Seattle, WA – The Washington Huskies men’s soccer team would advance to their first College Cup in program history, with a 2-0 victory against the tenth-seed Saint Louis Billikens. Junior forward Gio Miglietti would score a brace, with those two goals coming in a span of three minutes.
Starting quick
Saint Louis would dominate the first 20 minutes of the opening half, bringing the intensity and pressure to Washington. The script would be flipped in the 23rd minute when Saint Louis would make a poor pass back to their keeper, who would have to try to hurry a kick off. Washington’s Nick Scardina would block the kick, and Gio Miglietti would be in the right spot at the right time to put the Huskies on the board. The Billikens would make another mistake just two minutes later, when they would leave Christian Soto with open space on a throw in. Soto would find Miglietti on an easy cross, putting the ball in the back of the net and pushing the Husky lead to 2-0.
Gio Miglietti’s brace would propel UW to the final four
Shutting the door on Saint Louis
The visiting Saint Louis side would attempt to scratch their way back into this one, but would only be able to put three total shots on Washington keeper Sam Fowler. A packed house at Husky Soccer Field would watch as Washington would keep the clean sheet through the second half, sending them to the College Cup in North Carolina. It is the first time in program history that the Huskies will go to the final four. It feels like the team has finally broken through after getting so close in recent years. In 2019 and 2020, Washington would get to the third round of the tournament, but both times would fail to advance further than that. This group, led by upperclassmen Dylan Teves, Ryan Sailor, and Charlie Ostrem amongst others, has broken through and is now one win away from competing for a national title.
Junior Dylan Teves has been a key piece for the Huskies
Getting to this point
This season has been one of the best for Washington in program history, which includes only one loss. That loss would come to the #1 seed in the NCAA tournament, the Oregon State Beavers. The Huskies have goal scorers all over the field, and the defensive unit allowed more than two goals only once all season. Head coach Jamie Clark has a deep team, and it is safe to say that he has turned this program around as compared to where it was when he was hired.
Next contest
The Washington Huskies will face the Georgetown Hoyas on December 10th in the College Cup semifinal game, with the time still being determined. The winner will advance to the NCAA title game on December 12th, at 11AM PST.
Credit to Melissa Levin for the great photos! Thank you Melissa!
College Soccer
November, 2023
October, 2022
