Two Northwest rivals, both coming off of back-to-back wins en route to winning tournament titles, will be facing off this Sunday on the soccer pitch. The Washington men’s soccer team (4-3-0) will take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (3-2-1) Sunday, at Husky Soccer Field, to close out its non-conference schedule.

The Dawgs still smell victory in the air after claiming their 12th straight Husky Fever Classic title last weekend by beating Cal State Fullerton and 24th-ranked New Mexico.

As a result of those wins, Washington coach Dean Wurzberger was able to claim his 200th win with the UW to reach a 200-94-32 record with the Dawgs.

Although Gonzaga also won its own hosted tournament, the Gonzaga Nike Classic, by defeating Missouri-Kansas City and Cal State Bakersfield, the Bulldogs’ record should be no problem for Washington. The Huskies lead the all-time series 20-1-1.

The key for the Huskies in this match will be holding down their already solid backline. Though he has not been named the sole starting goalkeeper yet, junior Rylan Hawkins has had the most time leading the defense at the net. He has recorded two shutouts in four matches while tallying 10 saves and allowing only 0.94 goals per game. He shares time between the posts with sophomore Stephen Fung, who is also in contention for the goalie spot.

In addition to Hawkins, the veteran Husky defense includes juniors Casey Cunningham and Taylor Hoss, along with sophomores Brad Keller and Taylor Mueller, who have all been regular starters for matches this season.

As for the attack, Washington is led by a pair of rookies: freshmen forward Brent Richards and midfielder Dylan Tucker-Gangnes. Though they’ve both posted solid performances — Richards with four goals thus far — the Huskies will also be relying on goals from deeper in the field.

“[The freshmen] have got us goals,” Wurzberger said. “We’re happy that they’re as far along as they are, but we have to rely on goals from midfield, restart goals and all that.”

Proving Wurzerberger’s theory true is in the hands of senior Washington midfielders Raphael Cox and co-captain George John, who both scored game-winning goals during last weekend’s tournament. Cox scored both the equalizer and game-winner in the match against New Mexico for a come-from-behind 3-2 victory, and John pushed a header into the net with an assist from senior Josh Swett for the lone score of the match against Cal State Fullerton.

“Those wins were definitely ones we needed to keep our spirits high,” John said.

Reach reporter Sheena Nguyen at sports@dailyuw.com.