Friday, October 16
Los Angeles, Calif.
8:00 p.m. PT
University of Washington
at
UCLA
Top-15 Battle Set For Westwood As UW Women’s Soccer Visits UCLA
October 15, 2026 | Women's Soccer
LOS ANGELES – Riding the momentum of a perfect three-match run at home, the 14th ranked Washington women's soccer team hits the road for Westwood Friday, taking on No. 11 UCLA at Wallis Annenberg Stadium.
Kickoff in Los Angeles is set for 8:00 p.m. PT, airing nationally on the Big Ten Network. Links to live coverage are available at GoHuskies.com.
SCOUTING UCLA
Gof Boyoko is in his first season as head coach at UCLA after helping the Bruins win a national championship and two conference titles as an assistant coach from 2022-25. Boyoko was the associate head coach for the Bruins the last two seasons.
UCLA sits tied atop the Big Ten table at 7-1-0 in league play, sharing the spot with Ohio State. The Bruins have won six matches in a row after Sunday's 2-1 home win over Illinois.
Forwards Oruha Hayashi and Kara Croone are tied for the Bruin scoring lead with six goals apiece. Midfielder Grace Shank has dished out seven of UCLA's 19 assists in 2026.
Daphne Nakfoor is in her second season between the posts for the Bruins, owning a 0.72 goals against average with a .821 save percentage on 32 stops.
SERIES HISTORY
Washington trails the all-time series with UCLA 5-26-2. The Huskies defeated the Bruins 1-0 in Seattle last season, snapping a 10-match losing streak to UCLA, UW's first win over the Bruins since 2015. Washington has not beaten UCLA in Los Angeles since 2010.
LAST MEETING (Oct. 4, 2025)
SEATTLE - The Washington women's soccer team stifled No. 4 UCLA with a tenacious defensive effort all night long Saturday at Husky Soccer Stadium, handing the Bruins a 1-0 defeat to leapfrog into the top spot in the Big Ten table.
The Husky defense held the Bruins to just five shots on the night, their lowest output of the season. While not tested often, UW keeper Tanner Ijams stood tall when needed with three saves for her fifth clean sheet.
While the Bruins controlled possession in the early going, it was Washington that was the more dangerous threat to start the match and less than 19 minutes after the opening whistle, the Huskies found themselves in front through the right foot of Jadyn Holdenried.
After collecting a short clearance outside the top of the 18, the Windsor, California, product cut from her left onto her preferred right at the top of the box, unleashing a laser towards the near post that was too strong for Bruin keeper Daphne Nakfoor to keep out with her outstretched hand.
The Huskies continued to put pressure on the UCLA back line, consistently using their speed and athleticism to jump on the counter attack. While settling for the lone goal in the first half, Washington maintained a 5-0 advantage in shots at the break.
It was the first time since 2018 that the Bruin attack was held without a shot in the first half.
After Ijams fended off her first test of the night in the 59th minute, Holdenried nearly doubled the advantage two minutes later, forcing Nakfoor into a diving save to keep the lead at one.
About 10 minutes later, the Bruins broke free down the right flank, with the speedy Kara Croone getting in behind. Ijams was decisive, quickly breaking off of her line, stopping Croone's shot with her chest to keep the advantage intact.
In the 83rd minute, it was the crossbar that denied Croone, lending a helping hand to UW's sophomore keeper before Ijams stopped a successive shot for her third and final save of the night.
BEST ON BEST
Friday's matchup will be the 12th against a ranked opponent for UW since the start of the 2025 season, with the Huskies boasting a 7-2-2 record in those matches.
LOCK DOWN DEFENDERS
Contributing on both ends of the pitch in UW's 2-0-0 opening week of conference play, second year Maylen Montoya was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for Week Five, her second weekly award. The outside back was also selected to TopDrawerSoccer's Team of the Week after holding Maryland and Rutgers to nine total shots across a pair of clean sheets, also scoring the match-winner against the Terrapins.
Maya Loudd joined Montoya with her second career DPOTW nod for Week 8, earning the nod after helping the Dawgs hold USC to a single shot on goal. Loudd also contributed offensively with a pair of shots, one on frame.
FAR FROM MID
Earlier in the week, third year attacker Alex Buck was named to the Mid-Season Watch List for the 2026 MAC Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in college soccer. Despite missing significant time through national team duty, Buck is among 30 of the nation's elite players in consideration for the prestigious award.
CLEAN SHEET COLLECTOR
In less than two seasons' time, Tanner Ijams has placed herself in rarified air. With the shutout win over USC, the Californian passed legendary keeper Hope Solo for sole possession of third place all-time at Washington in career clean sheets, currently at 19. Midway through her second season of playing time, Ijams is just two shutouts shy of Megan Kufeld's record of 21.
BACK TO FRONT
A key change to UW's attack in 2026 is the goal contributions from the defensive unit. Five of Washington's 20 goals this season have been scored by players on the back line with Maylen Montoya and Anna Menti each bagging a pair of goals apiece in addition to Maya Loudd's lone goal. In comparison, Montoya's goal versus Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament was UW's loan goal contribution from the defensive unit in 2025.
POLL POSITION
Despite a two-win week, UW fell one spot to No. 14 in the IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches Poll. It is the 15th straight week UW has appeared in the poll. UW also continues to be ranked in the TopDrawerSoccer Top-25, slotting in at No. 14.
STACKING BRICKS
The Huskies have demonstrated one of the nation's stingiest defenses over the last two-plus season, tying the program record for clean sheets with 11 in 2024 before breaking said record with 12 shutouts in 2025. UW's 32 clean sheets since the start of the 2024 season are tied for the second most in the nation.
Most Shutouts since 2024
UCLA – 34
Washington - 32
Saint Louis - 32
Utah State – 32
Georgetown – 31
Mississippi State – 30
North Carolina - 30
Stanford - 29
TOP DRAWER TALENT
Washington has two players listed in TopDrawerSoccer's Top-100 player rankings, with third year forward Alex Buck slotting in at No. 26 and third year goalkeeper Tanner Ijams coming in at No. 65. Buck, who was also named TopDrawerSoccer Third Team Best XI, ranked third in the Big Ten in points in 2025, while Ijams' 0.67 GAA was the fourth-lowest in a season in Husky history, tying the program record for single season clean sheets with 11.
VET SCHOOL
Washington boasts a roster laden with experience, with 17 of 30 Huskies in their third collegiate season or later. Of the eight returning starters for Washington, seven own at least two seasons of collegiate experience. Included in the group of veteran leaders for UW are fifth years Lucy Newlin and Avery Nguyen, who return for a final season after receiving waivers this offseason, as well as sixth-year South Dakota State transfer Taylor Thomas.
WINNER'S MENTALITY
Of the 11 goals scored by Jadyn Holdenried since the start of 2025, eight have been match-winners, the most by any Husky in that time frame. The fourth year, who entered last season with four total goals in her first two seasons, has scored 11 times since. UW is 14-0-1 all-time when Holdenried scores.
JUST WIN, BABY
15 of Washington's last 19 wins have come by a single goal, including 12 1-0 victories. UW has won 18 matches by one goal since the start of the 2025 season.
SAVING HER BEST
Alex Buck has scored 13 of her 14 career goals after the start of conference play, including nine such goals in 2025, tied for the most in the Big Ten.
ON THE WORLD STAGE
Alex Buck and Grace Duncan recently experienced the great honor of representing their home nations at the U20 World Cup in Poland, suiting up for the USWNT and the Football Ferns of New Zealand, respectively. The two sides met up during the group stage, a win for the USA in which Buck scored twice. Buck finished the tournament with three goals, tying for the US lead.
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 has become one of UW's most dangerous weapons either in the starting XI or off the bench, registering five goals and three assists over the last two seasons.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATION
Washington was picked to finish third in its title-defending season in the 2026 Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving the third-most votes behind predicted champion Michigan State and UCLA. UW was selected ninth in the 2025 iteration of the preseason poll, going on to win the regular season title with a match in hand.
DEFEND THE THRONE
Washington enters 2026 with a target on its back, winning the Big Ten double a season ago as the league's regular season and conference champions, UW's first conference championship since 2000. UW became the first league team to claim the Big Ten double since Minnesota in 2016 and the first school to win both championships undisputed since Nebraska in 2013.
THE NOTORIOUS NVD
Washington locked up reigning unanimous Big Ten Coach of the Year Nicole Van Dyke this offseason, inking the Husky gaffer to a contract extension through the 2030 season. The extension comes after Van Dyke led the Dawgs to the NCAA Elite Eight for the third time on program-history, the third NCAA Tournament bid during Van Dyke's UW tenure. In her six seasons on Montlake, Van Dyke has guided Washington to 60 wins and has developed 15 all-conference players, including All-Americans Summer Yates, Kolo Suliafu and Alex Buck.
HERE TO ASSIST
The Washington sideline will have a new look this season with three new assistant coaches manning the bench.
Whitney Pitalo joins the UW staff after serving as head coach at Cal State Bakersfield in 2025. Pitalo previously resided in the Evergreen State as an assistant coach at Gonzaga, earning United Soccer Coaches West Region Staff of the Year honors in 2023.
Paige Brandt will direct the development of the Husky goalkeepers, coaching All-WCC Honorable Mention keeper Mya Sanchez during her lone season in the same role at Oregon State.
After three seasons as UW's program coordinator, Husky alum Mary Walstad joins the coaching staff in 2026. Walstad appeared in 42 matches with 38 starts over four seasons at Washington from 2019-2022.
IN IT TO TWIN IT
Five different Husky players are a part of a twin or triplet pairing in Vanessa Aguilar, Ryan Boehm, Angelica Chou, Grace Duncan and Mary Camp Newton. In fact, Boehm faced off against twin sister Myra earlier in the season when UW faced Gonzaga, while Newton's sister Ridley plays for defending NCAA Division III National Champion Washington University in St. Louis.
Twin/Triplet Connections on UW's Roster
Vanessa & Michelle Aguilar
Ryan & Myra Boehm
Angelica & Colin Chou
Grace & Maddy Duncan
Mary Camp, Ridley & Sutherland Newton
LEFT SIDE, BEST SIDE
Of the 30 members of Washington's 2026 roster, 22 hail from West Coast states, featuring 11 homegrown products of Washington, 10 natives of California and one player from the Portland suburbs in Oregon. However, Washington's squad spans the US and globe, with natives of Georgia, Kansas, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia as well as a pair of internationals from Belgium and New Zealand donning the Purple and Gold.
SMART COOKIES
For the 11th-straight season, Washington has received the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award after posting a 3.50 cumulative GPA team GPA.
At the individual level, fifth year Lucy Newlin received UW's Academic Excellence Award for 2026 for graduating with the highest cumulative GPA among graduating student-athletes at 3.98. Newlin also received the Big Ten's Wayne Duke Postgraduate Scholarship and was one of two UW student-athletes to receive the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award in 2024-25.
MENTI BE
Anna and Sally Menti, who starred at Roosevelt High School, less than three miles from Husky Soccer Stadium, have shared different paths to playing in front of their home state fans. Sally was an All-American midfielder at Santa Clara before signing a short-term contract and later a two-year extension last season with the NWSL's Seattle Reign, making 40 appearances and 25 starts with three goals and two assists. Meanwhile, Anna is in her fourth season at UW, making 74 appearances with 60 starts and collecting three goals and three assists along the way.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UW_WSoccer on Instagram, X, Threads, Facebook and TikTok and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
Kickoff in Los Angeles is set for 8:00 p.m. PT, airing nationally on the Big Ten Network. Links to live coverage are available at GoHuskies.com.
SCOUTING UCLA
Gof Boyoko is in his first season as head coach at UCLA after helping the Bruins win a national championship and two conference titles as an assistant coach from 2022-25. Boyoko was the associate head coach for the Bruins the last two seasons.
UCLA sits tied atop the Big Ten table at 7-1-0 in league play, sharing the spot with Ohio State. The Bruins have won six matches in a row after Sunday's 2-1 home win over Illinois.
Forwards Oruha Hayashi and Kara Croone are tied for the Bruin scoring lead with six goals apiece. Midfielder Grace Shank has dished out seven of UCLA's 19 assists in 2026.
Daphne Nakfoor is in her second season between the posts for the Bruins, owning a 0.72 goals against average with a .821 save percentage on 32 stops.
SERIES HISTORY
Washington trails the all-time series with UCLA 5-26-2. The Huskies defeated the Bruins 1-0 in Seattle last season, snapping a 10-match losing streak to UCLA, UW's first win over the Bruins since 2015. Washington has not beaten UCLA in Los Angeles since 2010.
LAST MEETING (Oct. 4, 2025)
SEATTLE - The Washington women's soccer team stifled No. 4 UCLA with a tenacious defensive effort all night long Saturday at Husky Soccer Stadium, handing the Bruins a 1-0 defeat to leapfrog into the top spot in the Big Ten table.
The Husky defense held the Bruins to just five shots on the night, their lowest output of the season. While not tested often, UW keeper Tanner Ijams stood tall when needed with three saves for her fifth clean sheet.
While the Bruins controlled possession in the early going, it was Washington that was the more dangerous threat to start the match and less than 19 minutes after the opening whistle, the Huskies found themselves in front through the right foot of Jadyn Holdenried.
After collecting a short clearance outside the top of the 18, the Windsor, California, product cut from her left onto her preferred right at the top of the box, unleashing a laser towards the near post that was too strong for Bruin keeper Daphne Nakfoor to keep out with her outstretched hand.
The Huskies continued to put pressure on the UCLA back line, consistently using their speed and athleticism to jump on the counter attack. While settling for the lone goal in the first half, Washington maintained a 5-0 advantage in shots at the break.
It was the first time since 2018 that the Bruin attack was held without a shot in the first half.
After Ijams fended off her first test of the night in the 59th minute, Holdenried nearly doubled the advantage two minutes later, forcing Nakfoor into a diving save to keep the lead at one.
About 10 minutes later, the Bruins broke free down the right flank, with the speedy Kara Croone getting in behind. Ijams was decisive, quickly breaking off of her line, stopping Croone's shot with her chest to keep the advantage intact.
In the 83rd minute, it was the crossbar that denied Croone, lending a helping hand to UW's sophomore keeper before Ijams stopped a successive shot for her third and final save of the night.
BEST ON BEST
Friday's matchup will be the 12th against a ranked opponent for UW since the start of the 2025 season, with the Huskies boasting a 7-2-2 record in those matches.
LOCK DOWN DEFENDERS
Contributing on both ends of the pitch in UW's 2-0-0 opening week of conference play, second year Maylen Montoya was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for Week Five, her second weekly award. The outside back was also selected to TopDrawerSoccer's Team of the Week after holding Maryland and Rutgers to nine total shots across a pair of clean sheets, also scoring the match-winner against the Terrapins.
Maya Loudd joined Montoya with her second career DPOTW nod for Week 8, earning the nod after helping the Dawgs hold USC to a single shot on goal. Loudd also contributed offensively with a pair of shots, one on frame.
FAR FROM MID
Earlier in the week, third year attacker Alex Buck was named to the Mid-Season Watch List for the 2026 MAC Hermann Trophy, the highest individual honor in college soccer. Despite missing significant time through national team duty, Buck is among 30 of the nation's elite players in consideration for the prestigious award.
CLEAN SHEET COLLECTOR
In less than two seasons' time, Tanner Ijams has placed herself in rarified air. With the shutout win over USC, the Californian passed legendary keeper Hope Solo for sole possession of third place all-time at Washington in career clean sheets, currently at 19. Midway through her second season of playing time, Ijams is just two shutouts shy of Megan Kufeld's record of 21.
BACK TO FRONT
A key change to UW's attack in 2026 is the goal contributions from the defensive unit. Five of Washington's 20 goals this season have been scored by players on the back line with Maylen Montoya and Anna Menti each bagging a pair of goals apiece in addition to Maya Loudd's lone goal. In comparison, Montoya's goal versus Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament was UW's loan goal contribution from the defensive unit in 2025.
POLL POSITION
Despite a two-win week, UW fell one spot to No. 14 in the IWSOC/United Soccer Coaches Poll. It is the 15th straight week UW has appeared in the poll. UW also continues to be ranked in the TopDrawerSoccer Top-25, slotting in at No. 14.
STACKING BRICKS
The Huskies have demonstrated one of the nation's stingiest defenses over the last two-plus season, tying the program record for clean sheets with 11 in 2024 before breaking said record with 12 shutouts in 2025. UW's 32 clean sheets since the start of the 2024 season are tied for the second most in the nation.
Most Shutouts since 2024
UCLA – 34
Washington - 32
Saint Louis - 32
Utah State – 32
Georgetown – 31
Mississippi State – 30
North Carolina - 30
Stanford - 29
TOP DRAWER TALENT
Washington has two players listed in TopDrawerSoccer's Top-100 player rankings, with third year forward Alex Buck slotting in at No. 26 and third year goalkeeper Tanner Ijams coming in at No. 65. Buck, who was also named TopDrawerSoccer Third Team Best XI, ranked third in the Big Ten in points in 2025, while Ijams' 0.67 GAA was the fourth-lowest in a season in Husky history, tying the program record for single season clean sheets with 11.
VET SCHOOL
Washington boasts a roster laden with experience, with 17 of 30 Huskies in their third collegiate season or later. Of the eight returning starters for Washington, seven own at least two seasons of collegiate experience. Included in the group of veteran leaders for UW are fifth years Lucy Newlin and Avery Nguyen, who return for a final season after receiving waivers this offseason, as well as sixth-year South Dakota State transfer Taylor Thomas.
WINNER'S MENTALITY
Of the 11 goals scored by Jadyn Holdenried since the start of 2025, eight have been match-winners, the most by any Husky in that time frame. The fourth year, who entered last season with four total goals in her first two seasons, has scored 11 times since. UW is 14-0-1 all-time when Holdenried scores.
JUST WIN, BABY
15 of Washington's last 19 wins have come by a single goal, including 12 1-0 victories. UW has won 18 matches by one goal since the start of the 2025 season.
SAVING HER BEST
Alex Buck has scored 13 of her 14 career goals after the start of conference play, including nine such goals in 2025, tied for the most in the Big Ten.
ON THE WORLD STAGE
Alex Buck and Grace Duncan recently experienced the great honor of representing their home nations at the U20 World Cup in Poland, suiting up for the USWNT and the Football Ferns of New Zealand, respectively. The two sides met up during the group stage, a win for the USA in which Buck scored twice. Buck finished the tournament with three goals, tying for the US lead.
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 has become one of UW's most dangerous weapons either in the starting XI or off the bench, registering five goals and three assists over the last two seasons.
PRESEASON PROGNOSTICATION
Washington was picked to finish third in its title-defending season in the 2026 Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll, receiving the third-most votes behind predicted champion Michigan State and UCLA. UW was selected ninth in the 2025 iteration of the preseason poll, going on to win the regular season title with a match in hand.
DEFEND THE THRONE
Washington enters 2026 with a target on its back, winning the Big Ten double a season ago as the league's regular season and conference champions, UW's first conference championship since 2000. UW became the first league team to claim the Big Ten double since Minnesota in 2016 and the first school to win both championships undisputed since Nebraska in 2013.
THE NOTORIOUS NVD
Washington locked up reigning unanimous Big Ten Coach of the Year Nicole Van Dyke this offseason, inking the Husky gaffer to a contract extension through the 2030 season. The extension comes after Van Dyke led the Dawgs to the NCAA Elite Eight for the third time on program-history, the third NCAA Tournament bid during Van Dyke's UW tenure. In her six seasons on Montlake, Van Dyke has guided Washington to 60 wins and has developed 15 all-conference players, including All-Americans Summer Yates, Kolo Suliafu and Alex Buck.
HERE TO ASSIST
The Washington sideline will have a new look this season with three new assistant coaches manning the bench.
Whitney Pitalo joins the UW staff after serving as head coach at Cal State Bakersfield in 2025. Pitalo previously resided in the Evergreen State as an assistant coach at Gonzaga, earning United Soccer Coaches West Region Staff of the Year honors in 2023.
Paige Brandt will direct the development of the Husky goalkeepers, coaching All-WCC Honorable Mention keeper Mya Sanchez during her lone season in the same role at Oregon State.
After three seasons as UW's program coordinator, Husky alum Mary Walstad joins the coaching staff in 2026. Walstad appeared in 42 matches with 38 starts over four seasons at Washington from 2019-2022.
IN IT TO TWIN IT
Five different Husky players are a part of a twin or triplet pairing in Vanessa Aguilar, Ryan Boehm, Angelica Chou, Grace Duncan and Mary Camp Newton. In fact, Boehm faced off against twin sister Myra earlier in the season when UW faced Gonzaga, while Newton's sister Ridley plays for defending NCAA Division III National Champion Washington University in St. Louis.
Twin/Triplet Connections on UW's Roster
Vanessa & Michelle Aguilar
Ryan & Myra Boehm
Angelica & Colin Chou
Grace & Maddy Duncan
Mary Camp, Ridley & Sutherland Newton
LEFT SIDE, BEST SIDE
Of the 30 members of Washington's 2026 roster, 22 hail from West Coast states, featuring 11 homegrown products of Washington, 10 natives of California and one player from the Portland suburbs in Oregon. However, Washington's squad spans the US and globe, with natives of Georgia, Kansas, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas and Virginia as well as a pair of internationals from Belgium and New Zealand donning the Purple and Gold.
SMART COOKIES
For the 11th-straight season, Washington has received the United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Award after posting a 3.50 cumulative GPA team GPA.
At the individual level, fifth year Lucy Newlin received UW's Academic Excellence Award for 2026 for graduating with the highest cumulative GPA among graduating student-athletes at 3.98. Newlin also received the Big Ten's Wayne Duke Postgraduate Scholarship and was one of two UW student-athletes to receive the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award in 2024-25.
MENTI BE
Anna and Sally Menti, who starred at Roosevelt High School, less than three miles from Husky Soccer Stadium, have shared different paths to playing in front of their home state fans. Sally was an All-American midfielder at Santa Clara before signing a short-term contract and later a two-year extension last season with the NWSL's Seattle Reign, making 40 appearances and 25 starts with three goals and two assists. Meanwhile, Anna is in her fourth season at UW, making 74 appearances with 60 starts and collecting three goals and three assists along the way.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UW_WSoccer on Instagram, X, Threads, Facebook and TikTok and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
Players Mentioned
MF
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
F/D
/ Women's Soccer
F/MF
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
MF
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
MF/D
/ Women's Soccer
MF
/ Women's Soccer
MF
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
F
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerSunday, October 11
Sunday, October 11
Sunday, October 11
Friday, October 09
