Father/Son Alums Names Etched in Husky Record Book
September 05, 2018 | Men's Soccer
Sunday's match vs Akron is Alumni Day at Husky Soccer Stadium. Today we feature a story about a pair of prominent alumni who happen to also be father and son. For tickets to the Alumni Game, visit gohuskies.com/MSocTickets
By: Rich Myhre
They played in different eras, so their experiences and other memories of the University of Washington men's soccer program are very different.
But what they share is an abiding love for the game, and likewise careers as Huskies that helped raise UW soccer from its infancy to respectability and then to a place of national prominence.
Ward and Kevin Forrest of Edmonds, a father and son, are among the all-time leading goal-scorers in Washington history. Ward Forrest played for the Huskies from 1972-75 and finished with 36 career goals, while Kevin Forrest was at Washington from 2003-07 (with a medical redshirt in 2005) and had 34 goals before a broken foot abruptly ended his college career early in his senior season.
Those totals rank them sixth (Ward, tie) and eighth (Kevin) on the all-time list of career goal-scorers for a Washington program that celebrated its 1,000th match on Aug. 24 in the 2018 season-opener vs. Maryland.
Though their soccer journeys turned out strikingly similar – beginning on Seattle-area club teams, continuing at Washington, and then on to the pros – Ward and Kevin Forrest agree it was all more of a coincidence than anything.
"It just happened that way," Ward Forrest said. "But the fact that (Kevin) followed me to the UW and was a goal-scorer like me, that was awesome. … I mean, who doesn't like that story?"
Ward Forrest was a 1972 graduate of Bellevue High School who excelled as a member of the Eastside Youth Soccer Association. He had hoped to play at an established college soccer program elsewhere in the country, but was unable to land a scholarship and ended up at Washington because the in-state tuition back then was an affordable $188 per quarter.
He arrived shortly after UW men's soccer transitioned from a club sport to an intercollegiate varsity sport. Under coach Mike Ryan, the Huskies were part of the Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference, and played teams like Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Western Washington University, Central Washington University, the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University.
The Huskies were good in his four years, posting combined records of 58-16-11 overall and 35-3-4 in league games. But the gap between Washington and the top teams nationally was evidenced in the NCAA Tournament; Ward Forrest's UW teams twice took on UCLA in the postseason and twice had their season ended by the Bruins, both by lopsided 5-0 scores.
In those early days, Washington played its home games at Lower Woodland Park, though sometimes in old Husky Stadium, which seemed cavernous with crowds that were often around 100 people.
Ward Forrest's best UW moment came in his sophomore year. Washington was hosting the annual Husky Classic with one of the invited teams being UCLA, which had placed second in the NCAA Tournament the year before. With Washington trailing the Bruins in the late minutes, Ward Forrest scored to tie the game and send it to overtime (UCLA would eventually prevail on penalty kicks).
"Tying them, for us, was a big deal," Ward Forrest said. "That was a big, emotional moment for me and for the whole team."
Some 15 years later, Ward Forrest was retired from soccer, living in Edmonds, and raising a family. His son Kevin took up soccer, basketball and baseball as a young boy, "but soccer was the sport I was the best at," he said. "And it became soccer only in about eighth grade. … But I never felt like I was driven (by his father) to play soccer."
"He was driven at a young age to get good," interjected Ward Forrest. "And it was a blast for me."
Kevin Forrest attended Edmonds-Woodway High School, and by the time he graduated in 2003 a number of colleges were showing interest. "All the (Puget Sound-area) schools were actively recruiting me," he said. "But I really wanted to play at (Washington). The best (local) players all went there, so it was kind of a dream for me to play there."
Unlike his father, who endured the growing pains of Washington's young varsity program, Kevin Forrest played at a time when the Huskies were recruiting elite players and competing well with the nation's best teams. In his four seasons the Huskies were a combined 46-27-9, while going 16-16-6 in a Pacific-10 Conference that included Oregon State University, the University of California, Stanford University, UCLA, and either Fresno State University or San Diego State University.
"By the time I got there," he said, "the program was really good and really serious."
Under UW coach Dean Wurzberger, Kevin Forrest struggled at times in his freshman season, but then blossomed as a sophomore, leading the Huskies with nine goals. After sitting out in 2005 as a medical redshirt, he returned the next season to score 16 goals and was named the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year. A year later, he was scoring about once a game early in the schedule, but his season and college career ended prematurely with a broken foot that left him on crutches for eight weeks.
Had his son not been injured, Ward Forrest said, "he would've literally blown by me" in career goals. And had that happened, "it would've been an awesome moment," he said. "I mean, how happy would I have been? … I actually would've been happier if he'd gone past me in goals scored."
Kevin Forrest's best UW moment came in 2006, in a first-round NCAA Tournament game at Husky Soccer Stadium. Facing Creighton University, and with a large crowd looking on, he scored every Washington goal in a 3-0 victory. It was, he recalled, "one of those really memorable nights. It was very, very special."
After leaving Washington, both men would get a taste of pro soccer. Ward Forrest was drafted by the Seattle Sounders of the former North American Soccer League in January of 1976, and played 2½ seasons for a team that drew raucous crowds to home games in the new Kingdome. In 1977, Seattle reached the NASL championship game known as Soccer Bowl, which was held that year in Portland, Ore. Because teams could only suit up 14 players (11 starters, three substitutes), Ward Forrest ended up driving to the game and watching from the stands with his girlfriend, later his wife.
Kevin Forrest was drafted by the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer in 2008, but was dealing with a leg injury and was subsequently released. He signed with the United Soccer Leagues' Sounders, and then the MLS Sounders during the team's 2009 expansion season, though he never played in a league game. He later played for the USL's Portland team before retiring in 2010.
These days, Ward and Kevin Forrest enjoy being soccer spectators, and they likewise have fun following the UW program, which is about to host its annual Alumni Weekend, highlighted by Sunday's 4:30 p.m. game against Akron University at Husky Soccer Stadium.
Kevin Forrest, who today works in the finance department of Morgan Stanley in downtown Seattle, is grateful that current coach Jamie Clark goes out of his way to make former players feel welcomed when they return.
"(Clark) makes you feel like you matter as an alum," Kevin Forrest said. Being around the program is a chance to reconnect with ex-teammates and other soccer acquaintances, he added, "and it's definitely a community that I'm still involved in."
Seeing his son develop as a player, including an outstanding UW career, "was just about as good as it can get for me," said Ward Forrest, who is a longtime business owner. "Even when he was struggling in his first year, adjusting (to the college game), I knew he was in a great place. Individually, he lifted himself up and became one of the best players in the country.
"Every dad on the planet wants the best for his son," he added. "So from a dad standpoint, that was awesome. I loved watching him."
By: Rich Myhre
They played in different eras, so their experiences and other memories of the University of Washington men's soccer program are very different.
But what they share is an abiding love for the game, and likewise careers as Huskies that helped raise UW soccer from its infancy to respectability and then to a place of national prominence.
Ward and Kevin Forrest of Edmonds, a father and son, are among the all-time leading goal-scorers in Washington history. Ward Forrest played for the Huskies from 1972-75 and finished with 36 career goals, while Kevin Forrest was at Washington from 2003-07 (with a medical redshirt in 2005) and had 34 goals before a broken foot abruptly ended his college career early in his senior season.
Those totals rank them sixth (Ward, tie) and eighth (Kevin) on the all-time list of career goal-scorers for a Washington program that celebrated its 1,000th match on Aug. 24 in the 2018 season-opener vs. Maryland.
Though their soccer journeys turned out strikingly similar – beginning on Seattle-area club teams, continuing at Washington, and then on to the pros – Ward and Kevin Forrest agree it was all more of a coincidence than anything.
"It just happened that way," Ward Forrest said. "But the fact that (Kevin) followed me to the UW and was a goal-scorer like me, that was awesome. … I mean, who doesn't like that story?"
Ward Forrest was a 1972 graduate of Bellevue High School who excelled as a member of the Eastside Youth Soccer Association. He had hoped to play at an established college soccer program elsewhere in the country, but was unable to land a scholarship and ended up at Washington because the in-state tuition back then was an affordable $188 per quarter.
He arrived shortly after UW men's soccer transitioned from a club sport to an intercollegiate varsity sport. Under coach Mike Ryan, the Huskies were part of the Northwest Collegiate Soccer Conference, and played teams like Seattle University, Seattle Pacific University, Western Washington University, Central Washington University, the University of Puget Sound and Pacific Lutheran University.
The Huskies were good in his four years, posting combined records of 58-16-11 overall and 35-3-4 in league games. But the gap between Washington and the top teams nationally was evidenced in the NCAA Tournament; Ward Forrest's UW teams twice took on UCLA in the postseason and twice had their season ended by the Bruins, both by lopsided 5-0 scores.
In those early days, Washington played its home games at Lower Woodland Park, though sometimes in old Husky Stadium, which seemed cavernous with crowds that were often around 100 people.
Ward Forrest's best UW moment came in his sophomore year. Washington was hosting the annual Husky Classic with one of the invited teams being UCLA, which had placed second in the NCAA Tournament the year before. With Washington trailing the Bruins in the late minutes, Ward Forrest scored to tie the game and send it to overtime (UCLA would eventually prevail on penalty kicks).
"Tying them, for us, was a big deal," Ward Forrest said. "That was a big, emotional moment for me and for the whole team."
Some 15 years later, Ward Forrest was retired from soccer, living in Edmonds, and raising a family. His son Kevin took up soccer, basketball and baseball as a young boy, "but soccer was the sport I was the best at," he said. "And it became soccer only in about eighth grade. … But I never felt like I was driven (by his father) to play soccer."
"He was driven at a young age to get good," interjected Ward Forrest. "And it was a blast for me."
Kevin Forrest attended Edmonds-Woodway High School, and by the time he graduated in 2003 a number of colleges were showing interest. "All the (Puget Sound-area) schools were actively recruiting me," he said. "But I really wanted to play at (Washington). The best (local) players all went there, so it was kind of a dream for me to play there."
Unlike his father, who endured the growing pains of Washington's young varsity program, Kevin Forrest played at a time when the Huskies were recruiting elite players and competing well with the nation's best teams. In his four seasons the Huskies were a combined 46-27-9, while going 16-16-6 in a Pacific-10 Conference that included Oregon State University, the University of California, Stanford University, UCLA, and either Fresno State University or San Diego State University.
"By the time I got there," he said, "the program was really good and really serious."
Under UW coach Dean Wurzberger, Kevin Forrest struggled at times in his freshman season, but then blossomed as a sophomore, leading the Huskies with nine goals. After sitting out in 2005 as a medical redshirt, he returned the next season to score 16 goals and was named the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year. A year later, he was scoring about once a game early in the schedule, but his season and college career ended prematurely with a broken foot that left him on crutches for eight weeks.
Had his son not been injured, Ward Forrest said, "he would've literally blown by me" in career goals. And had that happened, "it would've been an awesome moment," he said. "I mean, how happy would I have been? … I actually would've been happier if he'd gone past me in goals scored."
Kevin Forrest's best UW moment came in 2006, in a first-round NCAA Tournament game at Husky Soccer Stadium. Facing Creighton University, and with a large crowd looking on, he scored every Washington goal in a 3-0 victory. It was, he recalled, "one of those really memorable nights. It was very, very special."
After leaving Washington, both men would get a taste of pro soccer. Ward Forrest was drafted by the Seattle Sounders of the former North American Soccer League in January of 1976, and played 2½ seasons for a team that drew raucous crowds to home games in the new Kingdome. In 1977, Seattle reached the NASL championship game known as Soccer Bowl, which was held that year in Portland, Ore. Because teams could only suit up 14 players (11 starters, three substitutes), Ward Forrest ended up driving to the game and watching from the stands with his girlfriend, later his wife.
Kevin Forrest was drafted by the Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer in 2008, but was dealing with a leg injury and was subsequently released. He signed with the United Soccer Leagues' Sounders, and then the MLS Sounders during the team's 2009 expansion season, though he never played in a league game. He later played for the USL's Portland team before retiring in 2010.
These days, Ward and Kevin Forrest enjoy being soccer spectators, and they likewise have fun following the UW program, which is about to host its annual Alumni Weekend, highlighted by Sunday's 4:30 p.m. game against Akron University at Husky Soccer Stadium.
Kevin Forrest, who today works in the finance department of Morgan Stanley in downtown Seattle, is grateful that current coach Jamie Clark goes out of his way to make former players feel welcomed when they return.
"(Clark) makes you feel like you matter as an alum," Kevin Forrest said. Being around the program is a chance to reconnect with ex-teammates and other soccer acquaintances, he added, "and it's definitely a community that I'm still involved in."
Seeing his son develop as a player, including an outstanding UW career, "was just about as good as it can get for me," said Ward Forrest, who is a longtime business owner. "Even when he was struggling in his first year, adjusting (to the college game), I knew he was in a great place. Individually, he lifted himself up and became one of the best players in the country.
"Every dad on the planet wants the best for his son," he added. "So from a dad standpoint, that was awesome. I loved watching him."
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