The Arizona Wildcats came into Sunday morning’s soccer match 1-4 on the road. They had been outscored by nine goals in those matches. That was the result of losses at places like Stanford, California,
and West Virginia, though. This match was at Cincinnati and the Bearcats hadn’t scored in their last three matches.
That scoreless streak is over for the home team. Cincinnati defeated Arizona 1-0 on a goal by Megan Smith in the 84th minute.
Arizona did not look sharp from the start of a game that kicked off at 8:30 a.m. MST on Sunday morning. Although the Wildcats controlled possession for most of the first half, they didn’t threaten. They took just one shot over the first 45 minutes. Things were even worse in the second half, when they didn’t get a single shot.
It has been a problem for the Wildcats for a while. Even great runs have ended with no shots far too often. They have worked on it with the players saying that the coaches have stressed that they need to take shots even if they aren’t perfect.
That hesitancy came back with a vengeance. Part of that may have been the absence of leading goal scorer Aurora Gaines. The playing surface may have compounded that. Cincinnati’s Gettler Stadium has an artificial surface compared to the natural grass at Mulcahy.
“We always talk a lot,” Arizona head coach Becca Moros told the broadcasting crew at halftime. “We like to ask questions to see what they’re seeing on the field. Sometimes they pick up details that we’re not aware of, or individual matchups that maybe we’re focused on more team tactics. So they’ve got some good feedback for us as far as the way the field plays is different. Surface definitely home field advantage for Cincinnati.”
While Arizona didn’t seem to have as many problems slipping, the Bearcats lost their footing on several occasions and Cincinnati’s broadcasting crew questioned whether Arizona got the opportunity to practice on the field before the match.
Arizona played its usual probing style in the first half. The players passed the ball well enough, and even pushed forward. They just didn’t do much in the attacking third.
The Wildcats’ ability to get forward was evident in the four corner kicks they managed in the first half compared to three for the Bearcats. In the second half, Arizona got just one corner kick while Cincinnati stayed steady and earned three more.
The biggest difference was that the Bearcats did not hesitate to take shots. They outshot the Wildcats 14-1 with 10 shots in the second half. Six of their shots were on goal. Arizona did not put any shots on goal.
Smith had 10 goals in her career, but she had not scored this season. The senior’s first of 2025 was a big one off the assist by Coley Sidloski.
Arizona goalkeeper Olivia Ramey blocked the first shot, but that left her on the ground and the ball free in the box. With no Arizona defender close enough to clear it, the only hope was that Smith would shank the shot at the open goal. She didn’t come close to shanking it.
It looked like Arizona might at least manage a scoreless draw out of the trip. While getting a win over a team that came in with a 2-5-5 record should have been expected, anything less than a draw would be a blow to the Wildcats’ chance at the NCAA Tournament. It could end up being a blow to inclusion in the Big 12 Tournament.
Cincinnati got its first win in Big 12 play, improving to 1-3-1. Arizona dropped to 7-6 overall and 2-3 in conference play.
Arizona had climbed to No. 39 in RPI heading into the West Virginia game. The loss on Thursday dropped the Wildcats to No. 45 despite the Mountaineers being No. 14 prior to their win over UA. Cincinnati was dead last in the Big 12 at No. 144 ahead of its victory over Arizona, so the Wildcats likely have a much bigger drop ahead of them after today’s games are concluded.
The match had all the trappings of last season’s loss at Houston. Arizona went into that game against the league’s last place team with every expectation of winning. The Wildcats left with a 1-0 loss that likely kept them out of the NCAA Tournament. It was the Cougars’ only conference win in 2024 and lifted them to a 15th place final placement.
Arizona returns home to host Utah on Oct. 10. The Wildcats then travel to BYU. They have six matches left and must finish in the top eight of the Big 12 regular season standings to advance to the conference tournament in Ft. Worth.
