The Student News Site of University of Arizona

The Daily Wildcat

55° Tucson, AZ

The Daily Wildcat

The Daily Wildcat

 

Wildcats end three game losing streak against Washington State in 1-0 finish

Arizona+goal+keeper+Rachel+Estopare+%280%29+blocks+a+shot+by+Stanford+during+the+WIldcats+2-3+loss+against+the+Cardinal+on+Sunday%2C+Oct.+4+at+Murphy+Field+at+Mulcahy+Soccer+Stadium.+The+Wildcats+now+hold+a+9-4-1+record+and+are+3-3+in+the+Pac-12+Conference.+
Alex McIntyre

Arizona goal keeper Rachel Estopare (0) blocks a shot by Stanford during the WIldcats’ 2-3 loss against the Cardinal on Sunday, Oct. 4 at Murphy Field at Mulcahy Soccer Stadium. The Wildcats now hold a 9-4-1 record and are 3-3 in the Pac-12 Conference.

Arizona women’s soccer desperately needed a win after losing three straight games and it got the job done with a 1-0 road win over No. 16 Washington State Friday night.

It looked like the Cougars were going to get on the board quickly when in the fourth minute, Pac-12 Conference leading goal scorer Kaitlyn Johnson had a breakaway shot end up wide of the goal.

A Washington Statecorner kick was put on net a few minutes later but an Arizona defender was there to block it.

The Wildcats got their first shot on goal soon after when Gabi Stoian put one on net from about 25 yards out, but Pac-12 saves leader Ella Dederick was there to make the save.

Arizona senior defender Sheaffer Skadsen broke up a dangerous play as the last line of defense in the 33rd minute that would have made it a 1-on-1.

Despite Washington State’s constant pressure on the Arizona defense, it was the Wildcats that scored the first and only goal of the game.

Dederick made a leaping save in the 34th minute on a shot from Hannah Wong and knocked it over the crossbar. It set up an Arizona corner kick that Jessica Nelson was able to head in for her first career goal.

Score aside, Washington State was the aggressor in the first half as they out-shot the Wildcats 11-6.

Arizona headed into halftime up 1-0 however; its defense would seal the deal in the second half.

The Cougars had a 2-on-1 in the 61st minute but the Wildcats were able to avoid any real danger. The Cougars had another open look shortly after but Cara Wagner’s shot missed the net.

Goalkeeper Lainey Burdett came up with a big save in the 67th minute when she knocked a Washington State shot to safety over the crossbar. Burdett finished with a career-high nine saves.

Washington Stateearned a corner kick out of the play, but Burdett saved that too. The rebound went to a Cougar player, but the follow up shot was errant.

The Cougars earned another corner shortly after but Burdett was there again to clear the threat.

The Cougars finished with 25 shots but the Wildcats’ defense, along with some saves by Burdett, was able to preserve the shutout—its seventh of the season.

“To come out and win on the road against a top-20 team and win on the road is huge,” Arizona head coach Tony Amato said. “We grinded out a lot of the more important moments of the match and were dangerous in set pieces.”

The defense struggled mightily against the LA schools, giving up eight goals in the two games, but it returned to its spirited self in Friday’s game.

“The team put in a complete effort to get the win,” said Amato.

It was exactly what the doctor ordered to end the team’s three-game skid.

The win moves Arizona to 9-4-1 overall and 3-3 in the Pac-12.

The Wildcats will host Oregon and Oregon State this weekend. Both schools are at the bottom of the conference standings. It will be a huge opportunity for the Wildcats to recover some of the ground they’ve lost in the past two weeks.


Follow Ryan Kelapire on Twitter.


More to Discover
Activate Search