UA Ends 2014 Regular Season At Arizona State
Tempe, Ariz. - The University of Arizona Wildcat soccer team will play their final regular season match on Friday, Nov. 7. The Wildcats and their 10-6-2 (4-5-1 Pac-12) record will go up against the Arizona State Sun Devils (10-5-4, 3-4-3 Pac-12) in Tempe, Ariz. The match will be broadcast live at 2 p.m. MST on the Pac-12 Networks.
Friday’s match against the Sun Devils will be the 20th matchup between the two programs. The Wildcats were victorious in the 2013 match in Tucson by a score of 2-0. On the season, Arizona State has scored 35 goals and allowed 19. Cali Farquharson has tallied 31 points on the season, scoring 14 goals and three assists. Her total of 31 is the third-best total in the conference on the season. Aly Moon has scored eight goals and dished out four assists, totaling 20 points, tying for seventh in the Pac-12.
The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) week 11 poll was released on November 4. The Pac-12 has four teams ranked in the top-25 poll. UCLA is first, Stanford is third, California is 22nd and Washington State is 24th. The Wildcats moved up four places and now sit at the No. 27 spot in the NCAA RPI rankings that were released on November 3.
For the Wildcats, ten student-athletes have scored 32 goals on the year. Those 32 goals are the sixth-best total among Pac-12 schools thus far. Senior forward Alexandra Doller has scored six goals for the Wildcats and she is second on the team in shot attempts as well (62). That is tied for the fifth-best total in the conference this season and she averages 3.44 shots per game. Paige Crouch has pumped in two goals this year. Crouch is a sophomore that has returned to action after missing nearly all of 2013 with a knee injury. Doller assisted on Crouch’s first goal and also assisted on junior Kaitlyn Lopez’s first goal of the season, coming against Idaho. Freshman Charlotte Brascia, junior Hayley Estopare, junior Lexe Selman, have each contributed goals to the Wildcats. Senior LeeAndra Smith has taken two shots on the season and it was the game-winning goal against NAU in the home-opening match. Freshman Gabi Stoian has scored 13 goals for the Wildcats, the third-best total in the Pac-12. Stoian has also tallied seven assists this year, which is tied for the No. 3 mark in the conference. Stoian has racked up 33 points for Arizona (goals are worth two, assists worth one) for an average of 1.83 points per game. Both of those marks are No. 2 in the Pac-12. Stoian’s points per game average is tied for the 23rd-best mark in the NCAA.
On the defensive side, the Wildcats’ experienced group of defenders in front of senior goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman has been very effective thus far. The Wildcats have a goal differential of +6, surrendering 26 goals. Junior Sheaffer Skadsen, senior Mykaylin Rosenquist, junior Alexa Montgomery and sophomore Laura Pimienta combine to make-up the starting back four for the Wildcats. The team effort defensively has led to six shutouts in those 18 matches for Kaufman. Kaufman’s six shutouts are tied for the seventh-best total in the conference. Skadsen has scored two goals on the season, converting both attempts she has had at the penalty spot. Rosenquist pumped in her first goal of the season in the match against Washington State, Arizona’s fourth and final goal of the match.
The depth of Arizona has been on display throughout each match of the season, no less than 17 student-athletes have played in each match. In total, 22 student-athletes overall have gotten time on the pitch for the Wildcats.
On Sept. 8, Gabi Stoian was named Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for her work in the matches against No. 6 Texas A&M and Oklahoma State. She tallied two assists and three goals, contributing to all five goals the Wildcats scored over the weekend. Stoian was also named College Sports 360 National Primetime Player of the Week on Sept. 8 for her accomplishments.
Goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman began the season tied for fourth place in school history with nine shutouts for her career. She has recorded six this season in the first 11 matches bringing her total to 15, the second-highest tally in UA history. Kaufman’s six shutouts on the season are tied for the No. 3 mark in program history as well. Gabi Stoian is one of only six athletes in school history to record a hat trick in a match, the last coming in 2005, courtesy of Mallory Miller. Her 13 goals on the year are already tied for the second-best mark in program history for goals in a season. She has tallied 33 points on the season, the second-best total in UA history. Stoian’s seven assists this season rank as the third-best total in school history.
On Nov. 2 in Boulder, the Wildcats fell 3-1 to the Buffaloes of Colorado. Arizona was called for a foul in the box early in the match, surrendering a penalty to Colorado which they would convert and take the lead 1-0. The Wildcats could not get a lot going in the attack throughout the match. The lone goal came from a penalty when Colorado was called for hand ball in the 18-yard box. Gabi Stoian took it and scored her 13th goal of the season and fifth in the last four matches.
Arizona knocked off Utah in Salt Lake City on Oct. 31 by a score of 2-1. In just the 13th matchup in program history, the Wildcats now hold a 7-6 advantage over the Utes with the win. Gabi Stoian scored both goals for the Wildcats with assists coming from Jaden DeGracie on the first goal and Hayley Estopare on the second goal. It marked the 10th win of the season for the Wildcats, only the third 10-win season in UA history.
A complete recap and box score will be available at ArizonaWildcats.com after the match. Also follow @ArizonaWSoccer on Twitter for live updates. The Pac-12 Networks will broadcast the match live.