The UA womenβs soccer teamβs 1-0 victory over then-undefeated Arizona State last week marked a critical moment in the season.
By playing on the front foot and sticking to their high-pressure style of play, the Wildcats made a statement.
Now, theyβll try to gain ground in the Pac-12 standings and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Arizona (6-3, 1-3) will try to build off the win Friday night, when it takes on No. 19 USC (3-3-1, 2-3) in Los Angeles.
βI think that win meant a lot. ASU was a really good team that has beaten a lot of good teams,β senior forward Jill Aguilera said. βIt showed us that anybody can beat anybody in this conference. Itβs going to take some moments of greatness or moments of weakness for the opposite team to win. I think that we can use that momentum that we used against ASU to propel us to USC and all of the rest of the Pac-12 games going into the tournament.β
Ava McCray scored a header off a corner kick at 32 minutes of the first half and the team kept up the pressure throughout the match to secure a shutout victory.
The Wildcatsβ ability to generate shots on goal on offense and suffocating the Sun Devils in their own zone took the pressure off of goalkeeper Hope Hisey.
βWhen the offense is being that dynamic and playing that well and connecting the way that they were it takes a lot of pressure off the defense β¦ we stay organized and we help in the attack but its more of that type of role instead of constantly losing the ball and having to defend the entire game,β Hisey said.
Fluidity and intensity are two hallmarks of the Wildcatsβ style of play. Creating scoring chances in bunches is always part of the game plan; to do so, the team employs regular formation changes to adapt to the flow of play.
Coach Tony Amato said the intensity of Arizonaβs practices creates a style of play that other teams simply canβt replicate.
βWe compete in everything we do, so we have to compete, so we compete at training, compete, compete, compete, keep score and then we hold everyone accountable to what weβre doing,β said.
The Wildcats have six matches remaining on their schedule. No points can be left on the table if the team hopes to make the NCAA Tournament. This yearβs tournament will consist of 48 teams instead of the usual 64, making Arizonaβs challenge β qualifying as an at-large team β even tougher.
Aguilera said the remaining games βmean really everything.β
βWeβre not a team that really looks too far in advance because we think its really important to see each game thatβs right in front of us because you can start to lose track of those games right in front of you when you look too far ahead,β Aguilera said.
