Arizona soccer coach Becca Moros did not anticipate playing such a young defensive group so soon, but an injury to fifth-year senior Sabrina Enciso has led to just that.
After only appearing in six games her freshman season and not playing more than 36 minutes in a game this year, sophomore Sarah Rice has played in all 90 minutes in each of the Wildcats’ last two matches.
“It has definitely been a change getting in the game a lot more,” said Rice, whose Wildcats play at Cal at 3 p.m. Thursday and at Stanford at noon Sunday. “I feel like I’m adjusting to the level of play pretty well and it is nice just to get more time out on the field.”
Enciso remains without a timetable to return, so Rice should continue to see ample opportunity on the field.
“I think Sarah has been really solid for us,” Moros said. “I think she is a good hard defender. She is hard to beat, and her passing has really improved so her playmaking out of the back has gotten better and helps us in a big way. I think she can only be growing in confidence the more minutes she gets.”
Despite not being out on the field, Enciso’s leadership has still been felt from the sidelines. Moros says the senior is “standing in her boot and communicating and very engaged.”
“On the field, she is obviously missed in her defensive ability,” she said. “It is some of the best on the team so to lose her there is obviously something we’re adjusting to.”
Moros alluded to the fact that there was always going to be a “passing of the torch.” It just happened sooner than the coach expected.
The Wildcats’ defense now features Rice, fellow sophomores Jenna Studer and Jasmine Young and junior Mariah Dunn.
“We are young,” Moros said. “And we’re young at a time when college soccer is very old, probably the oldest it has ever been. We are playing a ton of freshmen and sophomores. We have 19 of them and we don’t have that many healthy players in the classes above that, so we’re young and that just means as of next year, we’ll have had a lot of freshmen playing when other people aren’t playing their freshmen.”
Still, Moros says she feels good “about what the team is doing in terms of the way we’re building.
“The foundation we’re building is something that we will continue get better at,” she said. “The players have grown in a huge way. They are very aware of each other’s development and growth. They are impressed by each other, so I think in terms of where will be in the future, we have done everything we wanted to do.”
