Sophomore Jada Talley’s one-touch goal over Fullerton keeper Noa Schumacher in the 56th minute was the difference for the ‘Cats in Friday night’s 2-1 victory. 

Arizona improved to 7-1 on the season, escaping the Titans’ late push to equalize in Mulcahy. 

After a first half of solid play from both teams, the Wildcats drew first blood coming out of halftime. 

Jill Aguilera seems to have a “thing” for big moments, and Friday was no different, as she got the ball rolling for UA and put the Wildcats on the board first in the 55th minute. Amanda Porter, who was on the attack, found Aguilera in the box and was able to skip one past a diving Schumacher. 

“I saw Amanda pass me the ball. I wanted to be composed, and I just slotted it exactly where Tony [Amato] wants me to always put it. I executed on that, and that was really important for me,” Aguilera said. 

Talley, who is no stranger to finding the back of the net, scored her fifth goal of the season off a one-touch flip over Fullerton’s goalkeeper, giving UA a 2-nil lead. 

“That actually is how I scored a lot of my goals in club. Those are easier for me to score; you just have to one-time it, because you know where the keeper is at and where the goal is,” Talley said. “It’s actually pretty easy in my eyes.”

The Titans kept fighting back, and their hard work paid off in the 69th minute, cutting Arizona’s lead in half. Samantha McKenna was able to do something many have not been able to by getting a ball pass Arizona’s Lainey Burdett. 

A 7-1 record is not a bad way to head into conference play, which is exactly what UA is on the verge of doing as the ‘Cats make their way to Palo Alto to face off against Stanford, one of the top teams in the country. 

“There is a lot we got to do and tighten it up this week, especially knowing who we got around the corner,” head coach Tony Amato said. 

When asked what he would qualify as a success going up against the best team in the country, Amato’s response was simple:

“Winning.”

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