Fall Dawg Sports Round Up

from GoHuskies Dec. 1222

by Varsity Communications

10 Questions With Women's Basketball Haley Van Dyke

Fantastic Finishes

UW soccer and XC teams pour it on in Pac-12 and across the U.S. in 2022

MOSCHETTI • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE

Women’s Soccer Fast start to season, then big finish at WSU

The Huskies kicked off in fine style, going undefeated in their first eight games (6-0-2). That included a 5-1 rout at home against crosstown rival Seattle University, with four of those goals scored during the second half. But a week later, that undefeated opening run was halted in the Pacific-12 Confer ence opener by Oregon, as the Ducks took at 2-0 decision. Washington got back on track with home victories against Utah and Colorado, outscoring those two sides by a combined 7-3.

A six-game dry spell that netted just one victory and one tie knocked the Hus kies out of Pac-12 contention. However, UW closed the season on a most positive note, earning a 3-2 decision at Washington State on Nov. 5 to finish with a 10-63 record. That was the first ‘W’ in Pullman for the Huskies since 1996. Freshman Kelsey Branson got the game-winner, and fifth year forward Summer Yates tallied her 27th career goal, tying her for No. 3 on the all-time Washington scoring list.

Yates led the team in scoring with seven goals. Branson finished with five, as did grad student forward McKenzie Weinert and fifth year forward Karlee Stueckle.

For the fifth time in five seasons, Yates was voted All-Pac-12, earning a spot on the first team. That was the third year in a row for her on the top squad. Grad student defender Shae Holmes was voted to the second team, her first all-con ference honor. Branson gained a spot on the All-Freshman team, the first Husky to do so since Yates in 2018.

Men’s Soccer UW’s amazing 2022 season ends with second round NCAA loss

The Washington men's soccer team's season came to an end Nov. 20 after falling 3-1 to Creighton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Huskies concluded the 2022 season with an overall record of 15-2-3 and the program's fourth Pac-12 Championship.

The Huskies, who were No. 1 in the national coaches’ rankings from Oct. 4 through the end of the regular season on Nov. 10, headed into the NCAA Tour nament in mid-November as one of the teams to beat. They gained that dis tinction through a 15-1-3 mark in the regular season, including a win and a tie against Stanford (ranked No. 5 for both games).

That record also includes a sweep of UCLA. The Bruins were ranked No. 21 at the time of the first game, a 1-0 Washington victory in Los Angeles. The re turn game was in Seattle on Nov. 3, and the 3-2 victory for the Huskies clinched the program’s fourth Pacific-12 Conference championship. (The others were in 2000, 2013 and 2019.) The only nick was a 1-0 loss to Oregon State in the regu lar-season finale, but it still finished 7-1-2 in conference play.

Leading the way to that lofty ledger were sophomore forward Ilijah Paul and redshirt senior midfielder Lucas Meek. Paul knocked in 11 goals, three of which were game winners. Meek also had three game-winners among his 10 tallies.

While the Huskies knocked in 47 goals through 19 regular-season games, they allowed just 13, thanks in part to the goalkeeping tandem of junior Sam Fowler and sophomore Jadon Bowton. Fowler was 11-1-1 with four shutouts and an 0.62 goals-against average. Bowton was 4-0-2 with an 0.81 GAA.

Men’s XC Who’s up front? Of course, it’s Fay

There’s no stopping Bryan Fay. At the NCAA West Region Cross Country Championships, there was no catching him, either.

The senior from Ireland raced to the victory on Nov. 11, leading the Huskies to a third-place finish in that meet and a trip to the NCAA nationals, as well. Fay completed his 10 kilometers at Chamber Creek Regional Park in 28 minutes, 17 seconds. He was the third straight UW runner to capture the regional title, following in the footsteps of Andrew Jordan in 2019 and Kieran Lumb in 2021. (The 2020 season was canceled because of the pandemic.) Prior to that, no Husky had ever won the regional crown.

Washington finished with 105 points in the team standings. Stanford won easily with 45, and Gonzaga was second with 92. While only the top two teams were automatic qualifiers to the nationals in Stillwater, Okla., on Nov.19, the third-place Huskies were awarded an at-large bid.

Just two weeks earlier on the course at UC Riverside Fay came through with an eighth-place performance at the Pacific-12 Championships, and the Huskies also finished third in that meet, totaling 81 points. That was an 8K race, and Fay posted a time of 22: 57. Senior Isaac Green (11th) and sophomore Luke Houser (15th) joined Fay in the top 20, and Houser had a strong performance at Regionals, placing ninth.

The trip to Stillwater will be the second of the year for Washington. On Sept. 24, they ran at the season-opening Cowboy Invitational. Houser was the front runner for the Huskies, placing 26th.

The senior from Ireland raced to the victory on Nov. 11, leading the Huskies to a third-place finish in that meet and a trip to the NCAA nationals

Women’s XC O'Sullivan, Markezich make quantum leaps

Sophie O’Sullivan and Andrea Markezich were moving on up — in a big way – for Washington during the cross country postseason.

O’Sullivan raced to a top-10 finish on Nov. 11 in the NCAA West Region Championships at Chambers Creek in University Place. Her ninth-place run, completed in 19 minutes, 34 seconds for 6 kilometers, and Anna Gibson’s 13thplace spot, led the Huskies to third as a team with 114 points. That was enough to earn them a spot on the starting line for the NCAA nationals on Nov. 19 in Stillwater, Okla.

Markezich had finished 23rd in each of her first two Pacific-12 Champion ships. But the junior from nearby Woodinville raced all the way into the top 10 this time, taking eighth place in 19 minutes, 37 seconds for 6 kilometers at UC Riverside. It was her first time ever of leading the purple pack. Australian soph omore O’Sullivan, who was 31st in 2021, climbed to 13th. UW finished fifth in the team standings with 94 points.

The Huskies will be familiar with the national course in Stillwater. Anna Gibson got her season off to a solid start at the Cowboy Jamboree on Sept. 24. It was her first time on that 6,000-meter course, and she wound up leading the way for Washington, placing 19th overall.

At the Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational on Oct. 14, Washington finished 16th among a field of 33 teams that included 23 that were ranked in the nation al top 30.

Follow both teams on GoHuskies.com through their postseason run.