November 2, 2025 – The No. 16 University of Washington women’s soccer team won against Illinois 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on Sunday at Folk Field in West Lafayette, Indiana.
Junior midfielder Samiah Shell ignited Washington’s scoring during the match’s eighth minute, knocking in a goal past Illinois goalkeeper Izzy Lee. After receiving a feed from senior forward Kalea Eichenberger, Shell lifted the ball slightly out of the reach of Lee on a chip shot from the right side of the net to score Washington’s first goal.
The Huskies held their 1-0 lead until the 39th minute as sophomore forward/defender Alex Buck doubled Washington’s lead to 2-0. Controlling the ball down the pitch, senior midfielder Kelsey Branson pushed a pass upfield to Buck, who grounded the ball toward the bottom right corner of the net for the strike. Also assisting the goal was senior forward Avery Nguyen.
Neither team scored beyond Buck’s goal as the Washington defense locked down a shutout. Playing all 90 minutes of the match, sophomore goalkeeper Tanner Ijams made three saves to keep a clean sheet in net. As a team, the Fighting Illini tallied only six shots — half of the amount Washington collected.
Next Up: With their win, the Huskies advance to the semifinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. Washington will match up against Wisconsin, who they defeated 1-0 on October 19 at Husky Soccer Stadium to secure the 2025 Big Ten Regular Season Championship. The match between the Huskies and Badgers is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. PST on Thursday at Energizer Park in St. Louis, Missouri.
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*Cover Photo by Joseph Esteban / The Daily UW
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