Coming off a disappointing start to its Pac-12 Conference season last weekend, Arizona women’s soccer (6-2-1, 0-1-0) will try to pick up its first Pac-12 wins this weekend when it hosts Oregon State and Oregon at Murphey Field at Mulcahy Soccer Stadium.Last Friday, the Wildcats opened their conference schedule but were unable to pull off an upset against then-No. 21 USC. Arizona had several chances, especially in the first half, but could not capitalize and ended up losing 3-0. Senior defender Mykaylin Rosenquist said she believes the team has moved on from the USC game.
“I absolutely think we can rebound quickly,” Rosenquist said. “Sometimes you just have those games, and unfortunately, we just dropped it. But this weekend, we’re coming in hard, and I think we can definitely get the wins.”
Friday at 3 p.m., the Wildcats will take on the Oregon State Beavers, who are the only winless team in the Pac-12. In its 10 games so far this season, Oregon State has lost seven games and tied three. In the Beavers’ Pac-12 opener last Friday, Oregon State played Washington State tough, but eventually fell 1-0 in Corvallis, Ore.
Oregon State’s offense has been non-existent in 2014, scoring only two goals all season, and is currently in a six-game scoreless drought. The Beavers have also struggled on defense, allowing a conference-high 14 goals or 1.31 per game. Freshman goalkeeper Bella Geist has done all she can, leading the Pac-12 in saves with 55 and still managing to record three shutouts for the team.
Despite their poor record, Wildcats head coach Tony Amato expects a fight from Oregon State.
“Oregon State hasn’t had the results they’ve wanted this year,” Amato said, “but anytime you have a Pac-12 game, you know it’s going to be a difficult contest. They haven’t been giving up a lot of goals lately, so we know we have to be up for the challenge. We know it’s going to be a difficult match.”
The game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
Sunday at 12 p.m. should be a tougher test for Arizona as the Oregon Ducks come into Murphey Field at Mulcahy Soccer Stadium in a similar place as the Wildcats. The Ducks are currently 5-3-1, but unlike Arizona, they were able to win their first conference game last week when they beat Washington 1-0 in overtime.
Oregon has been leaning on its defense this season allowing only six goals in nine games played, good for fifth in the Pac-12. The Ducks will have to rely on their seniors this weekend, as midfielder Lilly Archer is leading the team in points with seven, and goalkeeper Abby Steele is third in the conference in saves with 32.
Last season, the Ducks beat the Wildcats 1-0 in Eugene, Ore., and Amato knows they are playing well going into this weekend.
“Oregon had a great result last weekend against Washington in overtime,” Amato said. “We know that they’re confident and playing the style of play they want to play. So, we’re going to have to try and disrupt that and bring our best effort to that game as well and hope that we can get a result.”
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Follow Brian Peel on Twitter @_brianpeel
