It’s been a historic season for Utah State’s soccer team, which made some program history Monday.

You see, that’s when the Aggies found out they will be hosting their first-ever NCAA Tournament match. USU was given a No. 8 seed and will welcome unseeded Washington to Chuck & Gloria Bell Field for an opening-round matchup on Friday at 2 p.m.

“First of all, excited to be in the tournament,” USU head coach Manny Martins coach. “We knew that we would be in because we were an automatic qualifier and we knew there was a chance that we could host, but you never know until the selection show comes out. It’s great to bring an NCAA Tournament game to Cache Valley for the first time ever. I know our community has been very supportive and excited behind our team and we’ve been good at home, so we’re really excited. Excited to host this game and see where it takes us.”

The Aggies (18-1-4), with an impressive RPI of 17, were projected to be a No. 5 seed by guru Chris Henderson, but had to sweat it out for the chance to play at home. Only seeded teams — those in the top eight — are awarded home games in the first round.

“Obviously, getting the opportunity to host is a tremendous privilege, but I also think it’s something we earned,” said Martins, who side went 8-0-1 at home during the regular season and outscored the opposition by a whopping 29-4 margin in those matches. “So, as much as we were excited and grateful that we get to host, I thought that our group worked hard enough and did enough that we should host.”

This was be USU’s fourth appearance at the Big Dance as it lost in the first round in 2011, 2012 and 2023. The Aggies lost to eventual Final Four participant BYU in Provo a year ago, 2-0.

USU was one of the final four teams announced during the NCAA Selection Show, which added some extra suspense. However, the Aggies already knew they were a lock as they successfully defended their Mountain West Tournament championship crown last Saturday against Boise State, 2-1. USU will head into Friday’s match unbeaten in its last eight matches (6-0-2).

“It definitely added a lot of suspense to it being one of the last teams, but I think where we’re at is perfect and we’re all so excited and we’re going to be ready for when the game comes,” said USU center back Kaitlyn Richins, the reigning Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year. “It’s going to be awesome.”

This will only be USU’s fourth-ever encounter with Washington (10-6-3) as the Huskies lead the all-lead series 2-0-1. The last meeting was a 1-1 draw in Logan during the 2012 campaign.

“Oh yeah, I think that is a really cool opportunity,” Richins said of facing an opponent USU typically doesn’t play. “I think it’s going to be super exciting to play someone that we don’t already know a lot about. We can go into this week with like a fresh start and a clean slate, and just have new things that we’re going to improve on in our own game. And it will be really good. We’re excited.”

Martins, however, is definitely familiar with Washington, having been an assistant coach at Oregon from 2014-2020. Current Washington head coach Nicole Van Dyke was in her first season at the helm during Martin’s final season in Eugene.

“I know their coach is a really good coach,” Martins said. “She’s done a fantastic job there. They were semifinalists in the Big 10 Tournament, so they’ll be a tough opponent, but they all are. There hasn’t been a game this season that I would say was easy, so I think we’re ready to do hard (things) and we’re going to prepare and be ready to give it our best.”

The Huskies, 50th in the latest RPI, fared well in their inaugural season in the Big 10 Conference as they were sixth out of 18 teams in the final league standings. Washington upset third-seeded Iowa, ranked 17th nationally, in the quarterfinals of the conference tourney in a shootout after 110 minutes of scoreless action, and then lost to second-seeded UCLA in the semifinals, 2-0.

Washington and USU have only played one common opponent this season in Wyoming. It was a scoreless draw between the Huskies and visiting Cowgirls in mid-August, while Wyoming handed USU its only loss of the season, 2-0, on Oct. 10 in Laramie.

The Huskies and Aggies are both very stingy defensively as Washington is tied for 10th nationally in goals against average (.572), while USU is 12th (.609). The Huskies have posted 10 shutouts in 19 matches and have limited seven other opponents to a single goal. The Aggies have secured a single-season program record of 14 clean sheets.

USU has scored 62 goals to Washington’s 24. The Aggies rank sixth nationally in points per match (8.22), while the Huskies are 201st (3.42). The Huskies (7-4 conference record) have been shut out seven times this season.

Forward Ioanna Papatheodorou is Washington’s leader in points for a second straight season. The senior accounted for four goals and six assists as a junior, and she produced eight goals and two assists in 2024. Papatheodorou was a two-time first-team all-conference selection at UMass Lowell before making her way across the country to Seattle.

Sophomore forward/midfielder Samiah Shell is second on Washington’s side in points this season as she has chipped in with five goals and three assists.

This will be the Huskies’ 17th appearance in the Big Dance and their first since a Sweet 16 run in COVID-19 shortened season in the spring of 2021. Should the Aggies prevail, they will played the winner of No. 1 seed Mississippi State (17-2-0) and Southern (8-9-3).

Washington has USU’s full attention now, but the Aggies made sure to enjoy the moment throughout the selection show. Martins surprised the players shortly after the show by giving each of them a Beats brand headphones.

“Well, I had a conversation with Diana (Sabau, USU’s athletics director),” Martins said. “I wanted to make sure that this was a special moment for our players. They’ve worked really hard, it’s been a special season and Diana wanted to make sure that they really got the message that we appreciate them, we want to make it special and we want to make sure that they have everything they need to, one, be prepared to go in and compete, but also feel appreciated.”