1/29/2021
With a few returning stars and plenty of intriguing new faces, the Husky defense could be quite tough in 2021. Washington will have four returners who saw significant action last season in Kaylene Pang, Shae Holmes, Helena Reischling, Laura Roberts, as well as Tasia Kravitz set to return from injury. Joining them is a host of newcomers: Elena Palacios, Kala McDaniel, Dori Ames, and Yaneisy Rodriguez are all new to the Huskies this year, with Palacios and McDaniel transferring to Washington and Ames and Rodriguez beginning their freshman seasons.
Washington will have an all-new keeper trio as well. Caeley Goldstein and Nicole Smith are freshmen in net for the Huskies this season and will be joined by Cal transfer Olivia Sekany.
Pang has spent the last three years as a rock in central defense for Washington. In 2019, Pang earned some recognition for her lockdown defense, earning All-Pac-12 and All-Pacific Region honors in 2019. That was her second consecutive year playing every minute of every game for Washington: she last sat in 2017, making 40 consecutive starts and scoring three goals in that time. Pang has also excelled in the classroom, earning Pac-12 Academic Honor Roll each of the last two seasons.
Holmes worked her way back from injury halfway through the 2019 season and has been strong ever since. Holmes would make her way into the starting lineup at full health by the end of the year, making 14 total appearances in 2019 and starting the last three games. Against Seattle U in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Holmes scored the game’s only goal to push Washington to the next round. In the summer, Holmes played with Summer Yates on the U.S. U-20 National Team, winning the U-20 CONCACAF championship.
It didn’t take Reischling long to adjust to collegiate competition at an all-new position: she started her very first game, against Portland, playing defense for the first time in her career. In the first six games of Reischling’s career, she would play all but 12 possible minutes. Against #7 USC, she would score her first career goal as the Huskies shut out the Trojans. Reischling would end her first collegiate season with 19 appearances and three total points.
Kravitz was hit with injury in 2019, missing the entire season as she recovered. The redshirt sophomore should be ready to go in 2020. She has made eight appearances in her career, all in 2018 as a freshman. In all, Kravitz will enter 2020 with 166 competitive collegiate minutes under her belt.
A transfer from Hawai’i, Palacios has been a stalwart defender for two years and looks to continue that trend at Washington. Palacios has earned Big West honors each year of her career: in 2018, she was named to the conference’s All-Freshman team, then in 2019 she earned All-Big West honors. She would lead Hawai’i in minutes played in 2019, playing over 1700 as she played every minute in all but one game. Palacios led Hawai’i in minutes in both of her seasons.
Roberts has ably stepped up to whatever role Washington has asked of her in two seasons. In 2018, Roberts served as a full-time starter, making 16 starts and even recording an assist while playing defense. In 2019, Roberts transitioned to a bench role but still made two starts, both against Pac-12 opponents. She has played over 1600 minutes in her two seasons since walking on to the team and will again be an important part of Washington’s waves of defenders.
McDaniel also brings an impressive collegiate track record to Washington. In her two years playing for UC Irvine, McDaniel started 37 games, all on defense. As a freshman, she earned Big West All-Freshman honors, then was named to the conference’s preseason top-20 list before the 2019 season. McDaniel has scored four goals in her two seasons as a defender, ending 2019 with goals in each of the last three seasons. She has also added two assists to her scoring total.
Ames and Rodriguez come to Washington with all sorts of accolades from their high school years. That duo has combined for three regional Player of the Year awards and four top-three finishes in state tournaments. Ames twice earned All-State First Team while at Central Valley High School, earning the Greater Spokane League Defensive Player of the Year twice as well. She would finish second and third in the state in back-to-back years with Central Valley, then finish second twice in the state club championships with G02 Spokane Sounders.
Rodriguez won two Washington state championships in high school, earning three All-League First Team honors in the process. She twice played in the Olimpiada Nacional and was the 2019 Regional Player of the Year. Three times Rodriguez was a part of the ECNL Conference Selection Program.
Goldstein earned All-League in 2020 before enrolling at Washington. She has been a part of a number of ODP camps. Smith led the SCVAL in GAA all four years of high school, earning Goalkeeper of the Year in the process and leading Gunn High School to its first SCVAL championship.
Sekany made 13 appearances in her three seasons at Cal, starting ten games. She shut out Utah Valley in her first collegiate game, one of two shutouts in her career. Against Arizona, Sekany would set a career high with seven saves.
