Dawgs Stay Home, Tangle With Indiana Sunday Afternoon On Montlake

Dawgs Stay Home, Tangle With Indiana Sunday Afternoon On Montlake

September 28, 2024 | Women's Soccer

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SEATTLE – Washington, having dispatched Purdue 2-0 at home Thursday, will look to keep momentum rolling Sunday afternoon against Indiana, hosting the Hoosiers for a 1 p.m. PT kickoff at Husky Soccer Stadium. It will be UW's annual Breast Cancer Awareness match.

Sunday's fixture will be streamed live on B1G+, with live stats available at HuskyStats.com.

SCOUTING INDIANA
The Hoosiers are in their sixth season under the direction of head coach Erwin van Bennekom, who made the move to Bloomington following successful stints as an assistant at top programs Alabama and Duke. Van Bennekom also spent time in the professional ranks with the NWSL's Sky Blue FC (now NJ/NY Gotham FC).

In 2023, van Bennekom led Indiana to a 12-4-4 record, earning their first NCAA Tournament bid in over a decade.

The Hoosiers enter Sunday's tilt with a 6-3-1 overall record, including 1-3-0 in Big Ten action. After going undefeated during non-conference play, Indiana snapped a three-match losing streak on Thursday with a 3-1 victory at Oregon.

Despite owning just 10 matches of collegiate experience as a true freshman, forward Layla Sirdah has spearheaded the Hoosier offense, pacing the team in both goals and assists with seven and six, respectively. Sirdah ranks second in the B1G and 14th in the nation at 2.00 points per game. Graduate student defender Avery Snead, sophomore midfielder Elle Britt and sophomore midfielder Kennedy Neighbors are also scoring threats, each owning three goals in 2024.

Manning the net in all 10 matches for the Hoosiers has been senior Jamie Gerstenberg, the 2023 Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year. The German international has surrendered nine goals this season, owning a 0.90 goals against average and a .750 save percentage on 27 stops. Gerstenberg has posted four clean sheets in 2024.

SERIES HISTORY
Sunday's tilt will be the first ever meeting between Indiana and Washington. It will be the first of two unique Big Ten opponents for the Huskies this season. Washington will also play Iowa for the first time ever on Oct. 17.

SOME SAY SUBS, WE SAY HEROES
Nearly half (6-of-13) 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.

A FAMILY AFFAIR
Watching their daughter play at the collegiate level in person for just the second time, Ioanna Paptheodorou's parents, Demitris and Maria, were able to watch the Greek striker score with one of her patented penalty kick takes on Thursday. Papatheodorou has converted 6-of-7 penalties in her prolific career, including a perfect 3-for-3 in Washington's Purple and Gold.

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' 13 goals in 2024 have come through build-up play. The Huskies have scored 10 times this season from the run of play, compared to just three goals coming off of set pieces.

MAMA MIA
Junior Mia Hamant has been a breakout star for Washington in 2024, ranking 12th in the nation with a .897 save percentage and 21st in the NCAA in goals-against-average at 0.462. Hamant has garnered four of UW's six clean sheets this season.

SOPHOMORE SURGE
Washington leading goal scorer Samiah Shell is enjoying a breakout sophomore campaign this season, pacing the Huskies with four goals after bagging a brace in last Thursday's 3-0 at Maryland. Shell has been efficient with her opportunities, needing just 15 shots for her four goals and putting eight of those 15 attempts on frame. Appearing in 15 matches during her freshman season a year ago, Shell attempted just five shots as a rookie.

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 36 consecutive matches. Branson is the only Husky to start all 19 matches in 2023 and start the first 10 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 eight-consecutive matches on the back line and Leyva and Buck each making three starts and recording one assist apiece.

EMPTYING THE TANK
Kolo Suliafu has not come off the pitch in any of the last 16 matches for Washington, playing 1,440 straight minutes for the Huskies. Suliafu played the full 90 minutes in 13 of 18 matches played in 2023.

TITLE FAVORITES
Washington played two teams during its non-conference schedule that were projected to claim their respective conference's regular season championship in Long Beach State and Santa Clara, the Big West and WCC favorites. Meanwhile, Seattle U and New Mexico State were picked to finish second in the WAC and C-USA, respectively.

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.

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%).

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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

2023 BIG TEN PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
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

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.

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.