No. 2 Stanford On Deck As Huskies Hit Bay Area

Saturday, October 14

Stanford, CA

6:00 PM

University of Washington

Stanford

October 12, 2023 | Women's Soccer

UW Notes Stanford Notes Watch Live Stats

PALO ALTO, Calif. – Coming off of their first Pac-12 win of the season, Washington will face a tough test on Saturday, traveling to the Bay Area to take on No. 2 Stanford at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.

The match will kickoff at 6 p.m. PT and will be available for streaming through Stanford Live Stream. Links to live coverage can be found above.

SCOUTING STANFORD
Longtime Stanford head coach is in his 21st season at the helm of the Cardinal program in 2023, sitting as the winningest soccer coach in school history, men or women. Guiding the Cardinal to the NCAA Tournament in all but one season, Ratcliffe has led Stanford to three national championships and 10 Pac-12 titles.

Ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, the Cardinal sit at the top of the Pac-12 table with a perfect 5-0-0 record, including a pair of ranked wins over No. 24 Washington State and No. 25 Colorado. Overall, Stanford is one of eight undefeated teams in the nation with a 12-0-1 record.

13 different Stanford players have scored this season, led by sophomore midfielder Jasmine Aikey with six, one ahead of both fifth year midfielder Maya Doms and sophomore forward Andrea Kitahata. Aikey also paces the Cardinal with four assists this season.

A four-time Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week, Senior Ryan Campbell protects the posts for Stanford. Campbell owns a 0.38 goals against average on the year, allowing just four goals while posting a .862 save percentage on 25 stops.

SERIES HISTORY
The Cardinal lead the all-time series with Washington at 30-2-2, winning each of the last 19 meetings. The Huskies will be seeking their first-ever win on The Farm, going 0-16-2 all-time in Palo Alto.

LAST MEETING (10/6/22)
PALO ALTO, Calif. - Olivia Sekany set a career high with 10 saves and Kelsey Branson scored for the second time in as many matches but it wasn't enough as Washington fell 2-1 to No. 14 Stanford Thursday night.

While Washington started the match strong, applying pressure on the Stanford back line, the Cardinal took an early lead in the 22nd minute as a deflected shot from Allie Montoya was diverted outside of Olivia Sekany's reach.

The Cardinal doubled the lead in the 35th minute, with Montoya putting away Sierra Enge's cross just outside the mouth of the goal.

Unable to generate a response, the Huskies looked to recollect themselves after the halftime break.

The Dawgs came out of the locker room with renewed energy and on the attack. Washington nearly cut the deficit in half in the 57th minute but Karlee Stueckle's shot was saved by Cardinal Keeper Ryan Campbell and McKenzie Weinert's ensuing attempt was cleared off the line.

In the 72nd minute, Branson finished off Stueckle's cross over the top with a flicked header to find the side netting, bringing the Huskies within an goal and the rush for a second was on.

Kala McDaniel came within inches of level the score in the 82nd minute but saw her header carom off the crossbar and the Dawgs' comeback ran out of time.
FAMILIAR GROUND
Husky head coach Nicole Van Dyke will be making her second trip back to Stanford on Saturday. Van Dyke spent four seasons on staff on The Farm, three as an assistant coach and the final as associate head coach.

SPREADING THE LOVE
The Huskies have gotten their offensive production from a variety of different places this season, with 11 different players recording at least one goal.

GETTING LOUDD IN HERE
Taking the only two shots of her collegiate career, true freshman Maya Loudd registered a brace, including the game-winning goal, to lead the Huskies to a 4-3 victory at Arizona on Sunday. Loudd is the second Husky to post a multi-goal match this season, joining Ioanna Papatheodorou.

HEATING UP
Washington's leading returning goal scorer from 2022 (five goals), Kelsey Branson scored for the first time in 2023 Thursday at Arizona State and followed with another goal Sunday at Arizona. It is the second time the sophomore has posted a goal in back-to-back matches, scoring against Colorado and Stanford last season.

WHEN OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS
After playing 29 total minutes as a freshman a year ago, defender Lucy Newlin has been subbed out of just two matches this season, leading UW with 1,143 minutes.

IT FEELS LIKE THE VERY FIRST TIME
Washington has had eight first time goal scorers this season as Radisson Banks, Jadyn Holdenried, Chloe Seelhoff, Lucy Newlin, Anna Menti, Ioanna Papatheodorou, Kalea Eichenberger and Maya Loudd have all found the back of the net for the first time in a Husky kit.

SET IT UP, KNOCK IT DOWN
12 of Washington's 23 goals this season have come off of set pieces, with five goals coming as the result of corner kicks, three being scored off of free kicks and all four penalties being converted. UW's four penalty kick conversions are tied for the eighth most in the nation.

YOU CAN FIND ME IN DA CLUB
Among Washington's 15 newcomers for the 2023 season is sophomore Avery Nguyen, who was offered a roster spot during preseason training after a trial. A native of the Kansas City metro area and a former standout for Olathe Northwest High School and Sporting Blue Valley, Nguyen led the UW club team in scoring as a college freshman in 2022.

Playing a key role for the Huskies for most of the season, including making a pair of starts, Nguyen has appeared in nine contests for the Huskies this season.

YOUNG GUNS
Washington has started at least three true freshmen in every match this season, including a pair of starting XIs that featured five rookies. Aside from keeper Olivia Juarez, all but four starts this season for the Huskies have been made by freshmen and sophomores. 17 of UW's 23 goals in 2023 have been scored by underclassmen.

AYE PAPI!
Washington junior Ioanna Papatheodorou has been ranked at No. 92 in TopDrawerSoccer's annual preseason player rankings. It is the first time that the Greek international has been ranked by the service. It is the fourth-straight season that the Huskies have had a player ranked in the top-100 in the preseason rankings.

FRESH FACES
With 10 of 11 primary starters gone from the 2022 roster, Washington is relying on a bevy of newcomers and returners who played in a reserve role a season ago to replace the production lost.

Gone from the 2022 roster are 27-of-37 goals (73.0%), 31-of-38 assists (81.6%), 85-of-112 points (75.9%), 252-of-312 shots (80.8%) and 43-of-46 saves (93.5%).

Of the 28 players on the Huskies' roster, just seven are upperclassmen. U Dub boasts 11 freshmen and 10 sophomores on its squad list. Outside of the 17 matches started by Kalea Eichenberger at Cal State Bakersfield in 2022, those 21 underclassmen have recorded just 27 collegiate starts collectively.

ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS
Washington had two representatives at the 2022 rendition of the prestigious High School All-American game as true freshmen Maya Loudd and Samiah Shell were both selected to the West Team.

NEW SCHOOL, WHO DIS?
Washington added three transfers to its roster for the 2023 season in forwards Kalea Eichenberger and Ioanna Papatheodorou and goalkeeper Megan Nail.

Eichenberger spent her freshman season at Cal State Bakersfield, earning All-Big West Freshman Team honors. The California native appeared in 20 matches for the Roadrunners, starting the final 17 of the 2022 season. She bagged a team-high four goals, finishing the season with 10 points to pace the UCSB. She was named Big West Player of the Week after securing a brace against Cal Poly.

Papatheodorou joined Washington in the spring after starring for two seasons at UMass Lowell, earning back-to-back First Team All-America East nods. A Greece international, Papatheodorou was named the 2021 America East Striker of the Year after leading UMass Lowell with 10 goals. She followed up in 2022 with another 10-goal campaign, ranking second on the America East.

Nail is a graduate transfer from San Francisco, where she played for four seasons for the Dons, securing the starting role between the posts in 2022. Making the USF Starting XI 14 times on the year, she garnered a 1.23 goals against average. The veteran shot stopper tallied 64 saves for a .790 save percentage, logging five clean sheets.

COWART MAKES HISTORY
This summer, former Husky Jessika Cowart became the sixth former Dawg to make a World Cup roster, joining Hope Solo, Tina Frimpong, Veronica Perez, Mireya Grey and Dominique Bond-Flasza. Representing her mother's home nation, Cowart suited up for the Philippines National Team after helping the Philippines lift the 2022 AFF Cup. One of the great storylines of the tournament, Cowart started all three matches of the group stage as the Philippines made its first-ever World Cup appearance.

FOR DAWGS AND COUNTRY
This summer, two Huskies represented their home country and donned their nation's badge as part of their respective national teams. Ioanna Papatheodorou was called into the Greece National Team in July for a pair of friendlies against Hungary and Bosnia-Herzegovina in Budapest, Hungary.

Meanwhile, Husky freshman Enora Matté made the squad list for Belgium's Under-19 team for the 2023 UEFA U19 Championship, receiving one cap during the group stage.

Another freshman on the Dawg's roster, Daniella Alali was called into the Nigeria U17 Women's National Team Camp ahead of the 2022 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup, but did not attend the camp due to injury.

PROS MADE HERE
Over the past two seasons, Washington has developed 11 different players who have gone on to play at the professional ranks. Following the 2021 campaign, Olivia Van der Jagt was selected in the 3rd round of the NWSL Draft by OL Reign, while Ameera Hussen signed with Icelandic club IBV. Since finishing her Husky career, Jessika Cowart has gone on to ink deals with Çaykur Rizespor (Turkey), Spartak Subotica (Serbia) and IFK Kalmar (Sweden).

10 former Huskies from the 2022 roster are now playing at the professional level. Shae Holmes was drafted in the second round of the NWSL Draft by OL Reign, followed in the fourth round by Summer Yates, who was selected by the Orlando Pride. Olivia Sekany and McKenzie Weinert also signed NWSL contracts with Racing Louisville and OL Reign, respectively.

Overseas, Vanessa Millsaps signed with Liga MX club Pachuca. Cori Sullivan also signed a Liga MX deal with Cruz Azul and has since signed with Glasgow City in Scotland. Evelina Pettersson returned to her native Sweden to play for Trelleborgs FF, while fellow Swedish product Alice Sondergaard has signed with Serie A club Sampdoria. UW has two former players playing in Portugal in Kala McDaniel (Racing Power FC) and Shaye Seyffart (S.F. Damaiense). Following her stint with OL Reign, Weinert has signed on with Melbourne Victory in Australia.

RAPHA'S RETURN
A former standout player and coach for Washington's men's soccer team, Raphael Cox returned to Montlake ahead of the 2023 as an assistant coach following one season as a men's team assistant at San Diego State.

Cox spent three seasons on Jamie Clark's staff at Washington as volunteer assistant coach from 2019-21. As a player, Cox a two-time All-Pac-12 selection at UW where he played from 2006-2008. After graduating, Cox was selected in the fourth round of the MLS SuperDraft by Real Salt Lake, where he was part of the MLS Cup Champion squad in 2009.

B1G THINGS COMING
The 2023 season will be Washington's last in the Pac-12 Conference, with the university announcing in August that it has accepted an invitation to the Big Ten Conference, beginning play in the conference in Fall 2024.

UW was one of the four founding members of what started in December of 1915 as the Pacific Coast Conference, which eventually grew to become the Pac-12.

2023 PAC-12 PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Team
1. UCLA (9)
2. Stanford (3)
3. USC
4. Cal
5. Washington State
6. Arizona
T7. Washington
T7. Arizona State
T7. Colorado
10. Utah
11. Oregon
12. Oregon State

FOLLOW THE DAWGS!
Fans can keep up with all the goings on around the Washington women's soccer program by following the Huskies on the team's various social media platforms. You can find the Dawgs on X at @UW_WSoccer, on Instagram at @uw_wsoccer or on Facebook by searching "Washington Women's Soccer". Fans can also follow the Huskies through the women's soccer page at GoHuskies.com.