The Huskies Are Coming Off An Outstanding 2021 Season In Which They Were 18-2-2 and Advanced To The College Cup For the First Time In Program History.
Departures
Dylan Teves – Midfielder – A starter for four seasons. An All-American selection in the 2020 (spring 2021) and 2021 seasons. An All-Pac 12 First Team selection in 2020 and 2021. Hermann Trophy Finalist in 2021. Scored 12 goals and contributed 8 assists in 2021 season. Played in a total of 69 games with 51 starts during four seasons with 25 career goals and 23 career assists. Signed a Homegrown Player contract with the Seattle Sounders at the conclusion of the 2021 season.
Kendall Burks – Defender – A two-year starter after transferring in from CSUB. Played in a total of 38 contests with 37 starts with five career goals and four career assists during two seasons. A 2021 All-Pac 12 and All-Region Second Team selection. The number 11 overall pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft by Chicago Fire FC.
Ryan Sailor – Defender – A two-year starter who played in a total of 49 games with 41 starts during four-year tenure at Washington. An All-Pac 12 Second Team selection during 2020 (spring 2021) season. An All-American, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, and an All-Pac 12 First Team selection in 2021. The number nine overall pick by Inter Miami FC in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft.
Achille Robin – Defender – Transferred to Washington after three productive seasons at Bowling Green where he was an All-MAC First Team selection in 2019 and 2020. A 2021 starter at Washington who played in 21 games with 19 starts. The number 15 pick in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft by the Seattle Sounders.
Charlie Ostrem – Defender – Three-year starter who appeared in a total of 75 contests with 61 starts over four seasons. Had four career goals and 22 career assists. An All-American, an All-Pac 12 First Team selection and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year during the 2020 (spring 2021) season. An All-Pac 12 First Team and All-Region First Team selection in 2021. Scored six goals and contributed two assists during 2021 season. Had ten career goals and three career assists during four seasons.
Opportunity For Improvement
The departure of four very talented and experienced backs provides the opportunity for others to fill the void that their departure creates on the defensive side of the ball. A solid backline is a key element in the Huskies ability to maintain possession, aggressively push numbers forward, and create and finish opportunities to score.
Coaches Recruiting Class Comment
Jamie Clark stated, “We love this recruiting class. It’s a very talented group of players, but also a group that has great connections to our program. From siblings that played here, to guys that attended our camps for years, we feel like we know these players incredibly well and are confidnet they will help keep us at the top of the college game.”
Offense
The Huskies must fill the void that exists due to the departure of All-American Dylan Teves (12g, 8a) who signed a Homegrown Player contract with the Seattle Sounders. Teves was the Huskies leading goal scorer last year with 25 career goals and 23 career assists during a very productive four-year tenure.
Washington will no doubt miss Teves’ explosive playmaking ability but the cupboard is far from bare. The pieces look to be on board for the Huskies to once again have a high powered, up tempo attack.
Redshirt senior Lucas Meek (4g, 5a), a 2021 All-Pac 12 Second Team member, who was hampered by injury at times last year, looks to be healthy and ready to play a key role in 2022. Juniors Christian Soto (0g, 4a), Imanol Rosales (3g, 2a) and sophomore Kalani Kossa-Rienzi (2g, 3a) are among others who are slated to return who will add punch and playmaking ability to the offense.
Soto, a 2021 All Pac-12 First Team selection and two-year starter, is a talented box-to-box midfielder with a work rate that is second to none. Rosales is a playmaker who will likely have the opportunity to set the pace and serve as a catalyst in the attacking midfielder role. Kossa-Rienzi, a 2021 College Soccer News All-Freshman selection, is the type player who does everything well.
Sophomore forward Ilijah Paul (0g, 1a) who appeared in 20 contests last year with one start looks to be among returning players who will have the opportunity to play a greater role up-top in 2022. Junior Nick Scardina, (5g, 3a), an athletic finisher who was a starter last year, should again figure prominently in the attack and add an additional element to the offense up-top. Washington’s ability to continue to do the things that have made the program successful will hinge on the continued growth, development, and productivity of returning players like Paul and Scardina.
Meek, Soto, Rosales, Kossa-Rienzi, Paul and Scardina are all potential difference makers.
Redshirt senior midfielder Omar Grey, who transfers in with two productive years of starting experience at CSUN and one year at New Mexico, is a solid addition with the experience and technical ability to make an immediate impact. Freshman midfielder Richie Aman who joined the program in the spring is among other members of the recruiting class with the potential to make an immediate contribution. Aman’s touch and quickness on the ball make him a difficult player to contain.
Defense
Washington enters the 2022 season with the task of replacing an experienced backline that was arguably among the best in the country last year.
Junior Sam Fowler, a 2021 All-Pac 12 Second Team selection, with two impressive seasons under his belt, returns to provide stability and continuity on the defensive side of the ball in goal. Sophomore Jadon Bowton also returns between the pipes.
Senior Gio Miglietti (6g, 2a) who played up top last year moves to center back in 2022. Miglietti is a versatile and talented player with the size, agility and athleticism needed to pretty much play anywhere on the pitch. He also is an adept goal scorer with the ability to push forward and add another dimension to the attack.
Sophomore Nate Jones who appeared in 12 games last year also returns at center back with the benefit of the experience he gained last year. Jones has the potential to be the latest star center back off the Huskies’ conveyor belt. The duo of Miglietti and Jones have the ability to add the lift and the physicality that the backline needs to contain opponents.
Backs junior Khai Brisco who played in 17 games, sophomore Chris Meyers (3g, 0a) who appeared in 15 contests, and redshirt sophomore Gabe Threadgold (1g, 1a) who played in 15 games are among other returning defenders who are capable and eager to assume a greater role in 2022. Brisco, Meyers and Threadgold also have the ball skills needed to push forward and add additional numbers to the attack.
Overview
In every area of the country there are two or three teams by which you measure the level of play of everyone. Washington is among those teams.
The Huskies have earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament in nine out of the eleven seasons that Jamie Clark has been the head coach including the past six in a row. Washington advanced to the Elite Eight in 2013, 2019 and 2020 and to the College Cup for the first time in program history in 2021. Accordingly, a shared expectation of excellence now exists based on the success that the program has enjoyed.
The departures create concerns that could result in a learning curve but there are plenty of reasons for Clark and his staff to fill optimistic about the prognosis of the Huskies and their continued success heading into the 2022 campaign. Washington made strides forward during the spring season and a subsequent team trip to Scotland. Both provided the type of competitive experience needed, particularly on the defensive side of the ball, for the team to settle in and jell.
Replacing midfielder Dylan Teves and experienced backs Ryan Sailor, Charlie Ostrem, Kendall Burks and Achille Robin won’t be easy, but the Huskies still have a very talented roster. A lot of things have to fall into place, but the bottom line is that Washington will again be an athletic, high-ceiling team with the pieces on board to contend for the Pac-12 title and another deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
Newcomers
Omar Grey – Midfielder – Seattle, Washington – Cleveland High School – Redshirt senior transfer from CSUN where he was a starter in 2021 and 2019. Played one season at New Mexico in 2018 where he was a CUSA Third Team All-Conference selection.
Egor Akulov – Defender – Redmond, Washington – The Overlake School – Played club for Crossfire Premier. ECNL Conference First Team selection. Due to an ACL injury he will sit out the fall season.
Richie Aman – Midfielder – Hanover, New Hampshire – Hanover High School – Enrolled in the spring and trained with the team. Played club for Seacoast United. Invited to the youth national team regional camp.
Joe Dale – Midfielder – Seattle, Washington – Roosevelt High School – Played club for Seattle United U-18/19 ECNL where he scored 11 goals and contributed seven assists in 14 games. Played for Ballad FC in USL2.
Nani Deperro – Midfielder – Bend, Oregon – Summit High School – Named 2022 Class 6A Player of the Year and the Gatorade Player of the Year for Oregon. Played for Oregon Premier FC.
Darren Green – Midfielder – Portland, Oregon – Franklin High School – Named Offensive Player of the Year at Franklin High School. Played club with PDX.
Mark Gallagher – Forward – Dundalk, Ireland – Shattuck-Saint Mary’s – Played for Shattuck Saint Mary’s in Minnesota in MLS Next.
Levi Hawk – Midfielder – Seattle, Washington – Lewis and Clark High School – Played club with the Spokane Sounders and Cruzeiro Academy Thailand.
Philip Kleemann – Defender – Newbury Park, California – Newbury Park High School – Played for LAFC So. Cal. Selected for the Washington State Elite Player Development Program. Named Defender MVP of the Year of the Marmonte League.
Nick O’Brien – Forward – San Jose, California – Archbishop Mitty – Played for the De Anza Force Soccer Club where he scored 16 goals in the U19 MLS Next League. Played with the Oakland Roots in the USL.
Jackson Ozburn – Goalkeeper – Sammamish, Washington – Skyline High School – Played club for Crossfire Premier.
Mikey Sherlock – Midfielder – Del Mar, California – Torrey Pines High School – Played club for San Diego Surf. 2021 Youth Boys All-America Team selection.
Picture from UW Athletics/Red Box Pictures
