Dec. 13, 2011
weeklyrelease
SEATTLE - The Huskies posted a solid year full of achievement and improvement in Coach Jamie Clark's first season at UW. The Huskies finished the season 12-4-2 overall and 7-3-0 in the conference, a one game improvement on their overall record from last season. They finished second in the conference behind UCLA, who went undefeated in the conference and reached the final four before being beaten in PK's by eventual national champion North Carolina. The Huskies recorded eight shutouts this season, including the first two and last two games of the season. The team started out the season strong, posting a 3-0 shutout in the first game of the Jamie Clark era, behind two goals by senior leader Brent Richards and one by sophomore Michael Harris. They then headed to Portland where they took home the Portland Nike Invitational title, beating Loyola-Chicago and tying No. 22 Florida Gulf Coast. Richards was named the tournament's Offensive MVP. These two matches as well as the next two, versus Seattle U and versus Tulsa in Dallas, Texas, went into either overtime or double overtime, with the Huskies coming out of the four matches, 2-0-2. The Huskies almost took a fifth straight game into overtime in the home opener, but fell to Portland 1-0 on a last minute goal by the Pilots. UW then hosted the Husky Soccer Classic versus UAB, Houston Baptist, and Portland. The Huskies and Pilots did not face again, however, and UW won games, a 4-0 shutout of Houston Baptist, and a 2-1 upset victory over No. 24/20 UAB. They were named tournament champions and Spencer Richey was named the tournament's Defensive MVP. Washington suffered a 2-1 defeat at Oregon State and a 4-1 defeat to UCLA at home to open the Pac-12 season, but bounced back, winning the next five in a row. In the first of these five consecutive wins, Casey McCool and Jacob Hustedt scored on a late goal and penalty kick, respectively, to come back in a 2-1 win at home over SDSU. They then shut out Coach Clark's collegiate team, Stanford, 2-0 in Palo Alto behind goals by Casey McCool and Jacob Hustedt. In the third of five straight victories, Richards scored two goals on the road to lift the Huskies over Cal, 2-1, in double overtime. The Dawgs then returned to Seattle to host Stanford and California, winning both games, 2-1 and 1-0, respectively. The Huskies split their final weekend on the road, losing to No. 10 UCLA by a late goal, 1-0, and topping SDSU behind two goals by Jacob Hustedt and Charlie Ranahan's first career goal. The team finished the season shutting out Oregon State, 3-0, their seventh win in eight games. The team honored seven seniors, including both star players and newcomers, who will certainly be missed after this season - Jacob Hustedt, Brent Richards, Casey McCool, Jamie Finch, Abdul Aman, Nick James, and Alex Klein.
Richards Named Pac-12 Men's Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year
Brent Richards was named the 2012 Pac-12 Men's Soccer Scholar Athlete of the Year. This was the third such honor for the UW men's program in school history. George John earned the honor in 2008 and Rylan Hawkins in 2009.
Five Huskies Named Pac-12 All-Academic
Washington had five honorees named to the Pac-12 All-Academic teams, with three named to the First-Team - Jamie Finch, Brent Richards, and Alex Klein. Finch ended his Husky career as a four-time first-team honoree. Richards earned first-team honors for the third team in his career, while this was the first All-Academic conference honor for Klein.
Huskies Among Nation's Leaders In Several Year-End Categories
The NCAA released final statistics in several categories and the Huskies had several mentions among the nation's leaders. Brent Richards ranked 29th in the country with 1.39 points per game, tied for 31st with 0.56 goals per game, tied for 34th with 10 total goals, and tied for 37th with 25 total points. Goalkeeper Spencer Richey ranked 20th in the nation with 0.748 GAA and 27th with a 0.808 save percentage. As a team, Washington was ranked 11th in won-lost-tied percentage with 0.722, tied for 14th in shutout percentage with nine shutouts and 0.50 per game, was ranked 15th in team goals against average with 0.75, 28th with 0.808 save pct., and tied for 37th in total scoring offense with 30 total goals and 1.67 per game.
Brent Richards Earns Academic All-District Honors
Senior Brent Richards was one of 11 players and one of three forwards named a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection for District VIII. He maintains a 3.73 GPA as an extended pre-major. In 2010, he also earned First-Team Pac-10 All-Academic Honors and NSCAA Scholar-All American and All-Region honors. As a sophomore in 2009, he was a First-Team All-Pac-10 Academic select and an ESPN All-District VIII First-Team selection. Finch carries a 3.73 GPA in business administration and finance, Richards also carries a 3.73 in economics. Klein has a 3.75 GPA in communications. Sophomore Spencer Richey (Seattle, Wash.) and junior Dylan Tucker-Gangnes (Bainbridge Island, Wash.) both earned honorable mention. It is the second-straight such honor for Tucker-Gangnes and the first academic honor for Richey.
Finch and Richards Earn All-Region Honors
Seniors Brent Richards and Jamie Finch were named to the NSCAA All-Far West Team for the 2011 season. Richards was named to the first-team for the first time in his career after earning second-team honors last year. For Finch, this was his first All-Region honor after receiving NSCAA Scholar All-West and First-Team Academic All-District VIII honors in 2010.
Richards Named First-Team Academic All-American
Brent Richards was named a First-Team Capital One Academic All-American for the 2011 season. This is the seventh time in school history that a Husky has been recognized with this honor. Richards made the third team in 2010. He is only the second Husky to receive first team honors, after Rylan Hawkins in 2009. A total of 33 student-athletes, 11 each on first, second, and third teams are honored for both the men and women. Richards was just one of two Pac-12 honorees for the men as UCLA's Chandler Hoffman was named to the Second Team.
Six Huskies Earn Pac-12 Honors
After a polling of the Pac-12 men's soccer coaches, six Huskies received Pac-12 end of season honors. Seniors Jaime Finch, Jacob Hustedt and Brent Richards were named to the first-team while junior Dylan Tucker-Gangnes and sophomore Spencer Richey were named to the second-team and junior Ben Fisk earned honorable mention, respectively. Finch was one of three defenders to be named to the first team, Hustedt earned the honor in his first year at UW, and Richards earned all-conference honors all four years at UW. Six selections were the most for the Huskies since 2009.
Finch And Richards Named To Team of the Week In Back-To-Back Weeks
Senior co-captains Jamie Finch and Brent Richards were named to TopDrawerSoccer.com and Soccer America Men's Team of the Week, respectively. Finch was named for the week of Oct. 17-23 after getting his second assist of the year in a 2-1 win against Stanford and helping the Dawgs shut out Cal in a 1-0 victory. Richards was honored for the week of Oct. 10-16 after having two assists in a 2-0 win at Stanford and scoring both goals in a 2-1 two overtime win over Cal.
Richards Named Gohuskies.com Student-Athlete of the Week
Senior men's soccer forward Brent Richards was named the Gohuskies.com Student-Athlete of the Week for the week of Oct. 17-23. This is the first such honor for the men's soccer team on the year. Richards scored his 10th goal of the season in the 1-0 victory over Cal on Sunday, while leading the team with five shots in the game. He also led the team with five shots in the 2-1 victory over Stanford Friday night, assisting Abdul Aman's game-winning goal in the 41st minute. Richards is the first Husky to score 10 goals in a season since Ely Allen had 12 in 2007.
No. 19 UW Shuts Out Oregon State On Senior Day
UW scored two goals in the first half and one in the second and sophomore goalkeeper Spencer Richey allowed just two shots on goal. Quinton Beasley and Jamie Finch scored in the first half while Casey McCool scored the lone goal in the second half. The Huskies also honored seven seniors (Hustedt, Richards, McCool, Finch, Aman, James, Klein), during their last home game at UW, including two of TopDrawerSoccer.com's top seniors in the country and MLS prospects, Jacob Hustedt and Brent Richards.
