Arizona vs. San Francisco // Sun., Sep 11 // 1:30 p.m. MST // Tucson, Ariz. //
Mulcahy Stadium // Twitter // Live Stats // Live Stream
ARIZONA LINKS
Stats // Roster // Game Notes // Schedule
SAN FRANCISCO LINKS
Stats // Roster // Schedule
Sun Devil Desert Classic Recap
Arizona dominated against Denver on Friday night, topping the Pioneers 3-0. The Wildcats outshot their opponents 21-1 in that match, with the Pioneers first shot not coming until the 71st minute. The Wildcats continued their success on Sunday, defeating the Columbia Lions 2-0. Another strong defensive performance as they allowed only 1 shot.
History with Northern Illinois
Arizona has never competed against the Northern Illinois Huskies in women's soccer. Last seson, the Huskies finished with a record of 3-12-3 (2-6-3) overall.
History with San Francisco
Arizona has an all-time record of 2-2-0 against the San Francisco Dons. Their last match occured on October 10th, 2010, where the Wildcats prevailed in a 2-0 victory.
Stoian Returns
Junior Gabi Stoian returns to the pitch this fall, bringing her offensive talent back to the team. In her two seasons with the Wildcats, Stoian has 20 goals (fourth all-time) and 58 points (third all-time). Those goals include six game-winning goals (fifth all-time). This season she already has three assists and one goal, putting her at five points.
Assists from DeGracie-Bailey
Senior midfielder Jaden DeGracie-Bailey is now the school record holder in all-time assists. After her assist at Texas Tech this season, she now has 20 assists overall, seven of which came from the 2015 season. As one of the Wildcats that can execute the flip throw-in, she can create dangerous opportunities in the box for Arizona.
Between the Posts
After succumbing to an illness prior to the season, sophomore Lainey Burdett had yet to take to the cage before this weekend. Burdett participated in 16 games in the 2015 season and earned over 1,250 minutes of action. She notched 52 saves (.754, 1.22 GAA) and shutout the opponent three times. Her 1.22 GAA is the seventh-best mark for one season in Arizona history.
Eyes on the Prize
In Coach Amato's inaugural season with the Wildcats back in 2013, he led the team to its first winning record since 2005. He has since improved on that, leading the 2015 squad to a 14-6-2 record (second-best all-time) and has made two runs into the NCAA Tournament, last season's into the Round of 16.
Continuing a Legacy
With 20 players from last season's record-breaking squad, Arizona has a lot of talent remaining in the program. This senior class has 35 wins as of today, only five shy of the highest mark for a senior class. The Wildcats will look to their veterans to lead them to another successful season in 2015.
Ranking Trends
In the NSCAA preseason poll, the Wildcats were ranked 20th after finishing their 2015 season at No. 19. They fell outside of the rankings after their defeat at Pepperdine, and have yet to check back in. Additionally, in the coaches' poll from the Pac-12 Conference, the Cats were picked to finish fifth in the conference. In the TopDrawerSoccer.com rankings, Arizona checked-in at 18th in preseason and have since settled at 23rd.
#ExperienceIt
Attendance at Mulcahy Stadium has been growing rapidly over the last several years with last year's average attendance finally settling at 917. The Wildcats drew a crowd of over 750 in their exhibition match and are looking to expand further.
Newcomer Talent
Arizona is bringing in 12 newcomers in this season. This includes 11 incoming freshmen, and one junior transfer. The team will look to these players to step-up and provide energy and depth to their already strong and proven roster.
FOLLOW SOCCER ON SOCIAL MEDIA!
Fans can keep up with the latest in Arizona women's soccer by following us on Facebook (Facebook.com/ArizonaWSocccer), Twitter (@ArizonaWSoccer), Instagram (arizonasoccer), Youtube (Youtube.com/arizonawildcatsoccer) and Vine (Arizona Soccer).
