Top Seed Dawgs Take On Illinois In Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Entering as the highest seed, the No. 16 Washington ladies’s soccer staff begins its Big Ten Tournament run on Sunday, dealing with 9 seed Illinois at Folk Field at 9:30 a.m. PT.

The match will likely be obtainable for streaming reside on B1G+. Links to reside protection can be found on the ladies’s soccer schedule web page at GoHuskies.com.

SCOUTING ILLINOIS

A former Fighting Illini assistant coach, Katie Hultin is in her first season as head coach at Illinois, main UI to an undefeated non-conference season and a sixth-place end within the Big Ten. Hultin made the transfer to Champaign after three seasons as head coach at Grand Valley State.

 

The No. 9 seed, Illinois superior to Sunday’s quarterfinal spherical with a 1-0 win over No. 8 seed Ohio State on Thursday. Illinois boasts a 13-4-2 general document, 5-4-2 in Big Ten play.

 

Illinois is led in scoring by senior ahead Sarah Foley and sophomore ahead Cayla Jackson with seven targets apiece. Both Foley and Jackson have additionally chipped in three assists, pacing the Illini with 17 whole factors.

 

Redshirt-junior Izzy Lee has began all 19 matches between the posts for Illinois, making 113 saves for a .869 save share. Lee has allowed 17 targets, boasting a 0.92 targets in opposition to common.

 

SERIES HISTORY

After dropping the primary assembly with Illinois 3-0 in Champaign in 2008, Washington has received every of the final 4 conferences with the Fighting Illini, together with a 3-1 win at Husky Soccer Stadium earlier this season.

 

TOP DAWGS

With its 1-0 win over No. 15 Wisconsin, Washington secured the 2025 Big Ten Regular Season Championship, this system’s first convention title since claiming the 2000 Pac-10 Championship. Alex Buck scored the decisive penalty within the victory, incomes her second Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honor of the season.

 

POLL POSITION

Washington continues to be ranked contained in the top-20 in each main polls, coming in at No. 9 within the TopDrawerSoccer Top-25 and No. 16 within the United Soccer Coaches Poll. The Huskies have risen as excessive as No. 5 by TDS and No. 8 within the coaches ballot.

 

GOING STREAKING

Washington’s 10-match unbeaten streak to open convention play was its longest in program-history, eclipsing the 2000 season when UW received the primary eight Pac-10 matches. Overall, the 10-match streak was UW’s longest unbeaten run since additionally rattling off 10 straight matches in 2009.

STARTING STRONG

Washington has gotten off to fast begins all season, with 15 of UW’s 25 targets for the season coming within the first half, together with 9 targets inside the primary 25 minutes of a match. The Huskies have led on the break in 12-of-17 matches in 2025.

ROOKIE RECOGNITION

Having began 16 matches at outdoors again for the Huskies, true freshman Maylen Montoya was ranked because the eleventh greatest freshman within the nation in TopDrawerSoccer’s Top-100 Freshmen Rankings.

 

WINNER’S MENTALITY

Of the team-high seven targets scored by Jadyn Holdenried this season, 5 have been match-winners, rating sixth within the nation. The junior, who entered the season with 4 whole targets in her first two seasons, sits sixth within the Big Ten in each targets (7) and whole factors (18). UW is 10-0-1 all-time when Holdenried scores.

GIANT KILLERS

Washington has defeated a top-5 staff for the primary time in program historical past with wins over No. 5 Michigan State (2024) and No. 4 UCLA (2025) at residence. UW is an ideal 4-0-0 vs. ranked groups in 2025.

 

THE PEN IS MIGHTIER

Penalties on each side of the pitch proved the distinction as Washington collected six essential factors with street wins over Penn State and No. 22 Ohio State. Kelsey Branson drew each pivotal spot kicks for the Huskies, with Jadyn Holdenried changing in opposition to PSU and Lucy Newlin scoring her penalty vs. OSU. With the flip script within the 89th minute in opposition to the Buckeyes, Husky keeper Tanner Ijams got here up with a penalty save to protect the 1-0 win for UW.

 

In recognition of her excellent play through the week, Kolo Suliafu was named the Big Ten Co-Defensive Player of the Week, her second Defensive POTW honor of the season.

 

TINSEL TOWN TAKEDOWN

For the third time in program-history, Washington has defeated each of its LA-based convention foes. En path to incomes top-15 victories over USC and UCLA, the stout Husky protection held the Trojans and Bruins to season-low totals in pictures.

 

Washington made a press release in its Big Ten opener at No. 15 USC, defeating the Trojans 1-0 at Rawlinson Stadium. It was UW’s first street win over a ranked opponent since topping then-No. 7 USC in 2019.

 

The Dawgs then locked up No. 4 UCLA in a 1-0 victory in Seattle to leapfrog to the highest of the Big Ten desk, Washington’s highest-ranked win since 2017. Putting forth a ferocious defensive effort, UW held the Bruins with out a first half shot, a feat that had not occurred since 2018.

 

The two wins netted Washington 5 Big Ten Player of the Week honors in whole as Alex Buck and Kolo Suliafu earned respective Big Ten Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week nods following the win at USC, whereas Jadyn Holdenried, Maya Loudd and Maylen Montoya have been tabbed Offensive Player, Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week after UW’s win over UCLA.

 

YOU CAN FIND ME IN DA CLUB

One of the extra distinctive paths to the Husky roster comes from junior Avery Nguyen, who was provided a roster spot previous to the beginning of the 2023 season after a trial throughout preseason coaching. A local of the Kansas City metro space and a former standout for Olathe Northwest High School and Sporting Blue Valley, Nguyen led the UW membership staff in scoring as a university freshman in 2022.

 

Nguyen has turn into one among UW’s most harmful weapons off the bench as a senior, scoring thrice this season in opposition to Idaho, Minnesota and Oregon. Nguyen has made 29 profession appearances for Washington.

ALL ROADS CLOSED

The stout Husky defensive unit, which tied this system document for fewest targets allowed in a single season in 2024, surrendering simply 12, is led by senior middle again Kolo Suliafu, who was named to the United Soccer Coaches’ Defenders to Watch record. Suliafu, a Second Team All-Big Ten and United Soccer Coaches All-Region choice, made 35 consecutive begins for Washington earlier than a one-match ban to begin the season and contributed to 31 clear sheets all through her illustrious UW profession, together with 29 as a member of the beginning XI. Suliafu was additionally ranked because the No. 91 participant in all of girls’s school soccer in TopDrawerSoccer’s annual preseason top-100 record.

WATCH OUT!

Suliafu was joined on the Big Ten Players to Watch List by a pair of teammates in junior midfielder Samiah Shell and fifth yr Laura Cetina. It was Suliafu’s second consecutive look on the preseason record.

 

Shell, a local of Auburn, Washington, is Washington’s main returning scorer with 5 targets throughout a breakout sophomore marketing campaign. A former participant within the prestigious High School All-American Game, Shell additionally dished out three assists in 2024 for 13 whole factors. The Auburn Riverside HS product opened her Husky scoring account with a purpose at No. 10 Santa Clara, additionally including a brace in UW’s Big Ten street victory over Maryland.

 

Meanwhile, Cetina is a recent face to Montlake, becoming a member of Washington after taking part in the final two seasons at UMass Lowell, the previous residence of Husky All-Big Ten standout Ioanna Papatheodorou. Cetina brings a successful pedigree in tow, having guided Eastern Florida State College to its first-ever NJCAA National Championship in 2021. Prior to coming stateside, the A Coruña, Spain, native scored 38 targets over 4 seasons for Spanish membership Victoria C.F.

 

STARTING XI FIXTURE

Since making seven-straight begins to finish her freshman marketing campaign, Kelsey Branson has not did not crack the Huskies’ beginning XI a single time, a streak spanning 65     consecutive matches. Branson was the one Husky to begin all 19 matches in 2023 and all 21 fixtures of 2024.

 

MIA KICKS CANCER

Washington will likely be taking part in for way over bragging rights and glory on the pitch in 2025, sporting an orange ribbon on the entrance of its jerseys in assist of senior goalkeeper Mia Hamant, who was identified with Stage 4 SMARCB1-deficient kidney most cancers. Hamant hopes to return to the pitch in Purple and Gold however is not going to go well with up on the pitch in 2025.

 

The California native, who not too long ago celebrated her twenty first birthday, did extra than simply carry out in her first season as Washington’s major keeper a season in the past, she starred. Hamant posted the nation’s third-best save share in 2024 at .882, whereas UW collectively hailed the NCAA’s high save share. Hamant’s 0.66 targets in opposition to common was the third lowest in a season for a UW keeper, whereas her seven clear sheets have been the sixth most in a season for a Husky.

 

Hamant, who additionally excels within the classroom at U Dub as a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District and Big Ten Fall All-Academic honoree, put UW on her again throughout Washington’s postseason run final season. The Redwood HS product was named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team after making three penalty saves to raise UW over Iowa into the Big Ten Semifinals, then adopted up with extra penalty shootout excellence as UW superior previous No. 25 Utah State into the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

 

The UW neighborhood has rallied round Hamant, with a number of Husky packages donning orange ribbons within the standout shot stopper’s honor. Additionally, a GoFundMe to assist the varied prices related to Hamant’s care has raised over $134,000 up to now. Fans can comply with together with Hamant’s most cancers journey on Instagram at @miakickscancer.

 

KEEP SLEEPING

Despite grossly outperforming its preseason prognostication of thirteenth within the 2024 Big Ten Preseason Coaches Poll, ending tied for fifth within the league desk and advancing to the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals, Washington was once more not predicted to be amongst the league’s high groups. The Huskies have been picked to complete ninth within the 2025 iteration of the preseason ballot, in the end capturing the convention crown with a match in hand.

 

2025 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll

1. USC

2. UCLA

3. Penn State

4. Michigan State

5. Ohio State

6. Iowa

7. Wisconsin

8. Rutgers

9. Washington

10. Minnesota

11. Purdue

12. Nebraska

13. Michigan

14. Northwestern

15. Illinois

16. Oregon

17. Indiana

18. Maryland

LEADING BY EXAMPLE

This summer time, Washington senior Lucy Newlin was one among two UW athletes chosen as a Big Ten’s Outstanding Sportsmanship Award honoree, together with baseball’s Malakhi Knight. A two-way participant on the pitch and within the classroom, Newlin leads by way of each phrases and actions, exhibiting consummate respect and sportsmanship for each her teammates and opponents. The NorCal native can be a frontrunner in the neighborhood for the Dawgs, constantly score as one among UW’s high contributors in neighborhood service initiatives. On the sphere, the Newlin is anticipated to be a key cog to the Husky protection after battling by way of nagging accidents in 2024.

LEFT SIDE, BEST SIDE

Of the 28 members of Washington’s 2025 roster, 20 hail from West Coast states, that includes 11 natives of California, eight residence state merchandise from Washington and one product of the Portland suburbs in Oregon. However, Washington’s squad spans the US and globe, with natives of Georgia, Kansas, Nevada and 5 internationals donning the Purple and Gold.

SMART COOKIES

For the tenth straight season, Washington has obtained the United Soccer Coaches Academic Award after incomes a 3.67 staff GPA.

 

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

For the second consecutive season, Washington returns each member of its teaching employees, retaining assistant coaches Cole Schmit, Raphael Cox and Kary Whitney to Nicole Van Dyke‘s employees. Previously Washington had not returned each member of its teaching employees since 2018.

CROOTIN’ ALL OVER THE WORLD

Washington spanned not solely the nation to bolster its roster in 2025, the Huskies searched everywhere in the world to herald the latest group of Dawgs. UW added 5 Europeans this summer time in midfielder Laura Cetina (Spain/UMass Lowell), goalkeeper Cadi Doran (Wales/Liverpool FC), defender Julia Hüsch (Germany/UNC Asheville) and defender Anouk Westphal (Germany/Hertha BSC). Washington additionally returns junior Belgian worldwide defender/midfielder Enora Matté, who has featured in 11 matches for UW this season after recovering from an ACL harm throughout Big Ten play in 2024.

 

VEGAS BORN, SEATTLE PROUD

Hailing from the Las Vegas desert, Washington sophomore Andrea Leyva and her brother, Seattle Sounders midfielder Danny Leyva now name the Evergreen State residence. Andrea has appeared in 30 matches with 14 begins for UW and was ranked as a 4 star recruit and the No. 39 prospect within the nation by TopDrawerSoccer. Meanwhile, Danny has performed in 101 matches within the MLS (85 for Seattle), changing into the third youngest participant in league historical past after approaching as a late substitute within the Sounders’ away loss to the Montreal Impact.

MENTI BE

The Leyva’s should not the one sibling connection in Seattle. Anna and Sally Menti, who starred at Roosevelt High School, lower than three miles from Husky Soccer Stadium, have shared completely different paths to taking part in in entrance of their residence state followers. Sally was an All-American midfielder at Santa Clara earlier than signing a short-term contract and later a two-year extension this season with the NWSL’s Seattle Reign, making 14 appearances with one purpose and one help. Meanwhile, Anna is in her third season at UW, making 53 appearances with 40 begins and amassing two targets and two assists alongside the way in which.

 

For extra info on Husky Women’s Soccer, comply with @UW_WSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.