Fall Sports Round Up

That’s A Wrap

BY MARK MOSCHETTI • FOR GO HUSKIES MAGAZINE

Women’s XC closes Pac-12 history book as champions — Husky volleyball and soccer teams conclude conference play with their own exclamation points

CROSS COUNTRY

While this might be the last season for the Pac-12 Conference, Washington’s Director of Track & Field and Cross Country, Maurica Powell, figures the Huskies just might remain No. 1 indefinitely.

“If it goes down as the last one in Pacific-12 women’s cross-country history,’’ she said, “then the Washington Huskies will go down as the last No. 1 in Pac-12 women’s cross-country history.’’

Sophie O’Sullivan, Chloe Foerster, and Julia David-Smith all ran to top-10 finishes, and the 19thranked UW women had four finishers among the top 15, just enough to help them edge Stanford by two points for the conference crown Oct. 27 at Chambers Creek Regional Park.

O’Sullivan, a junior, placed sixth. Foerster, a sophomore, was just four-tenths of a second behind O’Sullivan in seventh, and the Huskies finished with 58 points. Stanford, ranked No. 5, finished with 60. Both schools were well ahead of third-place Colorado’s 87. O’Sullivan completed her six kilometers in 19 minutes, 33.80 seconds; Foerster clocked 19:34.20.

The meet came down to sophomore — and No. 3 finisher — Julia David-Smith, and senior No. 4 India Weir. David-Smith was 10th overall, seven spots ahead of Stanford’s No. 3, and Weir 14th, one spot ahead of the Cardinal’s third and four places ahead of their No. 4. That ultimately made the difference in the final score.

It was the first Pac-12 crown for the Washington women since 2009, and fourth overall.

“They did exactly what they needed to do,” Powell said on GoHuskies.com. “They were tough and competitive, and once they realized they could win with a lap to go, nobody gave an inch the last part of the race.”

The Washington men, led by second-place Luke Houser, gave Stanford a serious, competitive run for that team crown. With Houser and Nathan Green both in the top five, three in the top 10, and all five scorers in the top 20, the Huskies finished with 50 points, nine behind the Cardinal’s winning total of 41.

Houser completed eight kilometers in 22:51.80. Green and Stanford’s Cole Sprout tried to outkick each other sprinting toward the finish line, and both were clocked in 22:56.50; although Green was determined to have gotten to the wire just ahead of Sprout for the third-place points.

Sophie O’Sullivan

Chloe Foerster

Julia David-Smith

Luke Houser

Nathan Green

SOCCER

Late Season Surge For UW Women On The Pitch

Postseason hopes were still to be determined as the calendar flipped from October to November, but the Washington women made the most of what was within their control, to keep those hopes alive.

That meant getting a result every time the Huskies stepped onto the field, and those results came in the form of a late-season, six-game unbeaten streak (3-0-3).

Included in that stretch of solid performances were a pair of ties against teams in the national top 25: 1-1 at No. 2 Stanford, and 1-1 at home vs. No. 18 Colorado. Sophomore midfielder Kelsey Branson got the goal against the Cardinal, and senior forward Hailey Still scored against the Buffaloes, getting the equalizer less than three minutes after Colorado had taken the lead on a penalty kick.

Also figuring into that six-game run were road wins at Arizona (4-3) and Oregon (1-0), and a home victory against Utah (3-1).

Along with that six-gamer, the Huskies forged a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) to wrap up the non-conference portion of their schedule.

Heading into the final week of regular season play with an 8-5-5 record, Washington featured a very balanced scoresheet, with four players — Branson, Still, Ioanna Papatheodorou, and Tatum Thomason — with four goals apiece.

Hailey Still

Kelsey Branson

Men Thrive Vs. Top-25 Soccer Opponents

Even during a season when not all the results have gone the way they wanted, the Washington men have been at their best when taking on the top soccer teams in the country.

In six games, the Huskies have found themselves on the field against national top-25 opponents. They got a result in five of those, going 3-1-2 against those teams.

The first was on the road with a 1-0 victory at then-No. 3 Indiana. Freshman forward Charlie Kosakoff got the goal, and senior goalkeeper Sam Fowler picked up the shutout.

Then, two weeks later at No. 1 Stanford, junior midfielder Chris Meyers scored an equalizer late in the first half, and Washington kept it level throughout the second half on the way to a 1-1 tie.

In a home match against rival and No. 5-ranked Portland, the Huskies conceded the first goal, but then scored three unanswered, with junior defender Nate Jones, sophomore midfielder Richie Aman, and redshirt freshman forward Nick O’Brien finding the back of the net in a 3-1 rout.

Sean Sent, Brian Iliohan, and Kalani Kossa-Rienzi sparked a 3-1 romp past No. 21 San Diego State at Husky Soccer Field. UCLA, ranked No. 25, came to Seattle and put a 4-2 victory into the books. Then in a rematch against Stanford, still ranked — albeit at No. 14 — the Huskies again earned a point, and again with a 1-1 final score.

Both men’s and women’s soccer teams concluded their season on a high note and look to the 2024 season to build on their momentum. Go to GoHuskies. com for soccer news updates.

Charlie Kosakoff

Sam Fowler

VOLLEYBALL

New Head Volleyball Coach, But A Familiar Face

Even before playing its first point this fall, the Husky volleyball team has a new, but familiar look, as Leslie Gabriel takes the head coaching reins.

A new coach is always a time of transition, but Gabriel is hardly new to the UW program. She has been affiliated with it for more than 20 years. First, as a player from 1995-98. Then, as an assistant coach and eventually associate head coach, beginning in 2001 under Jim McLaughlin and Keegan Cook.

Always regarded as one of the top programs in the country, the Huskies bounced back from a season-opening loss to Texas-El Paso and strung together eight victories in a row during the preseason and finished the non-conference portion of their schedule with a 9-2 record.

Washington got off to a bumpy start in the rugged Pac-12, dropping its first three, but then won four of its next five and concluded the first half of conference play with a 4-6 record.

Junior Madi Endsley, sophomore Audra Wilmes, and freshman Kierstyn Barton helped power the Huskies through non-conference play and the first half of the Pac-12 season, each of them slamming more than 200 kills.

Audra Wilmes

Kierstyn Barton

Madi Endsley