Arizona soccer played the University of California, Davis on Sunday at 1 p.m. The team pulled off a 1-0 win in the blazing Arizona heat. The possession was back and forth but the goal was a great end to the week for the Wildcats.
Arizona Keeper Hope Hisey was on her A game this weekend with three outstanding saves against UC Davis. The game started with Nyota Katembo launching a cross across the box, unfortunately going out of bounds. The team continued to press but wasn’t getting any successful opportunities.
In the 14th minute, offensive player Sami Baytosh went into a tackle with the goalie, taking her to the ground. The goalie appeared hurt which led to a yellow card on Baytosh. Due to extreme heat, the players were offered a water break just before 24th minute. There were many substitutions made that allowed fresh legs to enter the game. This brought a new level of intensity.
The team switched the field multiple times throughout the half, trying to open up space. Megan Chelf shot the ball in the 28th minute from far outside the box but was off target. Arizona’s defense held strong and allowed the team to keep the ball in the attacking third.
On a breakaway, Angela Baron sent a ball high in the air to Baytosh, who fought off a defender by kicking the ball into the air. Baytosh fell to the floor, but, as she was falling, she kicked the ball again with her right foot and scored a goal in the top right corner. Baytosh and the team celebrated the amazing goal in the 37th minute.
At half the score was 1-0 Wildcats, and the second half resulted in no goals scored. Therefore, the game ended with Arizona winning 1-0 against UC Davis.
Baron arrived late to Tucson this season because she was selected as the center back for Colombia at the FIBA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
“The style of play isn’t much different than when I played with Colombia, which really helped me adjust on this team”, Baron stated after the game.
She matched the team’s energy and appeared to be right at home with her new teammates.
“Angela Baron is clean on the ball and reads the game very well, she is continuing to grow and adjusting to how we play in the back,” head soccer coach Becca Moros said. “The team has been training really well and now being seven games in, the team will keep competing in preparation for the Pac-12”.
The next game will be against the University of Utah on Friday, Sept. 23 at 6 p.m at Ute Field in Salt Lake City.
Follow Delaney Penn on Twitter
