After 110 minutes of play, the last 30 down a player, UW women’s soccer upset Virginia to punch its first ticket to the NCAA Elite Eight since 2010 and its third in program history.
The fourth-seeded Huskies beat the top-seeded Virginia Cavaliers in penalties 5-4 on Sunday afternoon in the Sweet 16 at Virginia’s Klöckner Stadium in Charlottesville, Va.
The Cavaliers dominated overtime, capitalizing on the woman-down Huskies following a late, regular-time red card. They nearly clinched the Elite Eight less than two minutes in, after rocketing a shot off the crossbar, which landed directly onto the goal line. It required VAR to determine it as a no-goal.
Virginia almost scored again with four minutes remaining, after a flicked header ricocheted off the crossbar. Virginia pummeled 11 shots to Washington’s zero across the 20 minutes of overtime, spending the majority of the two periods in Washington’s defensive third.
The Huskies, led by Big Ten Defender of the Year Kolo Suliafu and sophomore goalkeeper Tanner Ijams, did everything they could to just keep the ball out of the net and force a penalty shootout.
The story is how long we just absorbed pressure and defended the box," UW coach Nicole Van Dyke told The Seattle Times postgame. "We talked to the kids and said, 'Hey, this is what we're doing. We're going to have to defend the box, and we're going to have to do it for long periods of time. If we can do that, we can get to penalties, and we know what we can do when we get there.'"
Ijams saved the first penalty taken by Virginia senior forward Maggie Cagle and relied on her teammates to score all of theirs.
"For Tanner to come out and make that first big save, it just the set tone," Van Dyke said. "As a goalkeeper, you don't have to save all five [penalty kicks]. You just have to save one and keep us in the game."
Said Ijams, who was shown beaming on the sidelines before the shootout: "I love penalty kicks. Our whole team has a lot of trust that I'll get at least one save, and I have full trust in them that they're going to put theirs away. It feels like when we go into penalties, we've already won."
Senior midfielder Lucy Newlin took the game-winning penalty.
"We've practiced penalty kicks every practice for a month," Newlin said. "Our coaches have put us in those high-pressure situations. You just have to let it be you and the ball. You have to exude confidence. Your stance is everything and so is your mentality. They all play into it. I was ready.
The Huskies will face Duke either Friday or Saturday.
Washington came into Sunday off a gritty, 1-0 overtime win against the fifth-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks in Thursday’s Round of 32. Virginia entered off a 2-0 win against eighth-seeded Penn State, with both games at Klöckner Stadium.
The Huskies, who won the Big Ten regular season and conference title earlier this month, had high pressure off the kickoff, forcing the Cavaliers to play in their own half for much of the first 10 minutes. Virginia broke away for the first shot of the game in the ninth minute, which lofted just above the crossbar.
Washington responded three minutes later to open the scoring.
Junior center back Anna Menti took a free kick from just past midfield, which was chipped to senior forward Kalea Eichenberger. The transfer from Cal State-Bakersfield turned and nailed a left-footed shot into the net’s upper-90 quadrant from outside the 18-yard box. It was her third goal this season and Menti’s second assist. Menti, a Roosevelt High graduate, is the younger sister of Sally Menti, a midfielder for the Seattle Reign.
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The Huskies maintained momentum after their goal, continuing to force the Cavaliers on their back foot. They took a corner kick and another shot within the next six minutes.
Virginia stepped on the gas toward the end of the half, taking four shots in the span of five minutes, one of which forced a save from Ijams and another that went barely wide. Ijams made her second save of the game with six minutes left in the period.
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The Cavaliers brought the same intensity into the second half, maintaining possession and playing in the final third for almost the entirety of the first 10 minutes. Virginia took four shots in the span of four minutes, leaving Washington scrambling to keep the ball out of its box.
The Cavaliers capitalized on the Huskies’ frantic energy in the ninth minute to knot the score, 1-1. Senior defender Laney Rouse crossed the ball to junior midfielder Ella Carter, who dished it on her first touch to freshman forward Addison Halpern. Halpern, who was facing Carter inside the 18-yard box, turned quickly and fired the bouncing ball low past Ijams.
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The Huskies had the chance for another lead just six minutes later when they earned a penalty kick. Sophomore forward Alex Buck was taken down in the box by Cavaliers keeper Victoria Safradin, who touched the ball too far from herself and proceeded to knock Buck down during the forward’s acceleration to the ball.
Junior midfielder Jadyn Holdenried, who has seven goals and five assists this season, struck the penalty to the left side of the net, but it was saved by Safradin.
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With 10 minutes remaining in regular play, things got tougher for the Huskies. They were forced to play a woman down after Eichenberger elbowed a Cavalier midfielder in the neck after the ball was out of bounds.
Washington hunkered down for the remaining minutes. Regular time ended with 18 total shots for Virginia and six for Washington.
The Huskies, as well as several Cavaliers, sported orange ribbons in their hair and on the bottom left-hand side of their jerseys, the color of kidney cancer awareness, in honor of their late teammate, senior goalkeeper Mia Hamant, who died on Nov. 6, just three days before the Big Ten tournament final.
The game marked the Huskies’ eighth Sweet 16 appearance in program history and first since the 2020-21 season.
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