WSOC: 2019 FORWARDS

Six returners welcome fresh legs on the attack // 8.9.19

By Washington Huskies

August 9^th, 2019

The Huskies will have all but three of their goals from 2018 back on the roster this year. A dangerous crop of forwards will contribute heavily to that returning offense: six forwards return from 2018, with five of those having scored goals and all six having recorded points. Ruby Hellstrom, Makena Carr, Kennedy Smith, Asia Brisco, Mireya Grey, and Summer Yates all bring potent offense to the table.

Washington welcomes four new forwards to the team as well. Two of those newcomers, Margaux Clarke and Thao Nguyen, will not play this year as they recover from injuries. Maryland transfer Mary Johnston and Husky track athlete Karlee Stueckle also join Washington for their first years with the team.

RUBY HELLSTROM

Hellstrom wasted no time getting into the scoring column as a freshman. Just ten minutes into her first collegiate appearance, Hellstrom gave Washington the lead at #7 Florida. She would score again later in the year, at Seattle U.

In all, Hellstrom made 15 appearances, all of the bench, as a burst of energy for the Husky offense. She had seven appearances of over 20 minutes.

KARLEE STUECKLE

Stueckle is one of Washington's four new forwards this year. A sophomore, she also competes on the Husky track and field team, primarily in the hurdles.

Stueckle had a storied high school soccer career. She was the Tacoma News Tribune High School Athlete of the Year in 2018, a year that also saw her named her league's Offensive MVP. All four years of high school, Stueckle earned All-League First Team.

MAKENA CARR

Carr worked her way into the Husky rotation as a freshman. She would make two starts and 16 appearances for the Dawgs. Against Oregon, Carr earned the assist on the game's only goal, helping the Huskies to a win. In all but one of her appearances she played 20+ minutes: in the other, against Stanford, she played 19.

MARY JOHNSTON

A Washington native, Johnston joins the Huskies after a freshman year spent at Maryland. Before reaching college, Johnston was a two-time ECNL league champion, winning the title in both her junior and senior years. She played as a part of the U.S. U-14 Team as well in her youth.

KENNEDY SMITH

Now a senior, Smith is back for her third healthy season, having already scored goals in each of the other two. Last season, Smith picked up a goal and an assist on the year, scoring against Seattle U and earning an assist on MaKayla Woods' goal at Arizona State. She was a regular starter up top for the Huskies, with 13 starts in her 19 games.

Smith has been a tremendously efficient scorer in her career: despite just six career shots on goal, she has scored twice, scoring a goal on her first-ever shot in 2016. This year, Smith will look to continue her strong play up top, where she started eight games against Pac-12 opponents in 2018.

ASIA BRISCO

Another of Washington's seniors, Brisco carved out her most productive season in 2018, playing over 500 minutes, mostly off the bench. She has two goals in her career, one as a freshman and one last year, at Seattle U. Brisco also made her first two starts last season, serving as part of the first 11 against Wisconsin and Michigan State.

Brisco had 11 shots, four on goal, in 2018. Half of her career shots have gone on goal.

SUMMER YATES

Yates was Washington's second-leading scorer as a freshman and looks only to have improved from there after a summer spent playing around the world with USA Soccer. A Washington native, Yates started the first nine games of her career, scoring three goals and adding an assist in that time. During those games, Washington went 5-3-1, outscoring the opposition 16-10.

Yates led the team in shots in 2018 despite often playing in the midfield, recording 43 in her 19 games, 14 starts. Only Olivia van der Jagt scored more points on the season than Yates' eight.

MIREYA GREY

Now with a World Cup appearance under her belt, Grey will look to bring what she's learned with the Jamaican National Team to the Huskies in 2019. Grey returns to Montlake after a busy summer that also saw her score for Jamaica at the Pan-Am Games.

In 2018 with the Huskies, Grey rounded into a starting option, making eight starts and appearing in all 19 games. Against Oregon, she scored the game-winning goal, helping the Huskies make it back-to-back Pac-12 victories. She has now played over 1000 minutes in her two seasons at Washington, including over 800 last year alone.