UW soccer enters elite 8 of NCAA Tournament
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 months, 2 weeks AGO
Charlie Kosakoff (9) is embraced by Huskies Head Coach Jamie Clark following their victory over Stanford. Kosakoff led the team on offense and scored the game-winning single goal in the matchup.
COURTESY PHOTO/UW ATHLETICS
STANFORD, Calif. — The University of Washington Huskies soccer team (13-6-2) will continue their postseason bid into the quarterfinals after overcoming Stanford on Sunday. This win marks the eighth time the Huskies have won at least 13 games in a season under head coach Jamie Clark.
The Huskies used a disciplined approach in their victory, where they absorbed multiple blows in the first half but did not concede a single goal. Late in the second half, a Stanford goal was called back due to an offside player and two minutes later, Harrison Bertos saved a shot on the goal line to prevent the opening goal.
Stanford outshot the Huskies 14-2 in the first half, but Jadon Bowton made four critical saves to keep the match scoreless going into halftime.
In the second half, the Huskies turned things around to put up a competitive offensive approach and control possession of the ball for the majority of the half. The game came to a head in minute 88 when Gabe Fernandez dribbled the ball down the left sideline and started the buildup to Richie Aman and then Zach Ramsey, who delivered the crucial left-footed cross into the box to find Charlie Kosakoff.
Kosakoff headed the ball into the far corner of the goal with three defenders around him and scored the first goal of the game. Stanford worked to tie the game back up with 2:47 left on the clock, but the game would end with the Huskies victorious 1-0.
Bertos, Kosakoff, Fernandez, Bowton, Egor Akulov, Connor Lofy, and Osato Enabulele each played the full 90 minutes, with this being a career-high for the freshman Enabulele. Kosakoff led the team offensively with three shots on goal and scored the only goal in the game. Bowton collected his sixth clean sheet of the season while facing a season-high 23 shots in the win.
UW will be returning to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 2021 and the fifth time in 15 seasons under Clark. They will face off against Maryland Saturday at 10 a.m., with the victory going on to play in the College Cup.
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