The Arizona Wildcats soccer team discovered its postseason fate Monday afternoon and the UA not only punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament, but the Cats are set to host TCU at 6 p.m. Saturday in a first-round matchup at Mulcahy Stadium.

The UA (11-6-1) beat the Horned Frogs at home 4-3 on Sept. 21. TCU enters Saturday’s match with an 11-7-3 overall record and 5-4 on the road, including the loss to the Wildcats earlier this season. In that matchup, Arizona junior forward Jill Aguillera scored two goals in less than a minute in the second half, which gave Arizona a 4-1 lead. Despite two late goals from TCU’s Yazmeen Ryan, the Wildcats were able to hold on.

Recently, TCU lost 1-0 to Kansas in the Big 12 title match on Sunday.

A win over the Horned Frogs on Saturday would push the UA into a match against either Penn State or Stony Brook. Penn State is the No. 4 seed out of the 16 teams on the Wildcats’ side of the bracket.

No. 1 Stanford, which beat the Wildcats 6-2 on Nov. 3, could await in the Sweet 16.

This is the first time Arizona has advanced to the NCAA Tournament three straight years. Arizona beat Denver at home in last year’s first round before losing at Tennessee in the second round.

UA wrapped up its regular season with a 1-0 win over visiting Arizona State last Friday. Arizona is 6-2 at home this year.

Jada Talley leads the Wildcats in both goals (10) and assists (eight) and has 28 points overall. Her goal in the 81st minute lifted Arizona over the Sun Devils last week.

The Wildcats are one of eight teams from the Pac-12 to enter the NCAA Tournament, joining Stanford, UCLA, Washington, Colorado, California, USC and Washington State.

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