Thinking Outside The Box: Aman And Bertos Lead Huskies Towards NCAA Tournament Run
November 20, 2025 | Men's Soccer
SEATTLE – Like successful coaches everywhere, Jamie Clark knows that sometimes, you have to think outside the box.
Or even think outside the time zone … and the next time zone … and the next time zone, too.
Matter of fact, in building this current edition of his Washington Huskies men's soccer team, Clark found two of his best players from the far upper corner of the Eastern Time Zone.
Come Thursday evening, New Hampshire native Richie Aman and Massachusetts born-and-raised Harrison Bertos (he goes by Harry), will join head coach Clark and their UW teammates – 19 of whom are from the Evergreen State corner of the Pacific Time Zone – for the start of the NCAA Tournament.
No jet lag to worry about for this one. The No. 23-ranked Huskies (10-6-2) begin what they hope will be a very extended postseason schedule with a quick trip down Interstate 5 to Corvallis for a first-round contest at former Pacific-12 rival and current No. 10-ranked Oregon State (10-3-2). Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m.
"I think we're really excited to play them again," Aman said. "We lost to them earlier in the season (2-1; Aman had the lone goal for the Huskies in that preseason game on Aug. 24 at OSU). To get a chance for some revenge and to advance in the tournament is a nice thought to have. We were pretty confident we were going to make the tournament. We're happy with that we're and happy about who we're playing. It's a team were pretty familiar with."
Added Bertos, "We dominated Michigan in our last game (in last week's Big Ten Tournament semifinals) and unfortunately, it didn't work out. (The Wolverines prevailed, 2-0.) I think our team is mad and definitely confident going into this game that we're going to do really well in the tournament. Now I feel that everyone is ready and has pep in their step and something to play for and we're going to make a deep run."
Clark takes a certain amount of pride in using nearby talent to form his team year after year. Clearly, that approach has worked. This is his 15th season since taking charge of the program in 2011, and it will be Washington's 12th trip to the NCAAs. Of those, 10 have gone beyond the first round, and the 2021 team made it all the way to the championship game.
But of course, he's always keeping his eye out as well for guys who don't happen to be from around here …
… guys such as Aman and Bertos.
Aman and Clark both happen to hail from Hanover, New Hampshire, and Aman grew up playing with Clark's nephew on a youth team that was coached by Clark's brother. Then in his later youth soccer years, he played for a time on the same academy team as Bertos, who comes from Bedford, Massachusetts.
"In this case, my brother sent the videos (of Aman), and Richie is so unique," Clark said. "A lot of players (from that far away) might have been a 'maybe.' But he was beating two or three guys at a time off the dribble. He was easy to focus on and it was like, 'We do have to talk to this guy.'"
Clark then went to watch Aman play at a tournament in Dallas.
Bertos was playing in that same game.
"He was the one guy who stood out in terms of putting out fires," Clark said. "They were under heavy pressure, and he did everything defensively that he could. It was like a shot in the dark, but I said, "We have to talk with this guy, too,'
"Before we knew it, we have two East Coast guys heading this way. And they've been brilliant."
Brilliant, indeed. Aman is tied for fourth in NCAA Division I with 11 assists and has been part of a midfield that has helped produce 40 goals this season. (The Huskies have a total of 44 assists, tied for 13th in the country). Bertos is a big presence on a back line that has allowed just 18 goals and has seven shutouts.
"They couldn't be more opposite, but they share some of the same attributes," Clark said. "Richie is a deep thinker. Harry is an emotional firecracker. Kind of the opposite, but they both bring great things to the game."
"The guys who are most successful here are the guys who are brave in what they do," Clark added. "In order to take on players and take chances like Richie does every time he gets the ball, there's bravery associated with that. He can get tackled or get stopped. But even when he does, he goes right back at it. Harry is the same way with bravery in defending. The bigger the match-up, the bigger the attacking player, Harry just loves those occasions."
KEEPING AN EYE – LOTS OF THEM – ON AMAN
From the time he made the trip all the way from New Hampshire to play soccer in Seattle, it seems as if someone is always watching Richie Aman.
As a Washington freshman in 2022, he was selected to the Preseason Freshman Best XI by TopDrawerSoccer.com. That same Website later picked him as one of its Midseason Top 100 Freshman.
Heading into his junior season in 2024, Aman was on the Big Ten Players to Watch list.
Now as a senior in 2025, he already has been part of four elite groups: United Soccer Coaches Midfielder to Watch, Big Ten Players to Watch, Top Drawer Soccer Midseason Top 100 Players, and Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List. Then on Nov. 13, he was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year.
Yup, someone is always watching Richie Aman.
"I just focus on trying to help the team," Aman said. "Individual awards are great, but if you're not winning game, if you're not winning trophies, at the end of the day, (winning awards) doesn't matter all that much. To some extent, a lot of it is noise. So for me, it's focusing on what I can do on the field."
Perhaps one of the reasons so many people are watching Aman is that he is always watching his teammates – in particular, watching for open teammates who have a chance to score a goal. His single-season best 11 assists – which account for 55 percent of his career total of 20 – are proof positive of that
"Obviously, it's great to get on the end of stuff. But you also need guys providing the service," Aman said. "I think my skillset of being a very good dribbler and being able to get by guys is very suited to that. If you can beat a guy and put in a cross, you'll always have guys to attack the ball and finish it."
There are certainly abundant choices to whom Aman can send the ball. The most productive ones have been junior forward Charlie Kosakoff with a team-high eight goals and sophomore midfielder Zach Ramsey with six. But a total of 15 Huskies have found the back of the net at least once. Among those, 10 have two or more goals.
"We have a lot of guys who like to run with the ball and without it," Aman said. "I remember showing a clip from a spring game against Portland. They gave the ball away, and we legitimately had eight guys bombing forward. That willingness to be brave and the willingness to send the guys forward truly helps. This year, we have a lot of quality on the ball, from the back all the way up to our attackers."
Aman's ability to leave defenders in the dust is, in a way, one for the books … or more to the point, one for the referee's little black book.
"If there's one stat that's not out there, it's how many yellow cards he has drawn (from opposing players)," Clark said. "The only way to slow him down is to kick him. He gets right back up, doesn't blink an eye, and gets back at you. He always puts defenders on their heels. If it doesn't work for him three times in a row, he comes back at you a fourth time. That's a true sign of confidence."
The 21-year-old Aman, who is majoring in psychology with an eye toward coaching at some point, has started all 18 games and has gone the full 90 minutes in eight of them. Some of his endurance probably is inherited from his parents, both of whom were cross country and track runners at Dartmouth. Aman did those sports too, but ultimately knew that soccer was his calling.
Playing soccer in Seattle also turned out to be his calling, thanks in part to his connection to Clark's family and in part to his desire to explore the world on a larger scale. Hanover's population is about 11,700; Seattle's is about 791,000.
"I grew up in a tiny town and wanted to get to a bigger city, maybe experience something really different," Aman said. "That's kind of what got me here."
And got him here from three time zones away.
A 'THROWBACK' IN THE BACK – THAT'S BERTOS
It was just five days before Christmas, and Harry Bertos' phone wouldn't stop ringing. Or buzzing. Or vibrating.
"It was pretty crazy – my phone was just blowing up," Bertos recalled of last Dec. 20, the day he was selected by expansion team San Diego FC in the second round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft "I've had time to reflect and just feel blessed with an opportunity like that and to be drafted by such an influential program that is doing so well right now."
Indeed, the first-year San Diego side has taken the league by storm, winning the Western Conference title with a 19-9-6 record and now heading into the MLS Cup conference semifinals on Sunday at home against Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Bertos is hoping to help the Huskies take the NCAA Tournament by storm, knowing that at some point, whenever he takes his final college kick, he has a pathway to the next stop in his career.
"San Diego drafted three or four us in that draft class and told us, 'You guys will stay (in college) and we'll take you in next year.' That kind of gave me a confidence that this (season with the Huskies) is going to be my chance. I have to work hard this year to be ready for next year. That got me thinking that I want to be a leader, I want to do this and get better at this.
"Our coaches met with me and said, 'We want to develop you and get you better so you can make sure that you're ready to go when you're ready to go. That helped me."
While San Diego is looming, Bertos has been all-in on Montlake this fall, and the numbers prove it. Of those seven shutouts recorded by him and his teammates on the back line, four of them came consecutively during the early part of the Big Ten schedule.
Those four clean sheets were part of a stretch of 435 scoreless minutes, with 90 of those at home in a 3-0 victory against then-No. 12 Indiana on Oct. 3. Not only were the Hoosiers kept off the scoreboard, they got just three shots on goal all day among the 14 shots that they took.
"They couldn't get a sniff on our goal," Bertos said. "We had like 20 or 25 shots against them (actually, it was 26). We were like, 'We're legit. We can really make a run for this thing.' That just kind of set the tone for team and the standard for the year."
As Bertos tells it, that tone and standard comes down to one simple thing.
"Our team is just on the same page, and on the same page with our goalkeepers Jadon (Bowton) and Levi (Bieber)," he said. "Everything just starts to click – slowly at first; it took a few games to get used to, There were some small mistakes that could have been prevented. But out of that, it just became that we were able to defend and do it neatly. When we put it all together and everyone did their part, no one could score on us – and barely get shots on net."
One particular thing that Clark has come to appreciate about Bertos is his "old school" style of staying back and getting his defensive job done.
"He's a throwback kind of defender," Clark said. "A lot of defenders these days worry more about passing and just connecting and looking good. He's a throwback to the old school: tough, competitive, heart-on-his-sleeve, putting out fires. It's really refreshing when he celebrates a tackle more than a pass – even though he can do both."
The 22-year-old Bertos, a real estate major who has two Player of the Week awards this season (one from the Big Ten, and a national award from Top Drawer Soccer) has gone all 90 minutes in 11 of the 17 games that he has played, logging 1,426 minutes altogether. With all of those minutes, he even has found time to knock three goals into the net at the other team's end of the field.
"You come in and believe that you're just trying to get the job done," Bertos said. "Whether you're in a tie game or down 1-0, I'm always thinking that we just want to get the win or get the shutout or score the tying goal or score another winner.
"Just thinking about winning a game is the whole purpose and making sure that our whole team can really grind it out and get the win."
Or even think outside the time zone … and the next time zone … and the next time zone, too.
Matter of fact, in building this current edition of his Washington Huskies men's soccer team, Clark found two of his best players from the far upper corner of the Eastern Time Zone.
Come Thursday evening, New Hampshire native Richie Aman and Massachusetts born-and-raised Harrison Bertos (he goes by Harry), will join head coach Clark and their UW teammates – 19 of whom are from the Evergreen State corner of the Pacific Time Zone – for the start of the NCAA Tournament.
No jet lag to worry about for this one. The No. 23-ranked Huskies (10-6-2) begin what they hope will be a very extended postseason schedule with a quick trip down Interstate 5 to Corvallis for a first-round contest at former Pacific-12 rival and current No. 10-ranked Oregon State (10-3-2). Kickoff is at 6:00 p.m.
"I think we're really excited to play them again," Aman said. "We lost to them earlier in the season (2-1; Aman had the lone goal for the Huskies in that preseason game on Aug. 24 at OSU). To get a chance for some revenge and to advance in the tournament is a nice thought to have. We were pretty confident we were going to make the tournament. We're happy with that we're and happy about who we're playing. It's a team were pretty familiar with."
Added Bertos, "We dominated Michigan in our last game (in last week's Big Ten Tournament semifinals) and unfortunately, it didn't work out. (The Wolverines prevailed, 2-0.) I think our team is mad and definitely confident going into this game that we're going to do really well in the tournament. Now I feel that everyone is ready and has pep in their step and something to play for and we're going to make a deep run."
Clark takes a certain amount of pride in using nearby talent to form his team year after year. Clearly, that approach has worked. This is his 15th season since taking charge of the program in 2011, and it will be Washington's 12th trip to the NCAAs. Of those, 10 have gone beyond the first round, and the 2021 team made it all the way to the championship game.
But of course, he's always keeping his eye out as well for guys who don't happen to be from around here …
… guys such as Aman and Bertos.
Aman and Clark both happen to hail from Hanover, New Hampshire, and Aman grew up playing with Clark's nephew on a youth team that was coached by Clark's brother. Then in his later youth soccer years, he played for a time on the same academy team as Bertos, who comes from Bedford, Massachusetts.
"In this case, my brother sent the videos (of Aman), and Richie is so unique," Clark said. "A lot of players (from that far away) might have been a 'maybe.' But he was beating two or three guys at a time off the dribble. He was easy to focus on and it was like, 'We do have to talk to this guy.'"
Clark then went to watch Aman play at a tournament in Dallas.
Bertos was playing in that same game.
"He was the one guy who stood out in terms of putting out fires," Clark said. "They were under heavy pressure, and he did everything defensively that he could. It was like a shot in the dark, but I said, "We have to talk with this guy, too,'
"Before we knew it, we have two East Coast guys heading this way. And they've been brilliant."
Brilliant, indeed. Aman is tied for fourth in NCAA Division I with 11 assists and has been part of a midfield that has helped produce 40 goals this season. (The Huskies have a total of 44 assists, tied for 13th in the country). Bertos is a big presence on a back line that has allowed just 18 goals and has seven shutouts.
"They couldn't be more opposite, but they share some of the same attributes," Clark said. "Richie is a deep thinker. Harry is an emotional firecracker. Kind of the opposite, but they both bring great things to the game."
"The guys who are most successful here are the guys who are brave in what they do," Clark added. "In order to take on players and take chances like Richie does every time he gets the ball, there's bravery associated with that. He can get tackled or get stopped. But even when he does, he goes right back at it. Harry is the same way with bravery in defending. The bigger the match-up, the bigger the attacking player, Harry just loves those occasions."
KEEPING AN EYE – LOTS OF THEM – ON AMAN
From the time he made the trip all the way from New Hampshire to play soccer in Seattle, it seems as if someone is always watching Richie Aman.
As a Washington freshman in 2022, he was selected to the Preseason Freshman Best XI by TopDrawerSoccer.com. That same Website later picked him as one of its Midseason Top 100 Freshman.
Heading into his junior season in 2024, Aman was on the Big Ten Players to Watch list.
Now as a senior in 2025, he already has been part of four elite groups: United Soccer Coaches Midfielder to Watch, Big Ten Players to Watch, Top Drawer Soccer Midseason Top 100 Players, and Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List. Then on Nov. 13, he was named Big Ten Midfielder of the Year.
Yup, someone is always watching Richie Aman.
"I just focus on trying to help the team," Aman said. "Individual awards are great, but if you're not winning game, if you're not winning trophies, at the end of the day, (winning awards) doesn't matter all that much. To some extent, a lot of it is noise. So for me, it's focusing on what I can do on the field."
Perhaps one of the reasons so many people are watching Aman is that he is always watching his teammates – in particular, watching for open teammates who have a chance to score a goal. His single-season best 11 assists – which account for 55 percent of his career total of 20 – are proof positive of that
"Obviously, it's great to get on the end of stuff. But you also need guys providing the service," Aman said. "I think my skillset of being a very good dribbler and being able to get by guys is very suited to that. If you can beat a guy and put in a cross, you'll always have guys to attack the ball and finish it."
There are certainly abundant choices to whom Aman can send the ball. The most productive ones have been junior forward Charlie Kosakoff with a team-high eight goals and sophomore midfielder Zach Ramsey with six. But a total of 15 Huskies have found the back of the net at least once. Among those, 10 have two or more goals.
"We have a lot of guys who like to run with the ball and without it," Aman said. "I remember showing a clip from a spring game against Portland. They gave the ball away, and we legitimately had eight guys bombing forward. That willingness to be brave and the willingness to send the guys forward truly helps. This year, we have a lot of quality on the ball, from the back all the way up to our attackers."
Aman's ability to leave defenders in the dust is, in a way, one for the books … or more to the point, one for the referee's little black book.
"If there's one stat that's not out there, it's how many yellow cards he has drawn (from opposing players)," Clark said. "The only way to slow him down is to kick him. He gets right back up, doesn't blink an eye, and gets back at you. He always puts defenders on their heels. If it doesn't work for him three times in a row, he comes back at you a fourth time. That's a true sign of confidence."
The 21-year-old Aman, who is majoring in psychology with an eye toward coaching at some point, has started all 18 games and has gone the full 90 minutes in eight of them. Some of his endurance probably is inherited from his parents, both of whom were cross country and track runners at Dartmouth. Aman did those sports too, but ultimately knew that soccer was his calling.
Playing soccer in Seattle also turned out to be his calling, thanks in part to his connection to Clark's family and in part to his desire to explore the world on a larger scale. Hanover's population is about 11,700; Seattle's is about 791,000.
"I grew up in a tiny town and wanted to get to a bigger city, maybe experience something really different," Aman said. "That's kind of what got me here."
And got him here from three time zones away.
A 'THROWBACK' IN THE BACK – THAT'S BERTOS
It was just five days before Christmas, and Harry Bertos' phone wouldn't stop ringing. Or buzzing. Or vibrating.
"It was pretty crazy – my phone was just blowing up," Bertos recalled of last Dec. 20, the day he was selected by expansion team San Diego FC in the second round of the Major League Soccer SuperDraft "I've had time to reflect and just feel blessed with an opportunity like that and to be drafted by such an influential program that is doing so well right now."
Indeed, the first-year San Diego side has taken the league by storm, winning the Western Conference title with a 19-9-6 record and now heading into the MLS Cup conference semifinals on Sunday at home against Minnesota.
Meanwhile, Bertos is hoping to help the Huskies take the NCAA Tournament by storm, knowing that at some point, whenever he takes his final college kick, he has a pathway to the next stop in his career.
"San Diego drafted three or four us in that draft class and told us, 'You guys will stay (in college) and we'll take you in next year.' That kind of gave me a confidence that this (season with the Huskies) is going to be my chance. I have to work hard this year to be ready for next year. That got me thinking that I want to be a leader, I want to do this and get better at this.
"Our coaches met with me and said, 'We want to develop you and get you better so you can make sure that you're ready to go when you're ready to go. That helped me."
While San Diego is looming, Bertos has been all-in on Montlake this fall, and the numbers prove it. Of those seven shutouts recorded by him and his teammates on the back line, four of them came consecutively during the early part of the Big Ten schedule.
Those four clean sheets were part of a stretch of 435 scoreless minutes, with 90 of those at home in a 3-0 victory against then-No. 12 Indiana on Oct. 3. Not only were the Hoosiers kept off the scoreboard, they got just three shots on goal all day among the 14 shots that they took.
"They couldn't get a sniff on our goal," Bertos said. "We had like 20 or 25 shots against them (actually, it was 26). We were like, 'We're legit. We can really make a run for this thing.' That just kind of set the tone for team and the standard for the year."
As Bertos tells it, that tone and standard comes down to one simple thing.
"Our team is just on the same page, and on the same page with our goalkeepers Jadon (Bowton) and Levi (Bieber)," he said. "Everything just starts to click – slowly at first; it took a few games to get used to, There were some small mistakes that could have been prevented. But out of that, it just became that we were able to defend and do it neatly. When we put it all together and everyone did their part, no one could score on us – and barely get shots on net."
One particular thing that Clark has come to appreciate about Bertos is his "old school" style of staying back and getting his defensive job done.
"He's a throwback kind of defender," Clark said. "A lot of defenders these days worry more about passing and just connecting and looking good. He's a throwback to the old school: tough, competitive, heart-on-his-sleeve, putting out fires. It's really refreshing when he celebrates a tackle more than a pass – even though he can do both."
The 22-year-old Bertos, a real estate major who has two Player of the Week awards this season (one from the Big Ten, and a national award from Top Drawer Soccer) has gone all 90 minutes in 11 of the 17 games that he has played, logging 1,426 minutes altogether. With all of those minutes, he even has found time to knock three goals into the net at the other team's end of the field.
"You come in and believe that you're just trying to get the job done," Bertos said. "Whether you're in a tie game or down 1-0, I'm always thinking that we just want to get the win or get the shutout or score the tying goal or score another winner.
"Just thinking about winning a game is the whole purpose and making sure that our whole team can really grind it out and get the win."
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Soccer
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/ Men's Soccer
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/ Men's SoccerCharlie Kosakoff NCAA Highlights: Washington Men's Soccer
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Connor Lofy NCAA Highlights: Washington Men's Soccer
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Zach Ramsey NCAA Highlights: Washington Men's Soccer
Wednesday, December 17
Joe Dale NCAA Highlights: Washington Men's Soccer
Wednesday, December 17
