Sept. 29, 2011
WR92811
SEATTLE - After a great start to the pre-season at 5-1-2, the Huskies are back in the polls at No. 22 in the NSCAA poll as Pac-12 play begins. UW will travel to Corvallis, Ore., to face Oregon State on Friday at 7 p.m. Live stats will be available on www.gohuskies.com.
Scouting Oregon State
The Beavers are 2-5-1 on the year. Last week, they fell by one goal in each game to Cal State Bakersfield and UMKC. The two wins for the Beavers are over Gonzaga and Sacramento State. Alex Eckerson leads the team with three goals and Emery Welshman has a goal and two assists. In goal, Steve Spangler has played in all eight games, making 33 saves and allowing 15 goals. Last year, the Huskies defeated Oregon State 4-0 at home and 1-0 in Corvallis. UW leads the overall series, 31-10-3.
Richey Named Defensive MVP Of Tournament
UW was handed its first loss of the season on Sept. 21 in the home opener vs. Portland. The Pilots scored in the final minute of regulation to get the win. However, with three games on the week, the Huskies rebounded to win the Husky Fever Classic, going a perfect 2-0 with wins over Houston Baptist and No. 24/20 UAB. Husky keeper Spencer Richey was named the tournament's Defensive MVP allowing just one goal during the tournament on a PK to UAB and shutting out Houston Baptist, 4-0.
Richards Lifts UW Over Tulsa In OT
After a 30 minute lightning delay in Dallas, Texas, the Huskies defeated Tulsa at the end of the first OT period, 2-1. Brent Richards scored his third game-winning goal of the year and Jake Hustedt had the assist. UW was supposed to play SMU on Sunday but because of weather the game only went 45 minutes and was therefore cancelled because it wasn't an official game of at least 70 minutes.
Huskies Got Off To Best Start Since 2006
At 3-0-2 to start the season, UW got off to its best start since the 2006 team began the season 8-0-0. The 1997 team also started 3-0-2. Now at 5-1-2, UW can equal last year's start of 6-1-2 with a win at Oregon State.
Redhawks And Huskies Draw
UW drew its second tie of the season on Sept. 11 at Seattle U. Goalkeeper Spencer Richey made a season-high four saves in the net while Brent Richards, Ben Fisk and others had great attempts on goal, but the game ended in a scoreless draw after 2OT.
Richards Earns Pac-12 Honors
Senior co-captain Brent Richards was named the Portland/Nike Invitational MVP and because of that earned his first-ever Pac-12 Conference Player of the Week honor.
Tournament Champions
Washington went down to Merlo Field in Portland, Ore., Sept. 2-4 and came back to Seattle with the Portland/Nike Tournament Championship. Brent Richards was named Offensive MVP as UW defeated Loyola-Chicago 1-0 in overtime on a goal by Richards. The Huskies then tied then-ranked No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast 1-1 in 2OT.
Huskies Ranked For First Time Since 2010
Washington got back in the polls for the first time since 2010. The NSCAA had the Huskies at No. 23 in the Sept. 6 poll. This week, UW is back in the polls at No. 22. In 2010, UW was ranked as high as No. 21. Before 2010, UW hadn't been ranked since 2006 when it was in the top 10.
Huskies Blank The Zags, 3-0
In the season-opener, Washington was impressive defeating Gonzaga in Spokane, scoring three goals in the second half. Senior transfer Jacob Hustedt drew two fouls in the box and senior Brent Richards knocked in both PK's. Hustedt also assisted sophomore Michael Harris for the first goal of his career. Sophomore Spencer Richey played all 90 minutes in goal.
Richards Named Candidate For Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
Senior Brent Richards was named part of a 30 person group honored by Lowe's as a candidate for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
The Lowe's Senior CLASS award is given out each year to an outstanding senior student and one Division I senior is given the award in 10 different sports. The acronym CLASS stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School. The award honors those seniors that excel in four different aspects: community, classroom, character, and competition.
Richards has had an illustrious career, playing in every game possible at Washington, starting all but two of them. He came out of the gates strong as a freshman, leading the team in goals, and being named to the All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention Team. Richards made his game even more complete as a sophomore, leading the team in every main offensive category. He had the most points, goals and assists en route to Second-Team All-Pac-10 honors. He had his best season as a junior, once again leading the team with eight goals and five assists, totaling a team-high 21 points. His performance led to him being named Team Offensive MVP as well as making First-Team All-Pac-10.
Richards' excellence in the classroom has been honored by multiple awards. In each of his last two seasons, Richards was named to the First-Team Pac-10 All-Academic. As a junior, he became a First-Team NSCAA Scholar All-America and a Third-Team ESPN Academic All-American. He maintains a 3.73 GPA.
The field will be shrunk from 30 candidates to ten finalists in October. Those 10 names will be put on official ballots to be voted on by the media, coaches, and fans.
Ticket Information
Tickets for all Husky home matches are on sale now either online at GoHuskies.com or by calling the Husky Ticket Office at 206-543-2200. Tickets may also be purchased at the field on game day.
Fans looking for season tickets can purchase the Husky Gold Card which grants general admission access to all men's and women's soccer, volleyball, gymnastics, baseball and softball games.
