smooth."
Β
Khai Brisco is one of the country's top young defenders and is a local product, joining the Huskies from the Sounders Academy. The Renton native is ranked as the No. 3 defender and the No. 24 overall player in the 2019 class according to topdrawersoccer.com. Brisco has also been a part of the US U19 men's national team, recently helping the team win the USA U20s Invitational against three other U20 teams. Brisco and future Husky teammate Ethan Bartlow earned US Soccer Development Academy West Conference Best XI defender honors last year and is expected to repeat when the honors are announced in July.
Β
"Khai is possibly the top defender in the entire 2019 recruiting class," said Clark. "He already has two years of USL experience and some youth national caps as well. There is no more athletic defender in the country, and he's a young man that will not back down from any challenge. Some of the top attacking players feature in the Pac-12 each year and Khai will look forward to shutting them down."
Β
The Huskies add a strong holding midfielder to the roster in Euan Clark, who comes to the Huskies from Sacramento, Calif. Clark played every minute for the Sacramento Republic U16/17 team, which reached the quarterfinals of the 2017-18 USSDA playoffs. He appeared in 32 matches, making 26 starts, for the team in 2017-18 and has played in six matches for the U18/19 team this season.
Β
"Euan is a very smart holding midfielder that connects the game very well," said Clark. "He does all the little things that don't show up on the stat sheet but ensure that his team wins. We have a great history of midfielders like this who have been key to our success over the years and we believe he will grow into this same key role."
Β
Jensen Jabara is originally from San Diego but comes to Seattle from the IMG Academy in Florida where he played his senior season. Jabara played three seasons at The Bishops School in San Diego and for Albion FC before finishing his schooling at IMG, playing six matches for the program's U18/19 team last year. While at Bishop's he led the team in goals and assists as a freshman and sophomore before suffering a knee injury. Overall he had 26 goals and 24 assists in two seasons.
Β
"Jensen is a fun attacking player to watch," said Clark. "He loves to run at players and is fantastic at unbalancing defenses.Β He is a focused young man who has moved to IMG for his senior year of high school.Β This determination and commitment blended with his natural ability on the ball is exactly why we believe Jensen will be a great player at UW."
Β
Midfielder Christian Soto is another local product, joining the Huskies from Crossfire Academy. Soto started all 36 games for the Crossfire U18/19 team in 2017-18 season, scoring six goals on the season and helping lead his team to the final eight of the Academy Playoffs.Β He has also started all nine matches for his Crossfire U18/19 team this season.Β In 2016 Soto was also called into a U.S. Under 17 National Team Camp with fellow Husky and Crossfire Teammate, Ethan Bartlow.
Β
"Christian is a local player we have known and loved for a long time," said Clark. "He's the engine of every team he plays for and is a player that wins battles and then transitions play into attack immediately. He was club teammates with current Huskies Ethan Bartlow and Charlie Ostrem last season at Crossfire, and we look forward to doing this group back together in the coming seasons at UW."Β
Β
Washington adds another solid midfielder in Nick Scardina, a talented player out of Timbers Academy in Portland. Scardina played up top as a U16/17 player for the Timbers Academy, scoring 13 goals in 32 games last season. He has already scored three goals in eight starts with the U18/19 team this season.
Β
"Nick is a Timbers Academy player that we fortunately convinced to come North into Sounders territory," said Clark. "He has the power and athleticism that allows him to play all over the field but emerged as one of the top attacking players on the west coast last year. He puts defenders on their heels with his positive movements and will find a way to make a difference in any game he plays."
Β
Gabe Threadgold comes to the Huskies from Sounders Academy. The Bremerton native who drove two hours each way to play in Sounders system, is another three-star rated prospect according to topdrawersoccer.com. He played 33 games for the Sounders U18/19 team last year, scoring six goals. He also played a handful of games for Sounders 2 over the summer season and has appeared in eight matches with the Sounders U18/19 team already this season.
Β
"Gabe is a Sounders Academy player that has also featured for Sounders 2 in the USL last season," said Clark. "He has incredible quickness and loves get behind defenses.Β I love his attitude to work on both sides of the ball and think his style will work very well at UW. He always has a smile on his face, but don't let that trick you as he's determined and ready win any duel he's a part of."
Β
Also joining the team in 2019 is Sam Fowler. Fowler, who comes from Issaquah and the Sounders Academy, originally signed a letter of intent last year, but used a gap year to continue playing academy soccer. He finished the Sounders 2 season this fall and will start a new season with them while also playing for the U19 Dev. Academy team before joining the Huskies. Β
Β
"Sam was already a top GK, and now he has another year of top experience both at the USL and international levels," said Clark. "We are excited to get him here as he's a GK that is an extension of the ten field players and really allows a team to build out of the back."
Β
Players Mentioned
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