Arizona soccer head coach Becca Moros says that one thing that stands out about goalkeeper Laurynn Ziller is that she “keeps everything that she should keep out of the net out of the net.” Ziller helped secure a 2-1 win over Gonzaga on Thursday afternoon by keeping a shot that keepers aren’t expected to keep out of the net out of the net.
The Wildcats fell behind Gonzaga 1-0 after a turnover in front of their own goal in the first half. UA came storming back in the second half with two goals by Mireya
Stephenson only to have the Bulldogs awarded a penalty kick in the 77th minute. Ziller saved the attempt by Amelia Severn to keep the ‘Cats ahead.
Gonzaga challenged the save, one of several challenges made by the Bulldogs in the match. Replay showed no basis to their claim that Ziller came off her line early. The save stood.
The Wildcats’ scoring drought stretches back to last season. After going five regular season and one exhibition match without scoring a goal, Arizona has now scored four in its last two contests. It also has two straight wins after going 0-8-1 in regular season matches stretching back to last September. When adding its 2026 exhibition against UC Irvine, UA was 0-8-2 before defeating New Mexico State last week.
In June, Moros was asked who she thought might step up to fill the scoring void for the Wildcats this year. Stephenson was singled out.
“I think Mireya was probably our best performing forward through the spring, and as a freshman kind of stepping into sophomore role, the hope is that she’s comfortable, she’s ready to go, and that she can do a lot of that job,” Moros said.
She had just one goal last year and hadn’t been able to break through yet this season. She took one shot in the loss at GCU and two shots in last week’s home win over NMSU. She was just waiting for one to go in.
It finally did in the 68th minute. Fellow sophomore Whitney Reinhardt played the ball long through the air to Stephenson. It was settled perfectly and Stephenson calmly dribbled and shot as the Gonzaga defenders gave chase. The goal tied the match at 1-1. The assist was Reinhardt’s first point of her career.
When Jessica Bedolla scored Arizona’s first goal of the season last week, she said she thought it would open the floodgates. Stephenson’s goal seemed to open her own personal floodgate. She scored the go-ahead goal in the waning seconds of the 73rd minute.
Lily Boydstun took a free kick near the far sideline about halfway between the box and midfield. It was perfectly placed and Stephenson guided it into the net. The assist was the fourth of Boydstun’s Wildcat career and her first of the season. She had four assists as a freshman at Arkansas.
The second-half turnaround required the Wildcats to make a comeback. They fell behind in the 29th minute when they turned the ball over in front of the goal while trying to “build from the back.”
It’s a fate that has haunted them several times in the past few years because their system involves a lot of passing very close to the goal. Gonzaga pressed Arizona in that part of the field throughout the match. Fortunately for the Wildcats, it only resulted in the one goal and they were able to overcome the mistake.
The Wildcats once again used two goalkeepers. Sofia Cortes-Browne started the match. She was in when the unfortunate turnover occurred. Ziller came in to start the second half, as she has in all three of Arizona’s regular season matches and the exhibition at UC Irvine.
While none of the keepers has been able to solidify her hold on the position, they are helping each other improve as they try to wrest control of the role.
“We’re trying to push each other every practice, making each other better in every job that we do,” Ziller said before the team left for the Pacific Northwest.
The match included several challenges and some calls that didn’t go Arizona’s way. The Wildcats thought they had two additional goals but both were called back due to offsides calls. The Gonzaga coaching staff tried to get Stephenson’s go-ahead goal overturned, but replay showed her to be onside.
The Wildcats were also unhappy with two plays that they thought included hand balls by Gonzaga. The first was especially frustrating for them because the play started on their offensive end of the field. The officials did not agree with Arizona’s assessment, so play continued.
Gonzaga dribbled down the field and was awarded the penalty kick on the other end when Reinhardt grabbed Severn’s arm and the Gonzaga forward went down. Reinhardt was also assessed a yellow card, one of four in the match. Each team was shown a yellow twice, once for an on-field foul and the other for dissent.
Ziller’s big save allowed Arizona to overcome the day’s obstacles and gain its second win of the season.
The Wildcats outshot the Bulldogs 12-8. Eight of UA’s shots came after halftime. Arizona put seven shots on goal while Gonzaga had five.
Stephenson led the match with four shots while Severn led the Bulldogs with three. Three of Stephenson’s shots were on goal. Arizona also got multiple shots from Boydstun and Lainey Swanson, both of whom had two shots.
Gonzaga had four corners to one for UA, and the Wildcats were called offside six times compared to twice for the Bulldogs.
The match is the only one for Arizona this week. They will have the next 10 days off before traveling to Tempe to take on LSU in a neutral site match at ASU on Sunday, Aug. 30.
