UA Comes From Behind to Beat No. 21 Washington State, 4-1

Pullman, Wash. - The University of Arizona Wildcat soccer team faced off against the No. 21 Washington State Cougars on Friday afternoon. Arizona won 4-1, tying the most goals scored in a single match this year. UA also scored four against Nevada. It was the first victory for the Wildcats over the Cougars since Oct. 8, 2004.

Washington State struck first at the 13:29 mark when Jamie Schnieders scored off an assist from Kailiana Johnson. Schnieders made a run up the middle of the pitch into a lot of space, Johnson found her and she kicked the ball from the left side, about 15 yards away from goal, into the bottom right corner.

The Cougars were dominating possession and created the majority of the opportunities at first. But the game completely changed when junior Kaitlyn Lopez found senior Alexandra Doller in the box. Doller fired a shot that the Washington State keeper deflected but it didn’t matter, her shot found the back of the net at the 25:28 mark. It was her fifth goal of the season and Lopez’s second assist.

“The key was that Doller scored that first goal,” head coach Tony Amato said. “Washington State had all the momentum and they were getting in a rhythm. Then, Doller was able to score a great goal and that was key in keeping their momentum from overpowering us.”

Amato then made some substitutions, including freshman forward Charlotte Brascia and junior midfielder Lexe Selman. Arizona won their lone corner kick of the half, freshman Gabi Stoian took it and spotted Brascia’s near post run. She connected and flicked it back into the far corner of the goal. It was Stoian’s sixth assist of the season and Brascia’s second goal, coming at the 31:01 mark. Stoian’s six assists are the second-best total in the Pac-12 this year, excluding today’s results from around the conference.

“They (the subs) did an excellent job of coming into the game and turning that momentum from our goal into a second goal,” Amato said. “At that point, the momentum had swung into our favor and we were able to win first and second balls more, the team looked more like our team and we were able to carry that out for the rest of the match.”

The Wildcats then struck again at the 33:19 mark, when sophomore Haley Silverberg found Selman, who then found Doller alone in the middle of the 18-yard box and she slotted in her second goal of the match. It was Silverberg’s first assist of the season and Selman’s third. It was Doller’s sixth goal of the season.

Arizona finished the half with 10 shots and five were on target. They committed two fouls and were called offside twice. Senior goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman made two saves for the Wildcats. Washington State fired seven shots, three of which were on target. They committed three fouls and won two corner kicks.

The Wildcats did not take long picking up a goal in the second half. Stoian took a corner kick for the Wildcats, the ball was being kicked around in the box for what seemed like forever. Finally, senior defender Mykaylin Rosenquist controlled the ball and buried the shot at the 47:59 mark. It was Rosenquist’s first goal of the season and she is the 10th Wildcat to score on the year.

After the fourth goal for Arizona, the team focused on defending and they were successful. Although Washington State had a couple dangerous opportunities, the team did not allow another goal. Junior Sheaffer Skadsen made some strong plays in the back as well as junior Alexa Montgomery.

“They (Cougars) are very good in attack,” Amato said. “They started getting numbers forward and we had to stand up to that test. We had some outstanding one-on-one defending in some situations. But collectively, we were able to help as a second defender, we were in good position to clear balls and Gabby (Kaufman) was in good spots for a few saves. That was enough over the course of the second half for us to get the result.”

The Wildcats finished with 15 shots and six were on target. UA committed six fouls and were called offside four times. Kaufman made seven saves for the Wildcats and played a strong game. She intercepted some through balls and crosses as well as saving the Cougar shots. Washington State fired 17 shots and eight were on target. The Cougars also committed six fouls and won five corner kicks as well.

“When you play teams all the time that are at such a high level like we do in the Pac-12, you know that you can’t be fazed by situations like their ranking, their history or their record,” Amato said. “You have to stay in the present and make the plays in front of you. We showed unbelievable resiliency to go down a goal in the situation we were in, in terms of Washington State playing so well, we were able to overcome that, get some goals and win the game.”

On Sunday at 1 p.m. MST, Arizona will head to Seattle to face the Washington Huskies. That match will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Networks as well. A complete recap and box score will be available at ArizonaWildcats.com after the match. Also follow @ArizonaWSoccer on Twitter for live updates.