Clean Sheet

MARK MOSCHETTI • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE

They’re coming off a dream year that went all the way to the NCAA College Cup championship match.

And while several members of that University of Washington men’s soccer team have moved on to the next phase of their careers, Head Coach Jamie Clark hasn’t stopped dreaming of more success still to come.

“As a coach or as a player, it’s always nice to look back fondly upon a season. But what you like to do is play games and you want to move forward — and that’s what we’re looking forward to doing,” Clark said.

UW women’s coach Nicole Van Dyke feels exactly the same way about moving forward. Coming off a 6-8-4 campaign when not everything broke their way, her Huskies got started on 2022 almost from the moment 2021 ended.

“We grew a lot in the winter and spring, and our best moments come from that consistency of everyone contributing to the big picture,” she said. “When you see those kinds of magical moments, you want to keep creating them and making sure every single woman on our team is contributing and making an impact every single day.”

On their way to an 18-2-2 ledger last fall and their first-ever trip to the College Cup, the Huskies caught people’s attention, as a team, and individually.

In January, five UW players – all defenders – were selected in the Major League Soccer SuperDraft: Ryan Sailor by Inter Miami (No. 9 overall), Kendall Burks by Chicago (No. 11), Charlie Ostrom, also by Chicago (No. 33), Lucas Meek also by Miami (No. 37), and Achille Robin by the Seattle Sounders (No. 43). In addition, leading goal scorer Dylan Teves (12 goals-8 assists-32 points) signed a homegrown contract with the Sounders.

So, while that closed the doors on their Husky careers (except for Meek, who is returning for his redshirt senior season after recovering from knee surgery), it opened the doors for those who return.

“We have opportunities for guys to take, and we believe that they are good enough to take them on and do great in those positions,'' Clark said. “I think like any good team, you always feel like you’re developing guys underneath. Those guys have been patient and waiting, and they’re going to get their chance.”

Two such players are junior defender Khai Brisco (17 games in 2021) and sophomore defender Nate Jones (12). Other candidates are sophomore midfielder Gabe Thredgold (17 games) and forward / midfielder Chris Meyers (15).

“These guys are no slouches – they’ve been patiently waiting,” Clark said. “A lot of them have been on the field individually, but they haven’t been together for those (decisive) moments yet. They’ll have to earn those, and like every good team, you think they will.”

Senior forward Gio Miglietti, a familiar name up front (six goals last season, tied for second-most on the team) could be seeing time in the back at central defender.

Goalkeeper Sam Fowler returns for his junior season. He played 21 of 22 games last fall with a scant 0.74 goals-against average.

With Miglietti moving to the back, that creates an opening at center forward, and sophomore Ilijah Paul could be someone who fills it. He played in 20 of last season’s 22 games, primarily as a reserve. “He’ll cause a lot of teams a lot of problems,” Clark said. “He wasn’t totally fit or healthy last year, but I think he’ll be a guy who will turn a lot of heads.”

For all the differences at the front and the back, the midfield figures to have a familiar look with sophomore Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, junior Christian Soto, Lucas Meek, and junior Nick Scardina. Kossa-Rienzi and Scardina both played all 22 games with 21 starts; Soto started all 20 games he played.

The Huskies went 4-0-2 on a trip to Scotland in July, and, looking beyond the results, Clark liked what he saw. “It showed we’re a little further along than I thought, playing against those teams,” he said. “This group is going to be very flexible in how we can play. To play different ways is going to be big.”

If 2021 seemed like one very long season for the Washington women … that’s because it was. With Covid 19 having shut down the traditional fall season in 2020, the Huskies played 18 games between February and May of 2021, reaching the NCAA Sweet 16. Just three-and-a-half months later, they were back in that traditional fall season – and another 18 games. “Last year was a bit of an anomaly. We were coming off that extended season in the spring, and injuries that kind of carried through to the fall,” head coach Nicole Van Dyke said. “We know our players really worked their tails off last winter and this spring, and I think it’s back to basics. Let’s deeply root ourselves in development on the field, off the field, and just kind of dive into the process and be present in those moments. We have some unfinished business for us right now.”

Looking to help the Huskies finish some of that business is a group of eight returners who accounted for 13 of Washington’s 25 goals and 12 of the 20 assists in last fall.

That starts with fifth-year forward Summer Yates, whose five goals and five assists led the Huskies in both departments. Her 15 total points made her the only Husky in double-digits, and Van Dyke said Yates is capable of even bigger numbers.

Other returning multiple-goal scorers are grad student forward McKenzie Weinert (three), senior forward Kyla Ferry, and grad student midfielder Vanessa Millsaps (two each).

Weinert spent her first three seasons (2019-21) at Oregon State, then joined the Huskies last year, playing all 18 games with 10 starts. Millsaps, who missed her 2018 true freshman year and the 2021 extended spring season with an injury, played 14 games in the fall with three starts. Ferry appeared in 16 of the 18 matches, starting the last six.

“McKenzie Weinert proved last year that she is among some of the best in the conference,” Van Dyke said. "Vanessa was a little bit on the injured side at moments last fall, but she proved that she can score. I think her consistency in the lineup will aid in the attack.”

The freshmen include the Washington and Arizona Gatorade State Players of the Year: forward Hayden Crowley from Richland, and forward Tatum Thomason from Peoria.

Keeping balls out of the net is grad student Olivia Sekany, entering her third year with the Huskies. She played all but 14 of the 1,715 minutes the team logged last season, posting three shutouts and a 1.48 goals-against average.

Among those vying for time in the back are grad student defender Shae Holmes, who is back after missing last year with an injury, and senior Shaye Seyffart, a transfer from Florida.

Along with the tangibles of talent, experience, and depth, Van Dyke also sees one very significant intangible that also is back in play with the return to a normal schedule.

“The one thing I think we missed a year ago (because of the extended schedule) is they love to train, and they love to train hard,” Van Dyke said. “That’s something we were able to really push and challenge them and stretch them on in the winter and spring. As a coach, one thing I get really excited about is the opportunity for them to perform and go out there and showcase (themselves) when they’ve really worked hard at something.”