This past week, the Arizona soccer team played No. 2 UCLA on Thursday, Oct. 19, at 7 p.m. and played No. 11 USC on Sunday, Oct. 22, at 1 p.m. Arizona hosted both games at Murphey Field at Mulcahy Soccer Stadium. The Wildcatsfell short against both opponents, losing to UCLA 4-1 and tying USC 1-1.

Arizona (4-7-4) vs. No. 2 UCLA (13-1):

Thursday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m.

In the Wildcats’ first match of the week against the Bruins, they fell short by 3 goals. Arizona remained in the 10th spot in the Pac-12 while UCLA sat in the top spot of the conference.

UCLA went into the game with high energy and an early possession of the ball. The Bruins took two off-target shots on goal before taking an early lead with a Lexi Wright goal in the 14th minute. Arizona goalkeeper Hope Hisey came up to make the save, but the ball deflected off of her, onto Arizona defender Sarah Rice and into the net.

In the 15th minute, there was another off-target shot by UCLA’s Sofia Cook. This flipped a switch for the Wildcats, and they began to fight back harder and more aggressively, resulting in a foul on Arizona’s Megan Chelf, and then a few fouls on UCLA players. 

Many shots on goal were taken by UCLA players in this half, and UCLA continued to keep the Arizona defense on their toes. 

In the 37th minute of the game, a yellow card was issued to Chelf for unsporting behavior on the field. In the 39th minute, there was a foul on a UCLA player, which resulted in a free kick for Arizona. Chelf took the free kick and Gianna Christiansen scored a goal to the bottom center of the net, tying up the match. 

In the final 45th minute of the game, Cook took a shot to the right corner of Arizona’s goal, but it was saved by Hisey. The first half concluded 1-1.

UCLA came out strong in the second half and had a shot on goal in the 48th minute. The shot was blocked, but they continued strong and kept possession.

A foul was called on Rice in the 53rd minute, and this resulted in a penalty kick for UCLA. The kick was taken by Reilyn Turner, and it made it into the bottom left of Arizona’s net. UCLA took the lead by one. 

In the 66th minute, another UCLA goal was made by Turner, to the bottom right of the net. In the 81st minute, there was a UCLA shot on goal by player Jayden Perry, to the top center of the goal, but Hisey made a terrific save. 

In the 87th minute, UCLA player Ally Cook scored their final goal, which made it into the bottom left of the net. The lack of offensive aggression and goal-scoring opportunities was what really brought Arizona down in this game.

 “I think the scoreboard does reflect some of their dominance in the game,” Arizona head coach Becca Moros said. “And you look at it, the shots they create compared to the number of shots we created. And were they all great shots? Definitely not, but you can’t score if you’re not creating goal-scoring opportunities.”

 The game ended in a final score of 4-1 and UCLA remains undefeated in conference play.

Arizona (4-7-5) vs. No. 11 USC (9-3-2):

Sunday, Oct. 22 at 1 p.m.

After last year’s win against USC, Arizona went into this matchup feeling confident they could get back into the win column given its recent success against the Trojans. However, the match concluded with a 1-1 result.

USC came into the game playing very aggressively and took a shot on goal in the 1st minute of the match. This shot was taken by Hana Mizumoto and saved by Hisey in the bottom left of the net. 

In the 3rd and 5th minutes of the game, two fouls were called on Arizona players Nyota Katembo and Ella Hatteberg, resulting in USC free kicks. Two more saves were made by Hisey in the 12th and 15th minutes of the game as USC continued to keep possession in the attacking half.

Nicole Dallin took a shot on USC, but it was saved by Hannah Dickinson. Arizona regained possession of the ball and Hatteberg scored the first goal of the game in the 32nd minute. It was a left-footed shot sent towards the bottom right of USC’s net.

In the 35th minute, another USC shot was saved by Hisey in the bottom left of the net. The first half ended with Arizona in the lead 1-0.

Arizona started off the second half strong, with a shot on goal by Dallin in the 46th minute, though it was blocked. In the 55th minute, Hatteberg received the first yellow card of the game for unsporting behavior. 

In the 58th minute, USC scored on the top right of Arizona’s net, tying up the match at 1-1. The goal was scored by Maribel Flores with an assist by Zoe Burns. In the 59th minute, another shot was taken by USC’s Simone Jackson, but it resulted in a save by Hisey. There were six total shots by USC in the second half, but they were unable to score on Arizona again. 

Although the Wildcats were unable to secure the victory, this was still an incredible game by Hisey, and it brought the Arizona goalkeeper to a new milestone. She has now tied the program record for total career saves with 345. 

“I’ve gotten good about just accepting when the thoughts come in and be like, that’s not really important right now,” Hisey said. “What’s important is the game. Then after the game and then after the season, you can look back and enjoy it. But yeah, I noticed it, but it doesn’t distract me, so I feel good about it.” 

Arizona will be on the road for its next game on Thursday, Oct. 26, at 6 p.m. against the University of Colorado Boulder in Boulder, Colorado, where the Wildcats hope to secure another victory before their season comes to an end.

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