Despite a disappointing loss in their Big 12 home opener, Arizona football kicker Tyler Loop was named Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week. Loop excelled when the team needed him to kick field goals in the game against Texas Tech University. Loop broke a program record in the game as well. Arizona soccer also performed well in bringing their Big 12 record back above .500, in a strong outing against BYU.
Team: Soccer
Arizona Soccer played on Oct. 4 against BYU, in which they came out with a strong 2-1 victory. The Wildcats had kept a strong undefeated record at home both overall (5-0-1) and in the Big 12 (3-0-1), and this game just proved how dominant the Wildcats can be.
The opening goal just 12 minutes into the game saw Arizona freshman forward, Narissa Fults, score her first goal of her career. This was followed by Arizona scoring just a mere 35 seconds into the second half, with Sami Baytosh finding the goal from a Gianna Christiansen assist. This was Christiansen’s first assist since the 2022-2023 season and puts her just one away from tying her season high. This continues a career season for Christiansen as she has also reached a career high in goals.
The performance from the goalkeeper, Olivia Ramey, in the match was also excellent. Ramey stopped a total of eight shots in the matchup, with only one getting by late in the second half. This is Ramey’s first season for the Wildcats after leaving the University of Oklahoma over the summer. Her eight saves were the second highest of her Wildcats career. It was one away from her high of nine, which came in a 2-0 loss against the University of North Carolina.
Player: Tyler Loop
Tyler Loop has been one of the most consistent players for the Wildcats day in and day out. Loop made 5 field goals out of the 6 attempts, this gives him the program record for field goals made in a single game for the Wildcats. His 5 field goals made up 5 of 6 scoring drives for the Wildcats, and he was the team leader in points with 15.
In the 2024 season, Loop has kicked 12 field goals in 15 attempts. For the past three seasons, Loop nearly averaged 1.5 made field goals a game, however, this year Loop is averaging nearly 2.4 field goals per game. If Loop continues to play every game for the Wildcats, he could possibly kick roughly 29 field goals in 12 regular season games. This would easily put him past the current program record holder, Steve McLaughlin, who had 23 field goals in 11 games.
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