Tucson, Ariz. - The University of Arizona Wildcat soccer team will host the Arizona Cats Classic on Sept. 12 and 14. The Wildcats will welcome Nevada, New Mexico State and Arizona State to Mulcahy Stadium. Arizona’s lone match of the weekend will take place on Friday at 7 p.m. MST against the Wolfpack of Nevada (2-3-1, 0-0). Prior to the Arizona match, Arizona State will take on New Mexico State at 4:30 p.m. On Sunday at 12 p.m., Nevada and Arizona State will square off. All matches will be played on Murphey Field at Mulcahy Stadium.
Friday’s match against Nevada will be the second time the two teams have played each other. In 2007, Arizona beat the Wolfpack by a score of 2-1. In their six matches this year, they have scored five goals and allowed 13. Angel Meriwether has scored three of those goals for the Wolfpack.
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) week three poll was released on September 9. The Pac-12 has four teams ranked in the top-25 poll. UCLA is first, Stanford is fourth, California is 11th and USC is 14th.
Through five matches, the Wildcats have still spread the wealth in the attack. Seven Wildcats have scored nine goals. Senior forward Alexandra Doller has scored one goal for the Wildcats. She has the most shot attempts (17) on the team thus far. That total is tied for No. 7 in the conference this season. Doller assisted on sophomore Paige Crouch’s goal, a sophomore that has returned to action after missing nearly all of 2013 with a knee injury. Freshman Charlotte Brascia, junior Hayley Estopare, junior Lexe Selman, have each contributed goals to the Wildcats. Senior LeeAndra Smith has taken one shot on the season and it was the game-winning goal against NAU in the home-opening match. Freshman Gabi Stoian has scored three goals for the Wildcats, tied for the eight-best total in the Pac-12. Stoian has also tallied three assists this year, which is tied for the No. 3 mark in the conference. Stoian has taken 16 shots, behind only Doller on the team, and 10 of those shots have been on target.
On the defensive side, the Wildcats’ experienced group of defenders in front of senior goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman has been very effective thus far. The Wildcats have a goal differential of +4, surrendering only 5 goals. Juniors Sheaffer Skadsen and Alexa Montgomery, senior Mykaylin Rosenquist and sophomore Laura Pimienta along with many substitutions make-up the back four for the Wildcats. The team effort defensively has led to two shutouts in five matches for Kaufman. Rosenquist and Skadsen have been particularly important for the Wildcat defense, logging heavy minutes as center backs. The trio of Rosenquist, Skadsen and Kaufman were on the field together for 196 of 200 the possible minutes in last weekend’s matches.
The depth of Arizona has been on display throughout each match of the season, with 22 student-athletes seeing the field for the Wildcats.
On Sept. 8, Gabi Stoian was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for her work in the matches against No. 6 Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. She tallied two assists and three goals, contributing to all five goals the Wildcats scored over the weekend. Stoian was also named College Sports 360 National Primetime Player of the Week on Sept. 8 for her accomplishments.
The Wildcats faced Oklahoma State on Sunday morning as part of the Sun Devil Classic in Tempe, Ariz. Arizona allowed only eight shots over the course of the match and the only shot on target was a converted penalty kick by the Cowboys. Trailing 1-0 with only seven minutes remaining, the Wildcats leaned on Gabi Stoian. She assisted Lexe Selman who scored at the 83:58 mark. Stoian then scored on a set piece with her left foot at the 85:16 mark. Lastly, before the game ended, Stoian went coast-to-coast to score for Arizona with only 18 seconds left in the game. Arizona went on to win 3-1.
Arizona faced No. 6 Texas A&M on Friday evening in Tempe at the Sun Devil Classic. The Wildcats took the lead against the Aggies at the foot of Gabi Stoian in the 37:06 mark. Arizona surrendered a goal at the 42:52 mark, bringing the score to 1-1. Arizona again took the lead, this time Stoian assisted to Estopare. Estopare connected with Stoian’s set piece with her head, giving the Wildcats the lead with only six minutes remaining. With 30 seconds left in regulation, Texas A&M scored again to tie the match. The game went to extra time and neither team scored, ending the match in a 2-2 draw.
A complete recap and box score will be available at ArizonaWildcats.com after the match. Also follow @ArizonaWSoccer on Twitter for live updates. A free live stream will also be available at ArizonaWildcats.com.
