Washington Huskies
Overall Rank: #26
Conference Rank: #3 Pac-12 
Washington Team Page
It was quite a strong season for Washington, which took second place in the Pac-12 and made it to the second round of the NCAA tournament before falling out of the action. Still, the Huskies came within three goals of knocking out Creighton, one of the top 10 programs in the country, and for all intents and purposes it will be another strong season for Washington. There may be a couple teams ahead of the Huskies in conference play, but the big question is can Washington pull off another season of double-digit victories?
2012 Record: 13-5-3, 7-1-2
2012 Postseason: NCAA tournament (lost in second round, 4-2, to Creighton)
Coach: Jamie Clark
Strengths:
Washington’s fortunes this season will rise and fall on the strength of Spencer Richey, the team’s senior goalkeeper. Richey saw action in all 21 games a year ago, has already garnered multiple preseason honors. Richey had 10 shutouts last year and allowed just 19 goals, giving him 25 career shutouts to go with 164 saves. He already has preseason All-American honors racking up, and the Huskies will be solid in net once again barring injury or some other catastrophe. The team has three backups just in case. Thanks in part to Richey, Washington’s shutout percentage of 0.48 ranked 11th in the nation. James Moberg, a sophomore midfielder, is also back, and he is the primary helper for the team’s offense with six assists in 2012.
Weaknesses:
Although Richey will prevent other teams from scoring, Washington might have trouble scoring itself. Dylan Tucker-Gangnes, who had eight goals in 2012, is gone via graduation. Although Moberg returns with his four goals and six assists, defender Michael Harris (one goal, four assists) is the next leading scorer back on the team. That means players like Ben Fisk, Nate Sackeyfio and Patrick Pacheco are also gone, and that will force Washington to rebuild its offense. In a sport where one-goal games are common, Washington won nine of 12 games last year in games decided by a goal. Not having some of those secondary scorers could be the difference between wins and losses piling up.
Final Projection:
Washington may slip a notch or two in the standings if it cannot find scorers to replace the likes of Tucker-Gangnes. After all, it can only rely on Richey so much, right? What may save Washington is a fairly easy non-conference schedule that includes a couple tough tests against Connecticut and Brown. Otherwise, Washington should not see tough competition until it reaches Pac-12 play later in the season. If the Huskies have racked up the victories and can survive Pac-12 play, another postseason is not out of the question.
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
Goals: James Moberg, Sophomore, MF, 4
Assists: James Moberg, Sophomore, MF, 6
Shots: James Moberg, Sophomore, MF, 30
Saves: Spencer Richey, Senior, GK, 68
Madness 2014 MLS Draft Rankings:
#58 Spencer Richey
Madness 2013 Men’s Soccer Recruit Rankings:
#52 Mason Robertson
#70 Jose Ocampo
#149 Steven Wright
See All Men's Soccer Top 44 Team Previews
