Sunday, October 13
Seattle, WA
1:00 PM
University of Washington
vs
Michigan State
Dawgs Welcome No. 5 Michigan State To Montlake Sunday Afternoon
October 12, 2024 | Women's Soccer
SEATTLE βΒ Coming off of a 3-1 victory over Michigan Thursday night, the Washington women's soccer team will look to make it a six point weekend on Sunday afternoon, taking on No. 5 Michigan State at 1 p.m. PT at Husky Soccer Stadium.
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Sunday's affair will be UW's annual Down Syndrome Acceptance match.
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Sunday's matchup will be streamed live on B1G+, with live stats available at HuskyStats.com.
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SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State is in its fourth season under head coach Jeff Hosler, who has guided the Spartans to back-to-back Big Ten regular season championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. Prior to moving to East Lansing, Hosler built in-state school Grand Valley State into a Divison II powerhouse, winning three national championships in seven seasons.
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The Spartans enter Sunday's tilt undefeated at 9-0-5, sitting three points ahead of the Huskies in the Big Ten table with a 4-0-3 conference record. However, the Spartans have dropped points in three of their last four matches with draws against Ohio State, Rutgers and Oregon.
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Graduate student transfers Meg Hughes and Emily Mathews are tied for the Spartans' team lead with six goals apiece. Both are new to the MSU program, with Hughes transferring from Providence and Mathews moving from fellow B1G member Purdue. Graduate student midfielder Justina Gaynor paces MSU with six assists for the season.
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Graduate student Kaitlyn Parks, who started all 22 matches for MSU in goal last season after transferring from Wake Forest, owns a 0.75 GAA in 2024, posting a .845 save percentage and six clean sheets.
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SERIES HISTORY
Washington is undefeated in four previous meetings with Michigan State, winning the first matchups, including a 4-0 win in East Lansing in 2017, before drawing 1-1 with the Spartans in Seattle in 2018.
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LAST MEETING (9/2/18)
SEATTLE - Despite a deluge of shots, the Washington Huskies took a 1-1 draw against the Michigan State Spartans in the final game of the Husky Nike Invitational.
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Washington managed 35 shots in the game, compared to just five from the Spartans. Summer Yates led the Huskies with seven attempts. Washington put 12 of its 35 shots on goal, while the Spartans delivered all five strikes on frame.
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Olivia Van der Jagt scored Washington's only goal and took home the Husky Nike Invitational Offensive MVP award for her efforts during the week.
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Four different Huskies put multiple shots on goal in the game and six managed multiple shots. Taylor Sekyra picked up a defensive save, heading a shot away from the line with an empty net behind her.
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The Huskies struck first in the 41st minute through Van der Jagt, who collected an attempted clearance near the edge of the 18, set herself up on her right foot and bent a looping shot over the outstretched keeper into the upper 90 to put the Dawgs in front.
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The Dawgs took the lead into the half but Michigan State was able to punch back against the run of play in the 64th minute.
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Husky keeper Sarah Ruelas made a tremendous initial save on a Spartan breakaway, and Sekyra was able to clear Lydia Franks' follow up off the line. However, the rebound fell right back to Franks, who finally finished to level the match at a goal apiece, eventually the final score.
ONE-TWO-PUNCH
The Husky offense has been led by the duo of senior forward Ioanna Papatheodorou and sophomore forward/midfielder Samiah Shell, who are tied for the team lead with five goals apiece, making up 58.8 percent of UW's scoring output in 2024. Paptheodorou is a known prolific commodity, having racked up 29 goals between her two seasons at UMass Lowell and her two seasons in purple in gold. Meanwhile, Shell has bust onto the scene during her second season, having been held scoreless during her rookie campaign.
BRICK-BY-BRICK
Washington has proven to be one of the toughest defenses to crack in 2024, ranking 13th in the nation with a 0.538 team goals-against-average and 14th nationally with a 0.868 team save percentage. UW has posted seven clean sheets, already eclipsing its total from 2023, ranking 35th nationally with a .538 shutout percentage.
SOME SAY SUBS, WE SAY HEROES
A large chunk (6-of-17) of Washington's goals in 2024 have come off the bench. Radisson Banks has scored three times, all as a sub, while two of Ioanna Papatheodorou's goals in 2024 have come off the bench. Kalea Eichenberger also found the back of the net as a substitute at Long Beach State.
YES INDEED I CAN RUN IT, RUN IT
While Washington made its living largely off of set piece opportunities in 2023, the vast majority of the Huskies' 17 goals in 2024 have come through build-up play. The Huskies have scored 13 times this season from the run of play, compared to just four goals coming off of set pieces.
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MAMA MIA
Junior Mia Hamant has been a breakout star for Washington in 2024, ranking 13th in the nation and first in the Big Ten with an .875 save percentage as well as 23rd in the NCAA and third in the B1G in goals-against-average at 0.526. Hamant has garnered five of UW's seven clean sheets this season.
STARTING XI FIXTURE
Since making seven-straight starts to end her freshman campaign, junior Kelsey Branson has not failed to crack the Huskies' starting XI a single time, a streak spanning 38 consecutive matches. Branson is the only Husky to start all 19 matches in 2023 and start the first 12 fixtures of 2024.
INSTANT IMPACT
The Huskies have gotten immediate contributions from three true freshmen in Alex Buck, Kate Cheldelin and Andrea Leyva, with Cheldelin starting 11-consecutive matches on the back line and Leyva and Buck consistently appearing for UW in both starting and reserve roles.
EMPTYING THE TANK
Kolo Suliafu has not come off the pitch in any of the last 18 matches for Washington, playing 1,620 straight minutes for the Huskies. Suliafu played the full 90 minutes in 13 of 18 matches played in 2023.
GANG'S ALL BACK
Washington returns nearly the entirety of its roster from the 2023 roster, standing as the only team in the Big Ten to return its entire starting XI with 11 returners with 10 or more starts in 2023.
What's more, the bulk of the Huskies firepower is back, with Washington returning the vast majority of its goals (26/31, 83.9%), assists (31/33, 93.9%), points (83/95, 87.4%) shots (215/246, 87.4%), shots on goal (90/108, 83.3%) and game-winning goals (9/9, 100%) from a season ago.
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Additionally, with 3-of-4 goalkeepers back from the 2023 roster, the Dawgs return practically all of its goalkeeper minutes (1605:29/1710:00, 93.9%) and saves (62/64, 96.9%).
HOMEGROWN TALENT
Nine of Washington's 32 players hail from the Evergreen State, with six products of King County (Alex Buck, Malie Chamberland, Maggie Dutra, Anna Menti, Shelby Runje, Samiah Shell), two natives of Pierce County (Sophie Blake, Ava Morton) and one product of Snohomish County (Deanna Montero).
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PAYING (OFF) THE PENALTY
Ioanna Papatheodorou is about as sure of a thing from the penalty spot as there is in college soccer. The senior has converted seven of the eight spot kicks taken in her career, including each of the last five. Papatheodorou has been called to take a penalty exactly twice in all four of her collegiate seasons.
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A B1G NEW ERA
Washington enters a new era in 2024 as a member of the prestigious Big Ten Conference. The move means not only new destinations but new challenges for the Huskies as well, with the Big Ten boasting nine teams that earned a bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament and seven schools ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll.
Washington, a founding member of what eventually became the Pac-12 Conference, began play in what was then known as the Pac-10 during the conference's first season supporting women's soccer in 1995. UW launched its women's soccer program in 1991.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Despite returning the vast majority of its 2023 roster, Washington nonetheless reloaded with a talented crop of nine freshmen newcomers.
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Among the group are three players who were selected to the prestigious High School All-American Game in Alex Buck, Maggie Dutra and Andrea Leyva.
EURO TRIP
This summer, Husky senior Ioanna Papatheodorou was called upon to don her nation's colors, earning a call up to the Greece National Team for a pair of qualifiers for the 2025 UEFA Women's European Championships. Paptheodorou earned a starting XI cap for Greece's 6-0 win over Andorra.
Papatheodorou isn't the only Husky with European experience at the national team level, with Enora Matté earning a handful of caps for the Belgium Under-19 National Team.
HOMECOMING
In addition to nine freshmen, Washington also adds a newcomer with proven experience at the college level in sophomore forward Sophie Runje. Runje, a product of nearby Issaquah High School in Issaquah, Washington, made the move back to King County after spending her freshman season across the state at Gonzaga. Runje scored five goals as a rookie, earning All-WCC Freshman Team plaudits.
KEEP AN EYE OUT
Prior to the season, the Big Ten Conference announced its Players to Watch List, with a trio of Husky juniors making the cut in midfielder's Kelsey Branson and Tatum Thomason and defender Kolo Suliafu.
Thomason led the Dawgs with six goals in 2023, scoring three times in the final three matches of the season. Thomason came up in the clutch all season long for the Huskies, bagging four of UW's nine match-winning goals for the season.
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Following up on a breakout freshman campaign, Branson doubled up with another phenomenal season in 2023, scoring four goals and chipping in three assists. The San Diego native earned her second career Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after leading UW to a historic road point at No. 2 Stanford.
With a combination of speed, toughness and defensive awareness, Suliafu has served as a backline anchor for the Huskies since stepping on campus in 2022. The Ontario, California, native has started 40 matches over her first two-plus seasons, leading the Huskies to 13 clean sheets. Also making an impact on offense, Suliafu has contributed four assists in her career.
HOMEGROWN TALENT
Nine of Washington's 32 players hail from the Evergreen State, with six products of King County (Alex Buck, Malie Chamberland, Maggie Dutra, Anna Menti, Shelby Runje, Samiah Shell), two natives of Pierce County (Sophie Blake, Ava Morton) and one product of Snohomish County (Deanna Montero).
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YOU CAN FIND ME IN DA CLUB
One of the more unique paths to the Husky roster comes from junior Avery Nguyen, who was offered a roster spot prior to the start of the 2023 season after a trial during preseason training. 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.
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Nguyen played a significant role for the Dawgs during the 2023 season, appearing in 11 matches and making a pair of starts.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
For the first time since 2018, Washington returns every member of its coaching staff, retaining assistant coaches Cole Schmit, Raphael Cox and Kary Whitney to Nicole Van Dyke's staff.
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SMART COOKIES
For the ninth straight season, Washington has received the United Soccer Coaches Academic Award after earning a 3.67 team GPA.
HUSKIES PICKED 13TH IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
The Big Ten Conference announced the 2024 Preseason Coaches' Poll prior to the season, with Washington predicted to finish 13th in its new league table as voted on by the conference's 18 head coaches.
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2024 BIG TEN PRESEASON COACHES' POLLΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β
1. UCLA
2. Penn State
3. Michigan State
4. Nebraska
5. USC
6. Wisconsin
7. Rutgers
8. Iowa
9. Ohio State
10. Indiana
11. Michigan
12. Northwestern
13. Washington
14. Minnesota
15. Illinois
16. Purdue
17. Maryland
18. Oregon
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WATCH THE DAWGS
Aside from Washington's matchups with USC and Iowa, which will be featured on the Big Ten Network, all UW home matches and Big Ten road matches will be available for streaming through B1G+. The live streams require a subscription, priced at $89.99 for one year or $12.99 per month. The B1G+ subscription allows you access to all non-televised Big Ten events, in addition to all non-televised Washington events throughout the year.
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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.
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Sunday's affair will be UW's annual Down Syndrome Acceptance match.
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Sunday's matchup will be streamed live on B1G+, with live stats available at HuskyStats.com.
Β
SCOUTING MICHIGAN STATE
Michigan State is in its fourth season under head coach Jeff Hosler, who has guided the Spartans to back-to-back Big Ten regular season championships and NCAA Tournament appearances. Prior to moving to East Lansing, Hosler built in-state school Grand Valley State into a Divison II powerhouse, winning three national championships in seven seasons.
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The Spartans enter Sunday's tilt undefeated at 9-0-5, sitting three points ahead of the Huskies in the Big Ten table with a 4-0-3 conference record. However, the Spartans have dropped points in three of their last four matches with draws against Ohio State, Rutgers and Oregon.
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Graduate student transfers Meg Hughes and Emily Mathews are tied for the Spartans' team lead with six goals apiece. Both are new to the MSU program, with Hughes transferring from Providence and Mathews moving from fellow B1G member Purdue. Graduate student midfielder Justina Gaynor paces MSU with six assists for the season.
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Graduate student Kaitlyn Parks, who started all 22 matches for MSU in goal last season after transferring from Wake Forest, owns a 0.75 GAA in 2024, posting a .845 save percentage and six clean sheets.
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SERIES HISTORY
Washington is undefeated in four previous meetings with Michigan State, winning the first matchups, including a 4-0 win in East Lansing in 2017, before drawing 1-1 with the Spartans in Seattle in 2018.
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LAST MEETING (9/2/18)
SEATTLE - Despite a deluge of shots, the Washington Huskies took a 1-1 draw against the Michigan State Spartans in the final game of the Husky Nike Invitational.
Β
Washington managed 35 shots in the game, compared to just five from the Spartans. Summer Yates led the Huskies with seven attempts. Washington put 12 of its 35 shots on goal, while the Spartans delivered all five strikes on frame.
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Olivia Van der Jagt scored Washington's only goal and took home the Husky Nike Invitational Offensive MVP award for her efforts during the week.
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Four different Huskies put multiple shots on goal in the game and six managed multiple shots. Taylor Sekyra picked up a defensive save, heading a shot away from the line with an empty net behind her.
Β
The Huskies struck first in the 41st minute through Van der Jagt, who collected an attempted clearance near the edge of the 18, set herself up on her right foot and bent a looping shot over the outstretched keeper into the upper 90 to put the Dawgs in front.
Β
The Dawgs took the lead into the half but Michigan State was able to punch back against the run of play in the 64th minute.
Β
Husky keeper Sarah Ruelas made a tremendous initial save on a Spartan breakaway, and Sekyra was able to clear Lydia Franks' follow up off the line. However, the rebound fell right back to Franks, who finally finished to level the match at a goal apiece, eventually the final score.
ONE-TWO-PUNCH
The Husky offense has been led by the duo of senior forward Ioanna Papatheodorou and sophomore forward/midfielder Samiah Shell, who are tied for the team lead with five goals apiece, making up 58.8 percent of UW's scoring output in 2024. Paptheodorou is a known prolific commodity, having racked up 29 goals between her two seasons at UMass Lowell and her two seasons in purple in gold. Meanwhile, Shell has bust onto the scene during her second season, having been held scoreless during her rookie campaign.
BRICK-BY-BRICK
Washington has proven to be one of the toughest defenses to crack in 2024, ranking 13th in the nation with a 0.538 team goals-against-average and 14th nationally with a 0.868 team save percentage. UW has posted seven clean sheets, already eclipsing its total from 2023, ranking 35th nationally with a .538 shutout percentage.
SOME SAY SUBS, WE SAY HEROES
A large chunk (6-of-17) of Washington's goals in 2024 have come off the bench. Radisson Banks has scored three times, all as a sub, while two of Ioanna Papatheodorou's goals in 2024 have come off the bench. Kalea Eichenberger also found the back of the net as a substitute at Long Beach State.
YES INDEED I CAN RUN IT, RUN IT
While Washington made its living largely off of set piece opportunities in 2023, the vast majority of the Huskies' 17 goals in 2024 have come through build-up play. The Huskies have scored 13 times this season from the run of play, compared to just four goals coming off of set pieces.
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MAMA MIA
Junior Mia Hamant has been a breakout star for Washington in 2024, ranking 13th in the nation and first in the Big Ten with an .875 save percentage as well as 23rd in the NCAA and third in the B1G in goals-against-average at 0.526. Hamant has garnered five of UW's seven clean sheets this season.
STARTING XI FIXTURE
Since making seven-straight starts to end her freshman campaign, junior Kelsey Branson has not failed to crack the Huskies' starting XI a single time, a streak spanning 38 consecutive matches. Branson is the only Husky to start all 19 matches in 2023 and start the first 12 fixtures of 2024.
INSTANT IMPACT
The Huskies have gotten immediate contributions from three true freshmen in Alex Buck, Kate Cheldelin and Andrea Leyva, with Cheldelin starting 11-consecutive matches on the back line and Leyva and Buck consistently appearing for UW in both starting and reserve roles.
EMPTYING THE TANK
Kolo Suliafu has not come off the pitch in any of the last 18 matches for Washington, playing 1,620 straight minutes for the Huskies. Suliafu played the full 90 minutes in 13 of 18 matches played in 2023.
GANG'S ALL BACK
Washington returns nearly the entirety of its roster from the 2023 roster, standing as the only team in the Big Ten to return its entire starting XI with 11 returners with 10 or more starts in 2023.
What's more, the bulk of the Huskies firepower is back, with Washington returning the vast majority of its goals (26/31, 83.9%), assists (31/33, 93.9%), points (83/95, 87.4%) shots (215/246, 87.4%), shots on goal (90/108, 83.3%) and game-winning goals (9/9, 100%) from a season ago.
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Additionally, with 3-of-4 goalkeepers back from the 2023 roster, the Dawgs return practically all of its goalkeeper minutes (1605:29/1710:00, 93.9%) and saves (62/64, 96.9%).
HOMEGROWN TALENT
Nine of Washington's 32 players hail from the Evergreen State, with six products of King County (Alex Buck, Malie Chamberland, Maggie Dutra, Anna Menti, Shelby Runje, Samiah Shell), two natives of Pierce County (Sophie Blake, Ava Morton) and one product of Snohomish County (Deanna Montero).
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PAYING (OFF) THE PENALTY
Ioanna Papatheodorou is about as sure of a thing from the penalty spot as there is in college soccer. The senior has converted seven of the eight spot kicks taken in her career, including each of the last five. Papatheodorou has been called to take a penalty exactly twice in all four of her collegiate seasons.
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A B1G NEW ERA
Washington enters a new era in 2024 as a member of the prestigious Big Ten Conference. The move means not only new destinations but new challenges for the Huskies as well, with the Big Ten boasting nine teams that earned a bid to the 2023 NCAA Tournament and seven schools ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll.
Washington, a founding member of what eventually became the Pac-12 Conference, began play in what was then known as the Pac-10 during the conference's first season supporting women's soccer in 1995. UW launched its women's soccer program in 1991.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK
Despite returning the vast majority of its 2023 roster, Washington nonetheless reloaded with a talented crop of nine freshmen newcomers.
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Among the group are three players who were selected to the prestigious High School All-American Game in Alex Buck, Maggie Dutra and Andrea Leyva.
EURO TRIP
This summer, Husky senior Ioanna Papatheodorou was called upon to don her nation's colors, earning a call up to the Greece National Team for a pair of qualifiers for the 2025 UEFA Women's European Championships. Paptheodorou earned a starting XI cap for Greece's 6-0 win over Andorra.
Papatheodorou isn't the only Husky with European experience at the national team level, with Enora Matté earning a handful of caps for the Belgium Under-19 National Team.
HOMECOMING
In addition to nine freshmen, Washington also adds a newcomer with proven experience at the college level in sophomore forward Sophie Runje. Runje, a product of nearby Issaquah High School in Issaquah, Washington, made the move back to King County after spending her freshman season across the state at Gonzaga. Runje scored five goals as a rookie, earning All-WCC Freshman Team plaudits.
KEEP AN EYE OUT
Prior to the season, the Big Ten Conference announced its Players to Watch List, with a trio of Husky juniors making the cut in midfielder's Kelsey Branson and Tatum Thomason and defender Kolo Suliafu.
Thomason led the Dawgs with six goals in 2023, scoring three times in the final three matches of the season. Thomason came up in the clutch all season long for the Huskies, bagging four of UW's nine match-winning goals for the season.
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Following up on a breakout freshman campaign, Branson doubled up with another phenomenal season in 2023, scoring four goals and chipping in three assists. The San Diego native earned her second career Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week after leading UW to a historic road point at No. 2 Stanford.
With a combination of speed, toughness and defensive awareness, Suliafu has served as a backline anchor for the Huskies since stepping on campus in 2022. The Ontario, California, native has started 40 matches over her first two-plus seasons, leading the Huskies to 13 clean sheets. Also making an impact on offense, Suliafu has contributed four assists in her career.
HOMEGROWN TALENT
Nine of Washington's 32 players hail from the Evergreen State, with six products of King County (Alex Buck, Malie Chamberland, Maggie Dutra, Anna Menti, Shelby Runje, Samiah Shell), two natives of Pierce County (Sophie Blake, Ava Morton) and one product of Snohomish County (Deanna Montero).
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YOU CAN FIND ME IN DA CLUB
One of the more unique paths to the Husky roster comes from junior Avery Nguyen, who was offered a roster spot prior to the start of the 2023 season after a trial during preseason training. 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.
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Nguyen played a significant role for the Dawgs during the 2023 season, appearing in 11 matches and making a pair of starts.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
For the first time since 2018, Washington returns every member of its coaching staff, retaining assistant coaches Cole Schmit, Raphael Cox and Kary Whitney to Nicole Van Dyke's staff.
Β
SMART COOKIES
For the ninth straight season, Washington has received the United Soccer Coaches Academic Award after earning a 3.67 team GPA.
HUSKIES PICKED 13TH IN BIG TEN PRESEASON POLL
The Big Ten Conference announced the 2024 Preseason Coaches' Poll prior to the season, with Washington predicted to finish 13th in its new league table as voted on by the conference's 18 head coaches.
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2024 BIG TEN PRESEASON COACHES' POLLΒ Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β
1. UCLA
2. Penn State
3. Michigan State
4. Nebraska
5. USC
6. Wisconsin
7. Rutgers
8. Iowa
9. Ohio State
10. Indiana
11. Michigan
12. Northwestern
13. Washington
14. Minnesota
15. Illinois
16. Purdue
17. Maryland
18. Oregon
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WATCH THE DAWGS
Aside from Washington's matchups with USC and Iowa, which will be featured on the Big Ten Network, all UW home matches and Big Ten road matches will be available for streaming through B1G+. The live streams require a subscription, priced at $89.99 for one year or $12.99 per month. The B1G+ subscription allows you access to all non-televised Big Ten events, in addition to all non-televised Washington events throughout the year.
Β
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.
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