Tucson, Ariz. - The University of Arizona Wildcat soccer team took the No. 4 Stanford Cardinal to the brink of Friday evening at Mulcahy Stadium. Stanford led 2-0 at halftime but the second half belonged to Arizona, where they scored two goals of their own. With just over a minute left in the first overtime period, Stanford scored the game winner. Arizona now has a record of 9-5-1 (3-4 Pac-12) on the season.
The match did not start well for the Wildcats; Stanford scored just 46 seconds into the match. Lo'eau LaBonta was wide open on the right side of the box, took her time and shot over senior goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman's head. Taylor Uhl provided the assist. After the initial goal, Arizona defended well; Stanford had most of the possession but did not register any shots. But, at the 18:06 mark, Alex Doll received the ball at the top of the box, turned fired a shot with her left foot into the right side of the goal, assisted by Maddie Bauer.
“I think they started really strong,” head coach Tony Amato said. “I think we were a little bit in awe of them, they are a perennial powerhouse. We didn't react well to their start but the girls kept battling after the two goals we gave up and that at least got us to halftime. It was just a matter of grit and effort to keep the ball out of our net, get to halftime and regroup.”
Arizona saw the ball a bit more as the half went on. Sophomore Paige Crouch had a pair of quality flip throw-ins but the Wildcats couldn't convert on them. Freshman Charlotte Brascia had the most dangerous moment in the half for the Wildcats. She chased down a long ball, running right by the Stanford defender and gaining possession. The Stanford goalkeeper consistently played really far off her line and Brascia had her in a tough spot but her shot went wide right of the target. Moments later sophomore Jaden DeGracie had a great flip throw-in for the Wildcats in a dangerous position, sophomore Hannah Stevens got a head on it but it was wide left of the goal.
The Wildcats tallied three shots and committed seven fouls in the first half. Stanford registered eight shots and four were on target. They committed six fouls and won two corner kicks. Kaufman saved two of the Cardinal's shots.
The Wildcats dominated the second half. They pressured Stanford all over the pitch and saw much more of the ball. Brascia was effective once again; she held possession up for Arizona and made long runs on the left flank. Her best run came up the left side, she passed back to senior Alexandra Doller in the middle of the box but a Stanford defender cut it out right before Doller could reach it.
Freshman Cece Bilginer subbed on and had Arizona's best shot of the game to that point, firing from the top of the box with great pace. Stanford's keeper was forced to tip it over the crossbar for an Arizona corner.
After many attacks, Arizona finally cracked the Stanford defense. Freshman Gabi Stoian played the ball in, it deflected off a Stanford defender and then senior Julia Glanz headed it in for a goal. Her first goal of the season came at the 73:04 mark.
Moments later, at the 79:04 mark, Stoian trapped a ball from junior Hannah Wong. Stoian trapped it, shot with her left foot on the left side of the box and it went in the right side of the goal. It was her ninth goal of the season and Wong's first assist.
“We didn't come out the way we should have in the first half,” Glanz said. “But, we made the adjustments at halftime and did what we should have done the whole game. We were resilient and we fought back, it was just an unfortunate ending.”
Regulation ended with the score 2-2. The first 10 minute overtime period did not see many shots, junior Kaitlyn Lopez had a shot blocked, the only attempt for the Wildcats. Stanford had a dangerous shot that Kaufman saved by tipping it over the crossbar. On the ensuing corner kick, Stanford took a shot and Kaufman saved it. However, she parried the ball right to Uhl, who tapped it in.
“We just put more people up front and tried to get numbers forward,” Amato said. “We had nothing to lose at that point. We just started getting numbers forward and that started causing a lot of problems for them. Once you get the goal it's a different game. Now, they couldn't get a third, our girls kept hammering away it. I thought our girls were outstanding and I couldn't be prouder of the way they fought tonight even though we didn't get the result in the end.”
The final home match of the season versus California on Sunday at 1 p.m. MST will be shown live on the Pac-12 Networks. A complete recap and box score will be available at ArizonaWildcats.com after the match. Also follow @ArizonaWSoccer on Twitter for live updates.
