In 2019, the Redhawk men's and women's soccer teams showed once again they are national powerhouses. Determination, grit and outstanding skill and teamwork throughout the season resulted in both teams winning Western Athletic Conference (WAC) titles in the regular season, followed by WAC Tournament Championships. The victories entitled them to automatic berths in the NCAA Tournament. There, the men's team battled Loyola Marymount for a 3-1 first-round win, but Stanford came out on top in round two, advancing on penalty kicks after. 1-1 tie. The men's team closed out their year undefeated in the Western Athletic Conference, and 15-3-5 overall.
"I'm really proud of all of our players," says Head Coach Pete Fewing. "They have exemplified how a team should play and how they should behave."
The women's team lost 1-0 in a heartbreaker of a first-round game against the UW Huskies, closing out the year with a 12-8-2 overall record.
"I'm so incredibly proud of every single player on this team," says women's Head Coach Julie Woodward, '93. "Effort, character and the leadership of our seniors on and off the field are at the root of our success this year. I'm honored to be associated with every individual on this team."
Behind most, if not all, winning teams there works, sweats, strategizes and problem-solves a "winning" head coach, and Woodward and Fewing have fit the bill for many years. The 2019 season was Woodward's 23rd at Seattle U and Fewing's 26th. Both have coached through Seattle U's transitions from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to NCAA Division III, Division II and Division I.
The "winningest" coach in Seattle U women's soccer history, Woodward has racked up five WAC regular-season titles, five WAC tournament titles and five NCAA appearances since 2013. She has been named WAC Coach of the Year twice (including 2019), NCAA Division II Far West Coach of the Year and is a three-time conference Coach of the Year. A Seattle U alumna, she was a starting defender for the women's soccer program from 1989-1993, and was inducted into Seattle U Athletics' Hall of Fame for her performance on the field. She is also a recipient of the Seattle U Alumni Service Award.
Fewing has achieved more than 300 career wins at Seattle U. He ended the 2019 season with the longest active unbeaten streak in the nation (16 games). Since 2013, Fewing has won the WAC Tournament title four times, and had four NCAA Tournament appearances. In his career, he has been named WAC Coach of the Year three times (including 2019), NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year, NCAA Division II Coach of the Year, NAIA Coach of the Year and is a six-time Regional Coach of the Year.
What's their secret to developing championship teams? You might be surprised to hear that it's not just about talent, skill and teamwork. Beyond developing champions on the field, the coaches view their challenge to be developing champions off the field.
"My message to my players is that it's important what we do on the field, it's more important what we do off the field, and it's most important what we do after the field," Fewing explains.
Athletics builds transferable life skills, and Fewing and Woodward do their best to ensure these attributes are instilled in players.
"The skills our student-athletes learn, including time management, goal setting, discipline, team work, how to receive constructive criticism and how to treat a partner will transfer to their marriages, their careers, their community work and everything they will do throughout their lives," Fewing says.
Integration of Seattle U's Jesuit ethos into the men's and women's soccer programs is also an important part of both programs.
"One of things I love about Seattle University is our Jesuit mission," Woodward says. "Empowering leaders for a just and humane world is something that always resonates with me, as well as developing the whole person. I have such huge support for developing the student-athletes as people. I also value Seattle U's commitment to social justice, and I make this a focal point of our program."
The women's team, for instance, spend a lot of time volunteering with the Special Olympics.
According to Fewing, the Jesuit philosophy is fundamental to players developing an awareness of the greater good. The men volunteer at Bailey Gatzert Elementary School, putting on soccer clinics, tutoring students in reading and helping out at recess. They also help to maintain Championship Field.
This awareness extends to how Fewing's players and coaching staff treat people, from teammates and referees, to Seattle U faculty and alumni, to the cleaning crew at hotels where the team stays during away games.
Former Redhawk midfielder Sergio Rivas, selected by the San Jose Earthquakes in the second-round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, offers a player's perspective:
"After playing for Coach Pete for four years, you're aware of things that other people don't see, like how you leave a hotel room. Hotels have maid service, but when I leave a hotel room, the maids don't need to pick-up after me. I leave it clean. That's the way I've done it for the last four years. And small but important details, like being polite and treating everyone with the same respect. I'm blessed by the rules Coach Pete made, which have made me the gentleman that I hope I am today."
Woodward sums up her definition of a winning coach in this way: "Winning has become a by-product of knowing that I'm supported in developing each individual as a person and as a player. I want every student-athlete to leave Seattle U a better student, a better soccer player, a better person and more aware of others."
Under these coaches, Seattle U produces soccer players who are champions at life.
"I'm really proud of all of our players," says Head Coach Pete Fewing. "They have exemplified how a team should play and how they should behave."
The women's team lost 1-0 in a heartbreaker of a first-round game against the UW Huskies, closing out the year with a 12-8-2 overall record.
"I'm so incredibly proud of every single player on this team," says women's Head Coach Julie Woodward, '93. "Effort, character and the leadership of our seniors on and off the field are at the root of our success this year. I'm honored to be associated with every individual on this team."
Behind most, if not all, winning teams there works, sweats, strategizes and problem-solves a "winning" head coach, and Woodward and Fewing have fit the bill for many years. The 2019 season was Woodward's 23rd at Seattle U and Fewing's 26th. Both have coached through Seattle U's transitions from the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) to NCAA Division III, Division II and Division I.
The "winningest" coach in Seattle U women's soccer history, Woodward has racked up five WAC regular-season titles, five WAC tournament titles and five NCAA appearances since 2013. She has been named WAC Coach of the Year twice (including 2019), NCAA Division II Far West Coach of the Year and is a three-time conference Coach of the Year. A Seattle U alumna, she was a starting defender for the women's soccer program from 1989-1993, and was inducted into Seattle U Athletics' Hall of Fame for her performance on the field. She is also a recipient of the Seattle U Alumni Service Award.
Fewing has achieved more than 300 career wins at Seattle U. He ended the 2019 season with the longest active unbeaten streak in the nation (16 games). Since 2013, Fewing has won the WAC Tournament title four times, and had four NCAA Tournament appearances. In his career, he has been named WAC Coach of the Year three times (including 2019), NCAA West Regional Coach of the Year, NCAA Division II Coach of the Year, NAIA Coach of the Year and is a six-time Regional Coach of the Year.
What's their secret to developing championship teams? You might be surprised to hear that it's not just about talent, skill and teamwork. Beyond developing champions on the field, the coaches view their challenge to be developing champions off the field.
"My message to my players is that it's important what we do on the field, it's more important what we do off the field, and it's most important what we do after the field," Fewing explains.
Athletics builds transferable life skills, and Fewing and Woodward do their best to ensure these attributes are instilled in players.
"The skills our student-athletes learn, including time management, goal setting, discipline, team work, how to receive constructive criticism and how to treat a partner will transfer to their marriages, their careers, their community work and everything they will do throughout their lives," Fewing says.
Integration of Seattle U's Jesuit ethos into the men's and women's soccer programs is also an important part of both programs.
"One of things I love about Seattle University is our Jesuit mission," Woodward says. "Empowering leaders for a just and humane world is something that always resonates with me, as well as developing the whole person. I have such huge support for developing the student-athletes as people. I also value Seattle U's commitment to social justice, and I make this a focal point of our program."
The women's team, for instance, spend a lot of time volunteering with the Special Olympics.
According to Fewing, the Jesuit philosophy is fundamental to players developing an awareness of the greater good. The men volunteer at Bailey Gatzert Elementary School, putting on soccer clinics, tutoring students in reading and helping out at recess. They also help to maintain Championship Field.
This awareness extends to how Fewing's players and coaching staff treat people, from teammates and referees, to Seattle U faculty and alumni, to the cleaning crew at hotels where the team stays during away games.
Former Redhawk midfielder Sergio Rivas, selected by the San Jose Earthquakes in the second-round of the 2019 MLS SuperDraft, offers a player's perspective:
"After playing for Coach Pete for four years, you're aware of things that other people don't see, like how you leave a hotel room. Hotels have maid service, but when I leave a hotel room, the maids don't need to pick-up after me. I leave it clean. That's the way I've done it for the last four years. And small but important details, like being polite and treating everyone with the same respect. I'm blessed by the rules Coach Pete made, which have made me the gentleman that I hope I am today."
Woodward sums up her definition of a winning coach in this way: "Winning has become a by-product of knowing that I'm supported in developing each individual as a person and as a player. I want every student-athlete to leave Seattle U a better student, a better soccer player, a better person and more aware of others."
Under these coaches, Seattle U produces soccer players who are champions at life.