Tempe, Ariz. - The University of Arizona Wildcat soccer team squared off against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Sunday morning as part of the Sun Devil Classic this weekend in Tempe, Ariz. In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, it took three late goals from the Wildcats to comeback from a 1-0 deficit and seal the victory. Arizona moved to 3-1-1 on the season while the Cowboys are 0-6.
“I think the girls were big time today,” head coach Tony Amato said. “Coming off Friday's night match where we played well, it was important to carry that over to our performance today. We showed some great resiliency down a goal with under 10 minutes to go. To grind out three quality goals to win the game was impressive and we feel really good about it.”
The Wildcats fired six shots in the first half but only one of them was on target. Senior Alexandra Doller and sophomore Laura Pimienta each took two shots while freshmen Charlotte Brascia and Gabi Stoian took one each. The Wildcats committed five fouls and won a corner kick.
For the Cowboys, they had four shots but none of them forced senior goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman into action for the Wildcats. They committed seven fouls and a yellow card was assessed to Oklahoma State's Courtney Dike at the 20:23 mark of the first half. They also won a single corner kick.
In the second half, the Cowboys struck first after Arizona committed a foul in the 18-yard box, leading to a penalty kick. Stephenson had the ball at the top of the box and junior Hayley Estopare stepped to challenge and was just a bit late, drawing the penalty. At 57:24, Allie Stephenson converted the PK for OK State and her first goal of the season put them in the lead. Kaufman guessed correctly and got her hands to it but it was a quality strike and still went in. After the goal, Arizona picked up the urgency in the attack. Stoian took two shots, one blocked by the defense and one saved. Shortly after, senior Brie DeFelice had a go but it was too high. Then, the Cowboys' keeper saved sophomore Paige Crouch's shot.
The Wildcats seemed to be in trouble when Stoian decided to take over the game. First, junior Lexe Selman rocketed a shot from 25 yards away to bring Arizona even. Stoian assisted on that goal at the 83:58 mark. At the 85:16 mark, Stoian took a set piece for the Wildcats from the top of the box, about 21 yards away and buried it with her left foot, to give Arizona a 2-1 lead. With the clock running out, Stoian went coast-to-coast, got to the middle of the 18-yard box and finished the play with a goal at 89:42. Stoian now has three goals and three assists on the season, leading the team with nine points. Her nine points are tied for the second-best total in the Pac-12 this year.
“I wouldn't say nervous is the right word,” Amato said. “I would say stressful. During the heat of the game, you're trying to put your team in a position to be successful. We're making sure we have the right personnel on the field; we're changing formations, we were making all those adjustments and didn't have time to be nervous. But, it was intense and obviously we were pleased with the last seven minutes.”
The Wildcats finished the game with 16 shots and six were on target. They committed 11 fouls and senior Mykaylin Rosenquist was assessed a yellow card at the 77:47 mark. Rosenquist, junior Sheaffer Skadsen and Kaufman went all 90 minutes for the Wildcats, anchoring a strong defensive outing for the Wildcats.
Oklahoma State had eight shots and the only one on target was the penalty kick. The Cowboys committed 12 fouls in total and in the second half Laurene Tresfield of Oklahoma State was given a yellow card at the 65:11 mark. They won four corner kicks as well.
“I thought coming into the weekend we would learn about the team,” Amato said. “These two games resembled what a Pac-12 weekend will look like, good games against good players. Our girls responded and got some positive results. That tells me that we're going to be in a place where we can compete at the highest level in the Pac-12. We feel confident about that and we just have to keep getting better this week and head into the next game with the same approach.”
The Wildcats return to action in Tucson for the Arizona Cats Classic on Friday, Sept. 12. Arizona faces off against Nevada at 7 p.m. at Mulcahy Stadium.
For continued coverage of Arizona Wildcat soccer, visit ArizonaWildcats.com and follow @ArizonaWSoccer on Twitter.
