UA Matches Up With No. 1 Texas A&M In The Second Round

College Station, Texas - The University of Arizona Wildcat soccer team will play No. 1 seed Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 6 p.m. MST in College Station, Texas. The trend continues for the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament, this will mark the second meeting between the two teams in the 2014 season. The first round matchup for the Wildcats between Oklahoma State Cowgirls was also the second meeting between the two teams this season.

On Sept. 5, Arizona faced No. 6 Texas A&M for the first time in program history on Friday evening in Tempe at the Sun Devil Classic. The Wildcats took the lead against the Aggies from the foot of Gabi Stoian in the 37:06 mark. Arizona surrendered a goal at the 42:52 mark, bringing the score to 1-1. Arizona again took the lead, this time Stoian assisted to Hayley Estopare. Estopare connected on Stoian’s set piece with her head, giving the Wildcats the lead with only six minutes remaining. With 30 seconds left in regulation, Texas A&M scored again to tie the match. The game went to extra time and neither team scored, ending the match in a 2-2 draw.

The Aggies are 19-2-2 on the year and 11-1-1 at home on Ellis Field. Kelley Monogue has scored 13 goals and tallied 10 assists on the season. She has also taken 78 corners for the Aggies. Shea Groom is the leading scorer on the team with 15 goals and she has also assisted on five goals. In total, the team has scored 59 goals (fifth-best mark in the country) and allowed 20.

The NCAA announced the 64-team field for the the NCAA Women’s Soccer College Cup on Monday afternoon. The Pac-12 Conference had nine teams make it into the tournament, UCLA, USC, Arizona State, Colorado, California, Washington, Stanford, Washington State and the Arizona Wildcats. Also, it is the first time in College Cup history that all three teams from Arizona made it to the tournament, Northern Arizona qualified as well. Along with the eight Pac-12 schools that Arizona played, the Wildcats also played Oklahoma State, Northern Arizona, Texas A&M and Florida Gulf Coast. After the first weekend, the Pac-12 has six teams remaining in the round of 32.

For the Wildcats, ten student-athletes have scored 33 goals on the year. Those 33 goals are tied for the sixth-best total among Pac-12 schools thus far. Senior forward Alexandra Doller has scored seven goals for the Wildcats on the season including the game-winning goal in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at OKlahoma State. She is second on the team in shot attempts as well (70). That is the fifth-best total in the conference this season and she averages 3.50 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. 4 mark in the conference. Stoian has racked up 33 points for Arizona (goals are worth two, assists worth one) for an average of 1.65 points per game. Both of those marks are No. 2 in the Pac-12. Stoian’s points per game average is tied for the 32nd-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 27 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 seven this season, bringing her total to 16, the second-highest tally in UA history. Kaufman’s seven shutouts on the season is 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.

The Wildcats faced off against Oklahoma State for the second time in the 2014 season. This matchup was in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona was victorious for the second time this season, winning by a score of 1-0 thanks to Alexandra Doller. She netted the game-winning goal at the 77:43 mark and the assist came from Charlotte Brascia. Arizona outshot the Cowgirls 19-12 and goalkeeper Gabby Kaufman posted her seventh shutout of the season. It was the third NCAA Tournament victory in program history, the other two came in 2005.

A complete recap and box score will be available at ArizonaWildcats.com after the match. Also follow @ArizonaWSoccer on Twitter for live updates. The match will be broadcast !!!