The University of Washington Huskies, Seattle University Redhawks and Seattle Pacific University Falcons all open their 2010 regular seasons this week. See previews and links to articles about the three schools below.
Washington Huskies
The 2010 men's soccer season officially begins this weekend as the Dawgs travel one state south to participate in the Nike Portland Invitational on the campus of the University of Portland, Friday and Sunday.
Washington will open up the tournament by taking on the Evansville Aces at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. The Huskies will then battle with the Northern Illinois Huskies on Sunday at 11 a.m.
After missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight season, head coach Dean Wurzberger and the Huskies have a hunger to get back. Senior captain Taylor Mueller experienced the postseason as a freshman and would love to leave UW with another trip to the tournament. Wurzberger has led the Huskies to the NCAA's in 11 out of the last 14 seasons. Mueller, along with junior Brent Richards are this year's team captains. The 2009 team went 5-7-6 and 2-3-5 in the Pac-10, finishing fifth. Nine letterwinners return, seven starters and 10 newcomers join the team, including a couple of transfers.
Read previews of the 2010 Huskies at GoHuskies.com
Seattle University Redhawks
The Redhawks will have another top-notch and very competitive schedule in 2010, including four squads that participated in last season’s NCAA Tournament.
Seattle U will open at the SMU Invitational, which is one of the best tournaments in the country. The team will open with Tulsa on Saturday, Sept. 4, who received a No. 7 preseason ranking from the NSCAA. They will also take on invitational host Southern Methodist.
Following their weekend in Texas, the Redhawks will host the Seattle University Tournament bringing in the WCC’s Gonzaga, which will be a great inter-state competition, and sport powerhouse Michigan. SU will play in two additional tournaments in the Oregon State Henson/Zaher Nike Classic and the Husky Fever Classic. At the UW tournament, SU will take on crosstown foe Washington and are going to be able to host one of the top Pacific Northwest teams in Portland at home for the late September tournament.
After a very competitive non-conference schedule, SU will open up MPSF play on Sunday, Oct. 3, when Cal State Bakersfield travels to the Emerald City for a 2:30 p.m. match. The conference boasts a pair of teams that qualified for postseason play in the NCAA Tournament in New Mexico and Sacramento State, both voted to finish in the top spots in the conference. This season the MPSF will be split into two divisions: Pacific and Mountain. Despite the division breakdowns, SU will square off with all teams in the MPSF. The team has their eyes on the conference tournament from Nov. 11-14, in Sacramento, Calif., as they are looking for either their MPSF’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament or an at-large selection.A lot is on the horizon for the Seattle University men’s soccer team in 2010, beginning with the fact that the team is eligible for NCAA Tournament the first time since the reclassification process into Division I status commenced. The potential of postseason play, in addition to veteran leadership returning and a solid incoming class, the Redhawk soccer program is excited to kick off the new season.
“We are looking forward to starting the upcoming season,” said head coach Brad Agoos. “Last year was our first full year at Division I and we played one of the hardest schedules in the country. I think it was a great season in some ways and really challenging in other ways.”
“We are excited about our schedule this year. It is a strong schedule and we play again some of the top teams in the country and on the West Coast. I think I’ve asked a lot of the guys, as we are challenging them with this year’s schedule, but we are looking forward to it and seeing what they can come up with for us,” commented Agoos.
Seattle Pacific University Falcons
With their sights squarely set on the postseason, the Seattle Pacific men’s soccer team (0-0) begins its third season under Coach Mark Collings with a single home game before embarking on a difficult four-game road trip. The Falcons entertain Humboldt State on Friday, Sept. 3. Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Interbay Stadium where the SPU women host Humboldt at 4:30 p.m. to start the soccer doubleheader. After the opener, the SPU men begin a stretch of four away tilts on Monday, Sept. 6 at Chico State for a 7 p.m. non-conference game. The Falcons are vying for their 31st NCAA Division II Tournament berth, the first since 2006.
Nine starters return from last season’s 11-5-3 Seattle Pacific squad, including the potent junior midfield tandem of Tyler Schultz and Drew Williams. Schultz led the Falcons with eight goals in 2009 and Williams distributed a team-high nine assists. The back line is anchored by junior Elliott Morton, an all-district selection, and sophomore John Pearman who was the 2009 Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. Senior goalkeeper Kaleb Kuehn posted five shutouts and a 1.10 goals against average. The other four returning starters are all sophomores, defenders Corey McGuire and Celeb Nyone along with midfielders Richie Evoy and Christopher Morris. Morton and Schultz were first-team 2009 All-GNAC selections, Kuehn, Pearman and Williams were second-team picks and Morris and Nyone were honorable mention honorees.
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