Blues Ink Nikki Washington for 2012 W-League Season

The Pali Blues are pleased to announce that they have signed Nikki Washington for the upcoming W-League season. The 23-year-old brings an extensive résumé that includes a U-20 World Championship, two NCAA titles while at UNC, and a W-League Cup with the Blues in 2009.

This announcement comes just days after the Blues announced Sarah Huffman and Liz Bogus, who both bring a wealth of experience playing in the W-League and WPS, like Washington.

“Nikki is another player that has won here and everywhere else she has gone, literally,” said Blues head coach Charlie Naimo. “She was at her best when she left Pali for her senior year in college, and it is our goal to see her dominate again. She will bring the competitiveness in to this group and be a leader by example from day one."

As previously mentioned, Washington was a two-time national champion while at college in North Carolina. She won the NCAA Tournament as a freshman in 2006, and again as a junior in 2008. She ended her career as a Tar Heel with 17 goals and 28 assists in four seasons.

Washington had a big year in 2008. Aside from her NCAA championship, she won the U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup earlier that year with the USA assisting two goals in five matches played.

In 2009, Washington set out for Pali in the summer to prepare for her final season at UNC in the fall. She scored six goals, and assisted two in a season that ended with a 2-1 victory over the Washington Freedom in the W-League final.

Washington spent time at numerous Women’s Professional Soccer clubs since being drafted in 2010, but will now return to the W-League in the quest for another championship.

The Blues kick off the 2012 W-League season on May 13 against the LA Strikers at Occidental College at 6 p.m. PT. They will then take on the Santa Clarita Blue Heat on May 20 at 5 p.m. PT at Valencia High School before hosting their first match of the year against LA at Palisades High School’s Stadium by the Sea on May 30 at 7 p.m. PT.