October 19, 2025 — Seattle, Washington: The No. 17 University of Washington women’s soccer team achieved their first Big Ten Regular Season Championship in only their second season as a member of the conference, taking down No. 15 Wisconsin 1-0 Sunday afternoon to seal the deal.
The Huskies went 3-1-3 in nonconference play before turning on the afterburners in Big Ten conference matches. Across 10 Big Ten games played thus far, Washington remains unbeaten, tallying an 8-0-2 record under the leadership of head coach Nicole Van Dyke. They also hold a six-game winning streak and an 11-1-5 record overall.
Standout wins for Washington include a 1-0 shutout win on the road over No. 15 USC and another 1-0 road downing against No. 22 Ohio State. The most significant win came October 4 at Husky Soccer Stadium as Washington defeated the No. 4 UCLA Bruins 1-0 in their biggest test of the season. Powering the Huskies past the Bruins were junior midfielder Jadyn Holdenried, who scored the match’s lone goal, and sophomore goalkeeper Tanner Ijams, whose three saves kept a clean slate in net.
Leading the charge across the season in its entirety were Holdenried, who leads Washington with seven goals, and the duo of senior midfielder Kelsey Branson and sophomore forward/defender Alex Buck, who have knocked in five goals each. Additionally, Buck is tied with Holdenreid for the team lead in assists, having collected four.
Defensively, Ijams has provided an incredible campaign guarding the net, allowing only nine goals across 17 games started. Senior defender Kolo Suliafu has also served as an anchor, playing a team-high (among non-goaltenders) 1440 minutes.
Beyond fighting for their goals on the pitch, the Huskies have been fighting in support of their beloved teammate: Senior goalkeeper Mia Hamant.
In the spring, Hamant was diagnosed with Stage 4 SMARCB1-deficient kidney cancer. To support her and her fight, the Huskies donned orange ribbons on their jerseys throughout the season. Washington also held a Shut Out Cancer Match against Minnesota on Thursday — a game that the Huskies won 3-2.
With their 2025 regular season championship, Washington has won their first regular season conference championship since 2000, when they won their only other title as a member of the PAC-10.
Next Up: Washington travels to Oregon to face the Ducks on October 26 for their final regular season before playing in the 2025 Big Ten Women’s Soccer Tournament. The Huskies will play as the tournament’s top seed out of 10 teams, and their quarterfinal match is currently scheduled for 12:30 p.m. on November 2 at Purdue University. Their opponent will be either the No. 8 or No. 9 seed in the tournament depending on Opening Round results.
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*Cover Photo by Isabel Hanchett / The Daily UW
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