In the last few years, the Arizona soccer team has been through its share of struggles, including a 1-16-2 record in 2011, and the Wildcats’ seniors have seen it all.

Seniors Alex Smith, Ariel Boulicault, Susana Melendez, Jessica Culver, Kirstyn Magyar and Kristin Strother will be playing in the final home game of their careers at Murphey Field at Mulcahy Stadium on Oct. 28 against Utah at 11 a.m.

“This group is very diverse in that they come from all over: Missouri, California, Canada, Arizona,” head coach Lisa Oyen said.

“All of their personalities are very different as is their playing style, but they complement each other very well and together are a very talented group of players and people.”

Melendez and Culver redshirted their freshman year and have the most seniority on the team with five years under their belts.

“All the older girls are hard workers,” Melendez said. “We love the game and just want to go out and play every day and it brings up the level of play for the rest of the team.”

In four years (five for redshirts Melendez and Culver), the seniors have been through three coaching changes, the loss and gain of teammates and the worst season in the program’s history, last season, which resulted in only one win.

“We have been through everything that has happened in this program,” Smith said. “The fact that we stuck through it all and persevered showed that we were a class that was very resilient.”

“There are many things that we will miss about our seniors,” Oyen said.

Oyen credits the seniors as being “very good players who understand their roles very well,” and added that they are “great leaders on and off the field,” which the team will miss.

In her closing remarks, Oyen said, “They have set a very good standard and example for our upcoming classes to learn from.”

The seniors also had messages for their teammates:

“Thank you for all the memories and experiences and being great teammates on the field and amazing friends off the field,” said Smith.

“I enjoyed my time playing here and good luck in future seasons; also thank you to my family and the fans for support over the years,” said Boulicault.

“I’m going to miss everyone so much because they mean the world to me and they really made into the person I am today,” said Melendez.