Although she was already established as one of Arizona soccer’s top goalkeepers ever, Hope Hisey was asked to make some major changes to her game when the Wildcats changed coaches prior to the 2021 season.
When head coach Becca Moros and her staff came in, they asked the Tucson native to become a “modern goalkeeper,” Hisey said.
She now had to use her own feet to start the offense, something she didn’t do her first two seasons, or when she starred in high school at Canyon del Oro.
“Helping me evolve into a modern goalkeeper and making me a more well rounded player, I think that’s helped a lot in me growing as a person and a player,” Hisey said.
Hisey is a grad student in her fifth season; she received an extra year of eligibility due to COVID-19.
Moros, who played professionally before getting into coaching, said it was a big change to ask Hisey to play with her feet, plus catch more balls.
Arizona’s Hope Hisey (0) rises over the crowd to control a Texas Tech free kick in the second half of a 1-1 UA draw with the Red Raiders on Sept. 7 in Tucson. Rock solid in net for the Wildcats for five seasons now, Hisey is currently second all-time on the UA’s saves list.
“It’s not an easy thing to do when you’re already so successful. It’s hard to break patterns or change behaviors and she’s really gone after it,” Moros said. “Her hands and her ability in traffic has always been a strength of hers so we just pressed on her to catch the ball more than punch it. Her hands are just beautiful.”
The Wildcats (3-2-3) host Oregon (0-6-2) on Friday at 7 p.m. to kick off the final Pac-12 conference schedule.
In the Wildcats’ 1-0 win over Utah State, Hisey made her 307th career save, giving her sole possession of second place in the UA’s record book. She is third among active NCAA Division I goalkeepers in saves.
“Her career has been unbelievable and she’s close to breaking the shutout record here,” Moros said. “It’s a huge opportunity for her for an individual statistic and I believe that would be very meaningful to her and icing on the cake for her career.”
The winless Ducks have been shut out six times this season, so the clean sheet mark for the UA (26 by Lainey Burdett in 2015-2018) is reachable.
This season she has faced three penalty kicks and saved them all.
“It means a lot to me,” Hisey said about reaching 300 saves. “I won’t lie, it’s been an honor to play here, for my hometown and be able to make saves and contribute to the team being successful.
Arizona’s Hope Hisey (0) parries a Texas Tech penalty kicked early in the first half of the Wildcats’ eventual 1-1 draw with the visiting Red Raiders on Sept. 7 at Murphey Field at Mulcahy Stadium in Tucson. Hisey, who played in high school at Canyon del Oro and is now in her fifth year contributing in net to the UA program, won the Pac-12’s Goalkeeper of the Week award in part for her performance against the Red Raiders.
“I really pride myself on being available and being able to play as many games as possible throughout my career,” she added.
Her parents, Jason Hisey and Faith Trippett, both went to the UA playing in big roles of their own. Her mom was the first woman to be Wilma the Wildcat and her dad played baseball a the UA.
In addition to playing for CDO, Hisey also was part of the Tucson Soccer Academy (now known as FC Tucson Youth).
“I think that she means a lot to the community,” Moros said of Hisey, who won the Pac-12’s Goalkeeper of the Week honor for the fourth time in her career on Sept. 11. “She’s really loyal to the university.
“This place just means a lot to her. It’s very special to her and I think that she’s equally as special to our soccer community here and she’s just a very generous person and a great leader on the team,” Moros said. “So I just think she’s somebody that any young soccer player can emulate and is a great role model for that.”
After playing for FC Tucson for three seasons during the club’s summer schedule — that included Hisey being named the 2021 Desert Conference Goalkeeper of the Year — this summer she trained with the Kansas City Current of the NWSL.
“It was incredible. It was something completely different than I’ve never experienced before,” Hisey said, adding that being the No. 1 goalie “here or even when I would play for FC Tucson, being the No. 1, there,” to being a practice player with Kansas City “with that high level of quality and players and goalkeepers, it was an incredible learning experience for me.
“To play at that level and learn at that level I think has contributed a lot to my confidence in myself and also what I believe I can be capable of moving forward in my career.”
Arizona's Hope Hisey saved a draw for the Wildcats Aug. 24, 2023 against Grand Canyon a dive right to turn away a would-be GCU game-winning goal in the 90th minute. Video courtesy Arizona Athletics (Via X/Twitter)
