It had been 350 days, spread over 16 games, since the last win.
On Friday night, the Arizona women’s soccer team temporarily put an end to its losing ways with a 1-0 victory over Oregon. On Sunday, it wasn’t able to replicate its success with a 1-0 loss to Oregon State. Despite the loss, getting the first win of the season made this weekend a successful one.
“We definitely took steps forward this weekend. Obviously getting the win was a must,” said senior goalkeeper Ashley Jett.
In Sunday’s game versus Oregon State, the team was unable to score any goals despite many opportunities. It was clear throughout the day that the Wildcats were capable of pulling out a victory, but they weren’t able to capitalize on their chances.
“Inconsistent was a theme for today,” Jett said. “We came out hard, had chances early in the game. Second half we didn’t come out like we should have.”
Despite its struggles on Sunday, the team’s focus was on the positive progress it made this weekend, and much of that can be attributed to the relentless performance of Jett, especially on Friday night.
“Amazing. She’s always amazing. When we need her the most she’s always there,” said sophomore Jazmin Ponce.
Junior defender Alex Smith, who scored the team’s only goal on Friday on a penalty kick, also believes some accolades should be going the goalkeeper’s way.
“(Her performance) was unreal. She deserves Pac-12 player of the week for that. It was awesome,” Smith said.
Smith had a solid performance herself on the weekend, and her first career goal happened to be the one that gave the Wildcats their first win of the season.
“I’m so excited and it feels good to do it at home,” said Smith, who attributed her score on a penalty kick to her routine and discipline.
“Honestly, it’s about staying disciplined and it’s about not using power and getting so amped up that you’re about to score … you have to know exactly where you’re going to go and just stay where you’re comfortable,” she added.
Now, Arizona must use any momentum from the weekend to its advantage.
“(The team needs to) do a lot of what we did in the first half (on Friday) and just keep this momentum,” Jett said. “Especially now that we have the confidence that we know we can win.”
Arizona loses key player
Junior forward Renee Cuellar will no longer be suiting up for the Wildcats.
“She’s not going to continue with the team this season,” head coach Lisa Oyen said.
One of Arizona’s few bright spots in the past few seasons, Cuellar had 13 shots on goal and was held scoreless on the year.