University of Arizona freshman Sami Baytosh made her presence felt Sunday afternoon at Mulcahy Stadium, scoring what was to be the only goal in the Wildcats’ 1-0 victory over UC Davis.
This 36th minute game-winner, the very first of the midfielder’s career, went since viral. Following a long cross from fellow freshman Angela Baron, Baytosh made a play on the ball, only to end up entangled with an Aggie defender and on the turf.
That’s when the magic happened. Baytosh fired in a goal from her back.
“Initially I tried to get the volley off, but then the defender and I fell on top of each other, and so I just looked up and the ball was there, and the goalie had come off her line, so I just tried to get my foot on it and it went in,” said a pleasantly surprised Baytosh.
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Arizona coach Becca Moros said she wasn’t surprised by Baytosh’s bicycle-kick goal and early success on the team, saying “she’s done a really good job in the training environment” and is determined to elevate her game. The Wildcats open Pac-12 Conference play on Friday with a match at Utah.
Baytosh and the Wildcats will try to use Sunday’s game as a springboard as they head into conference play.
“It was kind of rough in the beginning, trying to get our groove, but this last game we definitely played really well and are starting to connect really good,” said Baytosh.
