Arizona men’s club soccer will face ASU this Friday at William David Sitton Field, along with another rival, NAU, on Sunday. These two games will be the team’s last two home games of the season.
The Wildcats have great momentum moving into the weekend, coming off of a well-played tournament at San Diego State, and a victory over the University of Texas at El Paso, 3-1. UTEP was a two-time defending regional champion.
Adding to the UA’s momentum, they already have six wins this season, compared to only three last year.
The SDSU tournament, the Aztec Cup, consisted of four games. The UA won two games, tying the second game, placing them in the semifinals.
In the semifinals, they lost a heartbreaker to University of California, Berkeley. Despite the loss, the UA finished third overall in the top flight, which consisted of 18 teams, making this the greatest finish in the school’s history for the Aztec Cup.
With a great season already intact, Arizona and ASU are currently tied for first in the region.
The determinant for the regional placing will be this weekend.
“[ASU is our] only loss this year,” said head coach Eric Rhodes.
ASU is the only team that UA has lost to in the seasonal play, not including tournaments.
“It’s ASU; any Wildcat’s goal and dream is to beat ASU,” Rhodes said. “If we win this, it will set us up well for the regional games.”
The game definitely calls for redemption for the Wildcats. The previous game was played back in Tempe, with a roaring ASU crowd. We can only hope that the UA can reciprocate the big showing of an audience.
“[Playing previously against ASU] was probably one of our worst games [we have played thus far],” Rhodes said. “This game can be an opportunity to show ourselves better, and our strength as a team.”
A second shot at any team can always bring excitement. The UA currently is 6-2-1, including the Aztec tournament.
“The overall goal of the season is to come out with 10 wins,” Rhodes said.
Doing this, the UA will have great margin of success compared to last year’s team finish, and it is also a chance for the club team to represent Arizona Athletics in a way other than Division I Athletics.
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