Salt Lake City, Utah - The University of Arizona Wildcat soccer team went to Salt Lake City, Utah to face the Utah Utes on Friday and they were victorious, winning by a score of 2-1. The Wildcats moved to 10-5-2 (4-4-1 Pac-12) on the year while Utah fell to 8-6-4 (1-4-2 Pac-12) this season. All three goals in the match came in the second half. Both of Arizona's goals came from freshman Gabi Stoian and Utah's goal was credited to Avery Jenkins. Arizona is now 7-6 in the all-time matchup with Utah.
The Wildcats were primarily defending for the first part of the match but then saw more possession after about 10 minutes of action. Stoian fired a shot as she tried to catch the Utah goalkeeper off her line. The Wildcats created a quality opportunity moments later, junior Hayley Estopare played a quality through ball to senior Alexandra Doller. Doller held possession and then played a ball back to junior Kaitlyn Lopez. Lopez had a superb first touch to set up a shot but the Utah keeper was up to the task and saved her shot. Senior Julia Glanz had a nice left-footed shot from distance that sailed just over the crossbar, but still a quality chance for the Wildcats. Stoian had a shot sail just over the crossbar as well, she received a ball just outside the box, she took a touch and ripped a shot that beat the keeper but was barely too high.
Arizona exhibited some quality defending in the back four of senior Mykaylin Rosenquist, junior Sheaffer Skadsen and sophomores Haley Silverberg and Laura Pimienta, who all cleared out Utah through balls and did well in one-on-one defending. To end the half, Utah played a floating ball into the box that was punched out by senior goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman and then cleared by Glanz as the clock hit 45 minutes.
Arizona had six shots in the first half and two were on target. The team committed two fouls and won one corner kick. Kaufman was called upon to make one save in the half. Utah tallied four shots and only one was on target. They committed two fouls and won two corner kicks.
The second half started well for the Wildcats, Stoian found the net off a beautiful cross from sophomore Jaden DeGracie. She picked out Stoian all alone at the far post; Stoian trapped it well and passed it into the net for her 11th goal of the season. It was DeGracie's third assist of the season, coming at the 51:05 mark.
The Utes equalized at the 60:59 mark when Jenkins fired about 35 yards out. Her shot nicked the crossbar after being tipped by Kaufman and went straight down into the goal.
Arizona responded well to the goal however, reclaiming the lead thanks to Stoian once again. Her 12th goal of the season came off an assist from Estopare, her first of the season. Stoian got the ball in the middle of the pitch at the top of the 18-yard box. She took a touch to her left foot and then slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal. Estopare's ball went through the swinging legs of freshman Charlotte Brascia and the Utah defender, bouncing perfectly to Stoian for her trap and then shoot.
“It's hard to score goals and Gabi scored two big ones today,” head coach Tony Amato said. “It's even better that she is humble and always works for the team.”
Kaufman made a pair of great saves to preserve the Wildcats lead as Utah pushed late to get another equalizer. In the waning seconds of the match, Utah had a throw in and Glanz was able to get in position to win the ball back and draw a foul. Kaufman was able to clear it away off the set piece and Utah ran out of time, giving Arizona the win.
Arizona took 10 shots in total and six were on target. They committed 11 fouls, won two corner kicks and were called offside once. Utah registered nine shots and five were on target. The Utes won seven corner kicks and committed five fouls.
“Our team has set the bar really high in terms of energy they bring every day,” Amato said. “It wasn't that the team didn't have any energy in the first half, I just know they can find another level. Overall, we are extremely happy for our players. They found a way to get a positive result and that is what it takes in this league.”
The match against Colorado on Sunday at 12 p.m. will have a free live stream available. A complete recap and box score will be available at ArizonaWildcats.com after the match. Also follow @ArizonaWSoccer on Twitter for live updates.
