The Big 12 slate is more than half over for Arizona, with only five matches left in the regular season. And as it stands right now, the Wildcats have put themselves in position to play in the postseason.
The UA beat Iowa State 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at Mulcahy Stadium, its second straight win after Thursday’s 1-0 home victory over Houston. Arizona (5-5-4, 2-1-3) has already matched last year’s Big 12 win total, and with nine points are tied with Colorado for 8th place.
The top eight teams make the
Big 12 Tournament next month, with Arizona hosting the Buffaloes on Oct. 22.
“It’s never too early,” UA coach Becca Moros said about scoreboard watching. “You can dig yourself a hole that you can’t get out of.”
Sophomore Kyleigh Johnson had the game winner in the 76th minute, a header she bounced in off a cross from senior Ella Weathersby. It was the third goal of the season for Johnson, who came off the bench only a few minutes earlier.
“Coming off the bench, having that fresh energy, I just knew I had to do whatever I could to get on the end of that and help the team,” Johnson said. “Ella always has great crosses, and we obviously really needed a goal.”
Arizona is one of six Big 12 teams with one or fewer conference loss, yet Sunday marked the first time since Sept. 10 it held a lead at halftime. It took a 1-0 lead to the break in the 26th minute when Mireya Stephenson fed Lainey Swanson for her third goal of the season, putting the Wildcats up 1-0 in the 26th minute.
Weathersby nearly made it 2-0 just before halftime but her header was kicked away by the ISU goalkeeper.
Iowa State started to ramp up pressure early in the second half, getting three shots in less than two minutes against UA goalkeeper Laurynn Ziller. Ziller saved the first two, but the third off a rebound was put in by ISU’s Megan Walters in the 53rd minute.
After that the game was played almost entirely on Iowa State’s side of the field, with Arizona having numerous chances—including a shot by Weathersby that just grazed the underside of the crossbar before getting cleared—but only managed the one goal.
“I thought in the second half we had a lot of opportunities in the attacking third that didn’t end up in shots because a pass was too direct down the middle, or the cross came out and we got picked off by the keeper before we had a chance to compete on it,” Moros said. “But certainly positive in that aggressive play and being able to get into those box actions, we just need to be a little better.”
Iowa State (4-6-4, 0-4-2) made a last push in the final minutes, with Ziller coming off her line and the ball loose in front of the goal before Trinity Dorsey cleared it away. And with 90 seconds to go Johnson stole one along the sidelines to help drain the clock and seal the victory.
“Those last five minutes are so important in keeping the lead, and we’re all working for each other, having each other’s backs in just putting the game away and doing whatever you can for the person behind you in the finish,” Johnson said.
Arizona returns to action Friday at Utah (4-7-3, 1-4-1).
