TUCSON, Ariz. – The 2019 regular season is on the horizon as the Arizona soccer team is preparing for their opener on Aug. 22 with a friendly at San Diego on Friday, Aug. 16 at 6 p.m. MST. A live stream will not be available, but fans can follow the match via live stats at ArizonaWildcats.com or on Twitter at @ArizonaSoccer.
 
FIRST TOUCH

• Arizona will share the pitch with someone other than themselves on Friday night as they head to San Diego to face the Toreros of San Diego at 6 p.m. MST.
   
• The Wildcats return 19 student-athletes from last year's NCAA Tournament team and bring in eight newcomers.
   
• Five of Arizona's top-seven goal scorers are back this season.
   
• Head coach Tony Amato is six wins away from his 200th career victory. He became Arizona's winningest coach in program history in 2018.
   
• After losing Lainey Burdett to graduation, someone other than Burdett will mind the net for the first time since 2016.

Building A Legacy
Tony Amato has taken the Arizona soccer program to heights it has never seen before with four NCAA Tournament appearances in the last five years. In his six years at the helm, the Wildcats have finished .500 or better with at least nine wins each year. The expectations for the 2019 squad are no different this year with 19 returners from last year's team that hosted the first round of the NCAA Tournament and were knocked out by a quality Tennessee opponent on the road in the second round. UA brings back 72% of their scoring from the 2018 season, including Jada Talley who led Arizona with seven goals last year. Additionally, 13 players on the 2019 roster played at least 15 matches last season. 
 
We Score Goals
The Wildcats welcome back three returners this season who scored at least four goals last year. Only two other schools in the Pac-12 have three returning players who scored at least four goals last season (UCLA & Stanford).
 
Jada Talley (7)
Jill Aguilera (4)
Emily Knous (4)
 
Coming off a season where Arizona scored a school record 39 goals, the Wildcats are poised to break their record once again.
 
A New Face
For the first time since the 2016 season, someone other than Lainey Burdett will don the keeper shirt for the Wildcats. Redshirt freshman Kendyll Humphreys and Tucson product Hope Hisey, a true freshman, will compete for the starting spot this season. Humphreys was a member of the 2018 squad, but did not see any action.
 
Continuity in the Back Line
Arizona returns all four of their back line members for the 2019 season. Last season, Morgan McGarry, Samantha Falasco, Hallie Pearson and Sabrina Enciso played the bulk of the minutes and allowed just 19 goals in 21 games, an average of 0.87 goals allowed per game.
 
A Classy Class
Arizona's senior class of Dana Dalton, Kelcey Cavarra, Brynn Moga, Morgan McGarry, Samantha Falasco, Leah Carillo and Zoe Barrie have been a part of 33 wins, 14 short of the 2018 senior class who won 47 games in their four years on campus to give them the program record. The quartet were instrumental in keeping nine clean sheets, including five straight during the non-conference slate, a program record.
 
Going for the Record
Kelcey Cavarra has played in all 60 matches during her three-year career at Arizona and has helped the lead the Wildcats to a record of 33-20-7 during that time. She is currently 14 wins behind Arizona's winningest player of all time, Kennedy Kieneker, who graduated in the spring of 2019.
 
An Unprecedented Run
Head coach Tony Amato, Arizona's winningest coach of all time, has taken the Arizona soccer program to places it has never been. For starters, he has led the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament four of his first six years as head coach, including four of the last five seasons. Prior to his arrival, the team made the tournament just twice from 1994 to 2012. Additionally, his teams have never finished the season below .500 in his six years, while Arizona had a record of .500 or better just twice in the previous 19 seasons.
 
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