At a school with a smaller enrollment like Seattle University, seldom will you ever experience a louder sporting environment than the Fewing Cup played at Championship Field Sept. 21. 

The Fewing Cup, recently named for legendary former Seattle U Men’s Soccer Head Coach Pete Fewing, pits the Redhawks against the University of Washington (UW) Huskies each year. The rivalry has been lopsided, as Washington had taken 48 of the 62 total matchups between the Seattle-based schools coming into the game.

Last year’s matchup at UW was more of the same, as the Huskies took home a 4-0 victory. With the series shifting back to Seattle U’s home turf this year, fans of both schools filled the stands to their max capacity of 1,800.

Although Redhawks head coach Nate Daligcon and his team prepared for the contest as if it were just another game, he acknowledged the intense atmosphere of the rivalry.

“The soccer community in Seattle is always looking at [this] game,” Daligcon said. “When we recruit players, we talk about this game and we talk about the atmosphere.”

Unranked Seattle U came in fresh off a draw with No. 14 Denver and a 4-2-2 (win-loss-draw) record. The No. 20 Huskies came in allowing just five goals in seven games and a 3-1-3 record. 

Once the game started though, the Redhawks set the tone, racking up a 3-0 shot advantage in the first six minutes. Even though they couldn’t find an early goal in that stretch, an aggressive mentality was all part of the plan.

“[The offense] came out and did a very good job with the gameplan of staying compact and hitting them in transition at times,” Daligcon said. “You can throw records and stats out the window when you play a kind of derby match like this.”

Even with their early strikes, Seattle U’s breakthrough in the game didn’t come in transition. Instead, a perfectly-placed long range set piece from Graduate Student defender Kotaro Hirokawa led to a strong header from Junior midfielder Demian Alvarez, putting the Redhawks in front 41 minutes in.

The stadium erupted—after all, a 1-0 lead could’ve been all Seattle U needed to stage the upset.

That couldn’t have been further from the case.

Former Redhawk Peter Kingston, now a transfer Senior forward for the Huskies, received chants of “traitor” from Seattle U fans earlier in the night. Unbothered, Kingston would net the equalizer for UW in the 60th minute, bringing a swift hush over the crowd.

Kingston would put another three shots up in the following five minutes, but the Redhawks held strong. In the onslaught, Sophomore goalkeeper Charlie Lanphier recorded a huge deflection off a sure-footed strike from Kingston–the first of his five second-half saves.

When Seattle U finally broke out into the opposing third, their aggression paid off once again. A handball by the Huskies meant star Senior forward James Morris would have a chance to put the Redhawks back in the lead with a penalty kick.

After a deafening 20 seconds of silence in anticipation, Morris launched a missile of a shot just inside the left post in the 68th minute to regain the lead.

The cheers were short-lived.

Washington drew even yet again on a follow-up goal from Freshman defender Harrison Bertos in the 69th. But Lanphier saved his best for last, recording four more saves in the final 13 minutes of the game as the score rested at 2-2.

“It’s a big game, just stay level-headed,” Lanphier said of his mindset. “Look back on the goals to see what you could have done better and move on.”

The Redhawks offense, desperate to make Lanphier’s superhuman efforts count, wasted no time.

An aggressive cross from Junior defender Jaden Manetta to Senior defender Habib Famuditimi led to a straight-on shot, only for it to be deflected. 

But waiting on the ricochet was Junior midfielder Richy Lapointe-Guevara, who had three shots on the night. Scrambling to the left post, Lapointe-Guevara fired the ball parallel to the endline. The shot careened off the keeper for an unbelievable game-winning putback goal in the 84th.

The student section stormed the field as reality set in: the Redhawks had beat the Huskies for the first time since 2018. Fans and players alike celebrated on the field, as the team raised the trophy dedicated to their longtime coach, who was in attendance to celebrate with them. Morris acknowledged the satisfaction that came with the victory.

“It’s definitely hard to treat it as a normal game, but that was our big talking point throughout the week, just to keep doing what we’ve done all season,” Morris said. “The preparation’s very similar to every normal week, but the win’s just that much sweeter.”

The win put Seattle U in the No. 23 spot of the United Soccer Coaches poll. If they retain this status, Seattle U could make the NCAA tournament without the automatic qualifier that comes from the WAC postseason title–a massive luxury going into a grueling conference season.

The Redhawks will begin their WAC slate as the conference’s top team against Utah Valley Sep. 28 at Championship Field.