Oct. 5, 2011
UW Weekly Notes
Pac-12 Play Rolls on with UCLA, San Diego State
Husky head coach Jamie Clark will look to capture his first Pac-12 win, as Washington hosts No. 15 UCLA Friday at 7 p.m. Two days later, the Huskies host San Diego State at 2:30 p.m. The Dawgs will be looking to bounce back from a 2-1 loss at Oregon State to open conference play. Live video and stats will be available on www.gohuskies.com.
Scouting UCLA
UCLA enters Friday's showdown with a 7-3-1 record and carries a 2-0-0 mark in Pac-12 play. After a rough 0-2-1 start, the Bruins have found their stride, winning seven of their last eight. UCLA is led by the fifth-leading goal scorer in the country, Chandler Hoffman, who is put away nine in 11 matches.
Scouting SDSU
After a trip to Corvallis, Ore. for match against Oregon State this Friday, the 20th-ranked Aztecs will travel to Seattle to face Washington Sunday, Oct. 9 at 2:30 p.m. SDSU is 2-0-0 in Pac-12 play and 7-1-2 overall. The Aztecs are unbeaten since Sept. 4, with wins in six of their last seven games.
Huskies Fall in Pac-12 Opener to Oregon State
UW got a penalty kick goal in the final minute of play but it wasn't enough as Oregon State upset No. 22 UW, 2-1 in Corvallis, Ore. The Huskies went down early, 2-0 at half as Mike Reckmeyer and Emery Welshman both scored. Dylan Tucker-Gangnes (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) scored the lone goal for the Huskies with 48 seconds left in the game on a penalty kick. It was the second goal of the season for Tucker-Gangnes.
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.
Huskies Picked Third By Pac-12 Coaches
In a polling of the Pac-12 Conference's men's soccer coaches, the Huskies were picked to finish third out of six teams, exactly where they finished last season.
UCLA was selected as the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12 in 2011. The Bruins, searching for their seventh title overall, received 25 points and five first-place votes. Cal was picked to finish second, receiving one first place vote and Washington was third with 16 total points.
Washington, under the direction of first-year head coach Jamie Clark, finished third in the conference last year with a 5-5-0 record (11-6-1 overall), just barely missing out on the NCAA Tournament.
San Diego State was picked fourth with 13 points while Stanford received 10 points for fifth. Oregon State picked up five points to round out the poll.
Two Husky Seniors Earn Pre-Season Honors
Richards was named a Third-Team Pre-Season All-American by College Soccer News. Richards, along with fellow senior Jacob Hustedt, were both listed as two of the top 100 seniors of 2011 by TopDrawerSoccer and two of the top 100 prospects.
Bijev Signs With Liverpool
Villyan Bijev, just 18 years old, had signed with the UW men's soccer team and was planning to start as a freshman this fall when his plans took a different turn. He received the opportunity to sign a contract to play professional soccer with Liverpool FC in the English Premier League. Liverpool FC is one of the premier soccer clubs in the world and has a rich and victorious history. The club is the second most successful club in the history of English soccer, having won 18 League titles, only one behind Manchester United. They have also won seven FA Cups and seven League Cups, more than any other team.
Live Online Coverage
Live scoring and chat along with audio and video will be available for free for all Husky home soccer matches on www.gohuskies.com.
Follow The Huskies Via Social Media
Become a fan of the Washington men's soccer team on Facebook by going to www.facebook.com/UWMensSoccer. The fan page includes exclusive updates, video content and photos updated weekly.
Fans can also follow the UW men's soccer team through the Huskies' all-sports Twitter page, www.twitter.com/UWSportsNews.
UW is also on www.youtube.com/UWAthletics. Fans there can find new video context from all of the Husky sports teams.
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.
