Wildcats Wrap-Up 2016 Season
11/15/2016 | Soccer
Arizona Soccer wrapped up their season on November 4th with a win against their rival, the Arizona State Sun Devils. The Wildcats completed their 2016 campaign with a .500 record of 9-9-1 (4-7 Pac-12). This gave the team a seventh-place finish in the Pac-12 standings after capping off the season with a two-game winning streak against No. 18 California and Arizona State.
The team came very close to an NCAA Tournament berth this season, as the top six teams in the Pac-12 went on to postseason play. Arizona was ranked seventh. In addition, the team was defeated by a margin of only one goal in six matches, and converting a few of those games into ties or wins would have given them a shot at the tournament.
"We're about constant improvement," said head coach Tony Amato. "I think the team will be hungry in the offseason and hungry in the spring to get better. We were so close, two wins and I think we would have gotten in to the tournament. We must keep getting better to ensure that we are getting in. That's the goal, we are now a program where the standard is getting in to the tournament. If we can develop and constantly improve we'll continue to build everything we want this program to be.
Amato's 2016 season pushed his career record to 170-79-23 through 14 season as a head coach. His Arizona record now stands at 43-30-9. His team delivered an unbeaten streak of six matches this season and brought home a total of seven shutouts.
The team opened the season with a tough defeat at Pepperdine, but rebounded into a six-game unbeaten streak including a tie against No. 16 Texas Tech. The Wildcats were back-and-forth in Pac-12 play, facing a series of tough matches where they won or lost by only a single goal. Their wins in the Pac-12 came against Oregon St., Washington St., No. 18 California, and rival Arizona State.
This was Gabi Stoian's junior campaign with the Wildcats, and it was another strong performance from her. The Scottsdale native started every game and earned 1,503 minutes of time over the course of the season. She scored six goals and tallied five assists for a total of 17 points. These stats pushed her to 24 goals in her career, which is third-highest all-time, and 20 assists, which is second-highest all-time. She now has 70 career points which is the second-highest behind Mallory Miller of 2002-'05. Stoian also took 75 shots this season, the fifth-highest mark by a Wildcat and only three shots behind her tally from last season. Stoian will return next season for her senior year and will continue to be a force for Arizona.
"Making the tournament the last two years has set a new standard for the program," said Stoian. "Our goal is to compete in the NCAA tournament ever year now and we fell short of that expectation. But we just have to learn from this season, get better, and come back hungry next year. I only have one year left here so I'm looking to make it the best year yet."
Lainey Burdett got the nod in 16 of Arizona's 19 matches this season after being sidelined the first three games due to an illness. She made incredible saves throughout the season, earning one of the top performances from a keeper that Arizona has ever seen. Two that stood out during the 2016 campaign came when she dove across the mouth of her goal in the California game and the match against Oregon. In addition to that, she maintained a goals-against average of 1.16, the fifth-lowest mark by an Arizona goalkeeper. This was aided by the seven shutouts that she earned, a feat the placed her in a tie for third in season shutouts and propelled her to fourth all-time for career shutouts at 10.
Senior Jaden DeGracie-Bailey earned a great honor this season after notching the 24th assist of her career, making her the greatest all-time assister for Arizona. Her talent came mainly from her ability to generate chances off the flip throw-in. This allowed her to connect with 6'0" Hannah Stevens twice this season to help give the Wildcats the edge against Oregon State and San Francisco.
Stoian and DeGracie-Bailey have also both earned post-season awards so far. Stoian was named an Honorable Mention All-Pac-12. This is the third year in a row that she has received honors from the Pac-12. DeGracie-Bailey was named to the District 8 CoSIDA Academic All-District Team as well, her second-straight year receiving the award.
The six seniors that completed their time with Arizona this season, Hannah Stevens, Laura Pimienta, Paige Crouch, Lexe Selman-Richards, Jaden DeGracie-Bailey, and Haley Silverberg, became the most-winningest class of all-time at 41 wins after defeating Oregon State this season. By the end of the season they managed to push the bar to 43 wins.
Some notable matches for the Wildcats came against No. 16 Texas Tech, No. 18 California, and rival Arizona State this season. Arizona tied the No. 16 Red Raiders in Lubbock, Texas after several close chances in double-overtime. The Wildcats defeated No. 18 California in Tucson after battling back-and-forth and giving up a penalty-kick goal to force overtime. Cali Crisler buried the winner in that match in the final minute of play off a deflected clearance. Additionally, the Wildcats managed to overcome rival Arizona State in Tempe, Ariz. at the end of the season as freshman Samantha Falasco played a standout game and scored the game-winner with her head off a Crisler corner kick.
The Wildcats are looking forward to next season with talented starters returning like Burdett, Stoian, Crisler, Charlotte Brascia, Samantha Falasco, Kennedy Kinenker, and Brandi Park. The team will also look to new talent from freshmen like Maddie Bennett, Kelcey Cavarra, Brynn Moga, and previously injured players in Tia Painilainen and Jill Aguilera.
Arizona's next matches will come in the spring season as they prepare for another competitive season in the Pac-12.
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