Kelcey Cavarra has consistently been picking up minutes for Tony Amato's tough squad ever since she was a freshman. This year she's started 14 of 15 matches and played over 1,200 minutes. For her, that's been the dream.

"It's huge," said Cavarra. "That was one of my goals coming into college, I said I wanted to start and play as many games as possible. I don't want to come out no matter how tired I am. That was a big thing for me because I just wanted to come into the team and make a difference. I wanted to be a player that is consistent and make a positive difference in every game."

And to do it? To earn that spot? Cavarra isn't always looking to punch the ball into the net, or stuff an attacking forward. Cavarra is all about consistency.

"What gives me confidence is connecting passes. I'm always looking for the first pass, open players, a through ball, or a dangerous ball to the forward. I've been known to be more of a defensive player but I like to think I have good attacking momentum."

Arizona's offense this year has picked up speed as the season continued. With only seven goals in just as many matches at the front-end of the season, the Cats had some work to do to put the ball into the net. But Cavarra says it's been smooth sailing since then – these Cats have found their stride.

"It's really important to have more than just one player that we can play with. Players like Jill [Aguilera] and Char[lotte Brascia] who have always been there have really stepped up and created a lot of chances. Players like Jada [Talley] that can come in and give us good minutes are great too. From a midfielder's perspective, Cali [Crisler] and Gabi [Stoian] like the ball at their feet, but players like Jill and Jada like the ball over the top so that gives us diversity in our attack."

Cavarra's role on the soccer team has always been that of a central midfielder. But, since high school things have changed a little bit.

"It's changed in a good way. I still use what I learned in club. The game is really different in college though. You learn the basics in club and high school. College is about zipping a pass or winning a header. It's everything you learned when you were younger, but amplified."

Fortunately for Cavarra, she has her sidekick Kennedy Kieneker right there by her side for every 90 minutes.

"My partner in crime," laughed Cavarra. "She's awesome. I love playing with her in the midfield. We are similar players but we bring a lot of different things to the table and complement each other very well. I enjoy playing with her ton, it makes my life easier and I hope I do the same for her."

And behind Kieneker, Cavarra has 25 other girls rallying at her back. She says that's been one of her favorite parts of the team.

"One of the things I've always felt was really important is the team chemistry. This year every person on this team has my back whether I've known them for three months or my whole career. I feel more connected to my team and I have faith in them I hope that they have faith in me as well."

Things are winding to a close for Cavarra's 2017 campaign. Three matches remain at home for the Wildcats against the Washington schools and rival Arizona State. This is the final stretch for the team before they make a run into the NCAA tournament.

"In a perfect world we'd love to win out which would give us good seeding for the tournament and lock our spot away. We'd have time to work on what we want to work on to do well in the tournament."

The Wildcats' match against Colorado on Sunday came down to the wire as a shot from the Buffaloes' striker beat Lainey Burdett and glanced off the crossbar in the 103rd minute. That stroke of luck could've beaten Arizona – but it was one of Colorado's few chances. The majority of the game had gone Arizona's way.

"It was frustrating because we had chances and we should have put them away," said Cavarra. "They had chances too but we did a good job defending them. Lainey [Burdett] had to make a couple big saves but it's nothing compared to what we've played against in the past. We've put up better scores against better teams."

The Wildcats had a similar story against Utah last Thursday. This is a team that went as high as No. 17 in the rankings and lost five straight to fall to the bottom of the Pac-12 standings. Arizona went up 3-0 in the first 20 minutes, but the Utes came roaring back in the second.

"It was hard because we went up early so we knew we had to keep the lead. Tony [Amato] kept yelling to us that there was more to be done. That was the message on the field. We got complacent in the second half. Three goals is a big lead and then they got one which changed things. It was on a set piece which was unfortunate because we usually take pride on those."

Fortunately the Wildcats still came away with a 3-2 win. But this means there's still a few things that Arizona needs to work on. Tying up some loose ends here and there.

 "Executing shots. On corners, we always get corners and set pieces, we need to finish those. When we are up we need to not be complacent and still post a shutout even if we're up."