UW claims first national soccer title in program history
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 6 months AGO
The UW Huskies men’s soccer team celebrates after becoming national champions at the 2025 NCAA College Cup.
COURTESY PHOTO/UW ATHLETICS
CARY, NC — The University of Washington Huskies Men’s soccer team (16-6-2) faced off against the NC State Wolfpack in the NCAA National Championships on Monday, where they won 3-2 in overtime. This victory secured the first national title in program history.
“That was a heck of a game and all 10,000 people in attendance got to witness a spectacle,” said Huskies head coach Jamie Clark. “And it was a spectacle because NC State didn’t hang their head down 2-0 and they pushed us right to the limit.”
Monday night’s matchup was a tight battle from the start, with the two teams trading blows early as they looked for the first breakthrough. In total, the Huskies launched 13 shots with nine on target against NC State’s 17 shots and seven on frame.
The first goal finally came in the final minutes of the first half when Nick O’Brien fired a shot that was blocked by the NC State keeper, but Zach Ramsey came up to curl in the opening goal.
“Credit to them, I thought they were the best team in the country,” said Clark. “So I thought we were going to have to beat the best team in the final.”
The Huskies continued to pressure NC State as the game went into the second half. UW used that pressure to add another score on with Joe Dale putting in a goal with an assist from Richie Aman.
Soon after the Huskies’ second goal, the Pack’s Donavan Phillip scored off of an assist from Nikola Markovic. NC State midfielder Taig Healy tied the game up in the 87th minute after passes from Justin McLean and Caleb Tommy allowed Healy to find the right side of the net, which would send the game into overtime.
UW would stay strong as they went into OT and less than 120 seconds in, Harrison Bertos connected on the game-winning goal off a pass from Egor Akulov deep in the NC State box. Celebrations were delayed as the goal was under review, but the score stood to give the Huskies their first national championship.
“Our guys did it, they were brilliant tonight,” said Clark. “Going into overtime instead of hanging their heads, they knew there was one moment left to win and they executed.”
Washington had several inspiring efforts in the championship game. The Husky defense was crucial in the victory as Jadon Bowton made five key saves. Connor Lofy had been battling a flu over the previous 36 hours prior to kickoff, but still found the energy to make his 24th start of the season and Kevin Hernandez was a critical sub, featuring in 51 minutes of game time.
“I’m proud, excited and while it may not sound like it, I’m speechless,” said Clark.
The Huskies close the 2025 season with a sixth straight victory, the second time this season Washington has rattled off six wins in a row.
BOX SCORE:
UW: 1-1-1: 3
NCST: 0-2-0: 2
ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Erickson looks back on a busy and successful four-sport high school career
WARDEN — A four-sport athlete is not someone you often come across due to the time and dedication it takes for success in one sport, but for Amaya Erickson, tackling that challenge was something she was up for in her senior season. “My family’s always been really big into sports,” said Erickson. “Both my parents have played and my siblings both play, so I guess they’re all a really great inspiration for me.”
Tigers start summer 3-1 after split with Sunnyside Christian
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tiger Baseball Club (3-1) finished their second matchup of the season as they split a doubleheader with Sunnyside Christian Tuesday evening. “I was pleased with a lot of aspects of the doubleheader,” said Tigers Head Coach David Tempel. “The summertime is all about development and getting some experience. The good part about (Tuesday) is we were in some different situations that we haven’t seen much, so we were able to learn from those and use those to our advantage.” Sunnyside was the first on the board during game one as they put up two runs in the top of the second inning. The Tigers responded at the bottom of the third as they put up five runs to claim the lead.
Fletcher named new Eagles volleyball head coach
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles volleyball team will be under new leadership this fall as Erin Fletcher has been selected as the new head coach. She is following the successful tenure of the previous head coach, Nikki Noble, who helped guide the team to multiple state appearances over the years. “I’m so excited,” said Fletcher. “I’ve had the opportunity to watch these girls play the last couple years as a (referee). I’m really excited to be able to step in after Coach Noble and continue on that winning and competitive spirit that they’ve had for so long and kind of take it now to the next level.” Her love for athletics came from growing up in an athletic family of basketball players, but in second grade, she became the first in her family to start playing volleyball. From there, a passion for volleyball began to grow.