Tucson, Ariz. - The University of Arizona Wildcat soccer team hosted the Lipscomb Bison on Friday night for the first matchup in program history. The match took place on Murphey Field at Mulcahy Stadium. Arizona won their third-straight match by a score of 3-1. The UA goals came from freshman Gabi Stoian, sophomore Paige Crouch and junior Sheaffer Skadsen.
The Wildcats started attacking from the opening kick off. Senior forward Alexandra Doller had a shot from just inside the 18-yard box within the first 20 seconds. Junior Hayley Estopare also had a quality look but missed wide left of the target. Arizona's persistence paid off and their first goal of the match came at the 6:31 mark, courtesy of Stoian. Junior Kaitlyn Lopez assisted on the goal, her first of the season, giving Stoian a through ball. Stoian pulled the ball back and went to her right foot; just at the top of the 18-yard box she fired. The ball took a deflection off a Lipscomb defender, as a result, the goalkeeper's dive was off target and the ball went it.
At the 31:33 mark, Arizona pushed the lead to 2-0. Sophomore Paige Crouch just subbed into the match and ran right towards the goal. Sophomore Jaden DeGracie's flip throw-in found her at the right corner of the six-yard box. Crouch headed it back and it went in to the left corner of the net. It is Crouch's second goal of the season and DeGracie's first assist.
“I thought we started fine,” head coach Tony Amato said. “You have to give credit to Lipscomb, they had a game plan, they worked hard at it and their girls tried to carry that out. They competed hard. Obviously, our early goal was important because we knew they were going to have numbers behind the ball (lots of defenders back). I thought as the game went on, especially in the first half, we weren't sharp. We didn't seem to be as clean as we could've been. We didn't have the necessary bounce in our step that I would've hoped for.”
Lipscomb only registered two shots in the first half, the only shot on target came at the 44:15 mark. Emily Rogers of Lipscomb took a free kick from near midfield. Arizona's senior goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman came out to the punch the ball away from danger, but did not hit it correctly and it deflected back into the goal.
In the first half, Arizona had 11 shots and five were on target. They won three corner kicks, did not commit an offside violation and committed nine fouls, including senior Mykaylin Rosenquist who was assessed a yellow card at the 36:06 mark.
Lipscomb only had two shots and was offside on one occasion. They committed four fouls including a yellow card to Baylee Linnell at the 36:06 mark.
In the second half, Arizona dominated possession but wasn't able to capitalize on the chances they created. Late in the match, Lopez made a strong run into the box. She just entered the 18-yard box when a Lipscomb defender tripped her, drawing a penalty for the Wildcats. Junior defender Sheaffer Skadsen stepped to the spot and clinically finished, hitting the bottom right corner of the net for her first goal of the season.
“That was my first penalty kick,” Skadsen said. “We work on them a lot in practice and I've really been hitting my spot. When it was called, coach Amato looked over at me and I looked at him, we had the same idea. I was really excited to have that opportunity to step up and take it. I don't get a lot of goal-scoring opportunities from center back.”
Arizona finished the match with 20 shots, nine of which were on target. They tallied five corner kicks and committed 12 fouls. Freshman Amanda Burke was assessed a yellow card at the 84:15 mark. Despite Friday's match not being the cleanest of matches, Arizona's defense got the job done once again. Skadsen led the way, communicating to her other defenders, sophomore Laura Pimienta, Rosenquist, senior Brie DeFelice, freshman Sierra Nager and freshman Amanda Burke. Lipscomb registered only four shots in total and two were on target.
The Bison also committed seven fouls, including Carlotta Fennefoss at the 86:32 mark who was presented a yellow card.
“You have to give credit to our girls,” Amato said. “It's hard to win soccer games, especially when you're playing a team that's well-coached and organized and tough to break down. I feel good about that part, it's hard to win games and we did that part, but I want a better performance overall.
The Wildcats will return to action on Sunday at 12 p.m. MST against Idaho, the final match of the non-conference season.
For continued coverage of Arizona Wildcat soccer, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and follow @ArizonaWSoccer on Twitter.
