RIVERSIDE, Calif. – Gabi Stoian scored in the 94th minute to lift Arizona (6-1-1) to a 2-1 victory over the UC Riverside Highlanders (4-5) on Friday, Sept. 18 in Riverside Calif. at UC Riverside Soccer Stadium.
“The game was intense and I thought our team stepped up as a whole,” head coach Tony Amato said. “You need someone to put the ball in the back of the net and Gabi was able to do that in overtime. It was a hard game and you have to give them a lot of credit. They scored a really good goal. It's hard to win games and I'm very happy that we won. This team definitely took a big step today. We learned some good lessons along the way during the nonconference schedule and we will collect all those thoughts with a new season starting this week.”
The Wildcats outshot the Highlanders 19-8 on the night, which continues a trend Arizona has set all season. They now have outshot their opponents 136-57 this season. Arizona also dominated the corner kick department as they finished the night with eight to UC Riverside's three.
Hayley Estopare got things going for Arizona in the 43rd minute as she scored her third goal of the season to break the seal and give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead. Stoian notched her fifth assist of the season after her corner kick found the head of Estopare at the near post.
Paige Crouch had a good chance in the 57th minute as her header drilled the crossbar. Three minutes later, UC Riverside equalized on a goal from Blanca Barrio. From that point on, it was a mighty stressful match.
The Highlanders managed to get some good shots on goal, but Arizona goalkeeper Lainey Burdett responded well after giving up a goal. She finished the night with four saves. A handful of those shots came in the final 10 minutes, but the defense held strong and got the match to extra time.
The golden goal affair did not last long as Stoian scored just about four minutes into extra time after the ball found her left foot and she shot a blinder that the keeper could not get to. Stoian now has five goals this season and is now also tied for fifth on the all-time Arizona goal scoring list with 18.
Arizona is back in action on Friday, Sept. 25 as they host Washington at 4 p.m. PT on the Pac-12 Networks.
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