For the second straight game, sophomore Renae Cuellar came through for the Arizona soccer team, but this time she saved her best for last.
Cuellar scored the game winning goal as she chipped the ball over Brown University’s goalkeeper Brenna Hogue to give the Wildcats their first home win of the season in a 2-1 overtime thriller against Brown at Murphey Field in Tucson.
“”I was hungry for it. I told myself I’m not letting this one get away, I going to finish it,”” Cuellar said about scoring the game winning goal. “” I knew we were the better team, it was just about capitalizing on our opportunities.””
Cuellar also scored the tying goal in the 86th minute on an assist by junior Leila Amini in the front of the net to make the score 1-1. The goal was facilitated by Arizona goalkeeper Devon Wharf, who came out of box to clear the ball to midfield, where Amini controlled it and eventually passed it to Cuellar.
“”I knew I was going to clear the ball, but I never I thought that it would lead to me getting the second assist,”” Wharf said. “”Hey, it happens and we’ll take it if it leads to a win.””
This was the second straight game that Cuellar scored multiple goals in a game – she matched last season’s total of five goals on the year.
“”That girl is on fire, I don’t know how else to say it,”” Wharf said of Cuellar’s play in the last two games. “”Renae just came through; two chances and two goals. We needed someone to take authority at the top.””
Arizona had possession of the ball for most of the game but failed to capitalize until Cuellar’s first goal in the 86th minute. In the first half, the Wildcats out-shot Brown 7-3, but the Bears had the lead at the half after forward Eliza Marshall got behind Arizona defenders to score the first goal of the game.
“”I thought we got outplayed in the first half and the credit goes to Brown,”” said Arizona head coach Dan Tobias. “”They scored a nice goal and they were in charge of the game. We talked to our team at the beginning of halftime about still being persistent.””
The Wildcats will have a day to rest before taking on No. 17 Rutgers on Sunday at 7:00 p.m. Prior to Arizona’s game, Rutgers lost to No. 21 San Diego at Murphey Field.
“”It was super important to get our first win on our home field. It’s a good step for us with a young team,”” Tobias said. “”We’re going to be under the lights again on Sunday against a very good team that’s going to be fired up and hungry.””
