Losing streak for soccer team ends - for Oregon schools

Ian Mayer Arizona Daily Wildcat Freshman forward Kimberly McGehee (26, right) heads downfield while an ASU player tries to strip her of the ball. The Wildcats lost to Oregon and Oregon State over the weekend placing them at 3-10-2.

"I can't say what happened," seemed to be the players' general response to the weekend.

If the weekend had only consisted of four minutes, the Wildcats (3-10-2 overall, 0-6-1 Pacific 10 Conference) would have come back on top. The team turned the Ducks (5-8-2, 2-4-0) to dust, with a quick 2-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game on Friday night.

But the goals, scored by junior midfielder Jill Micone and freshman midfielder Kim McGehee, were not enough to keep the Wildcats in the game.

"Maybe we put too much hope in what we had," freshman forward Tiffany Sabado said. "We over-thought the team, we thought we already had them."

The Ducks didn't go down, though. Instead, Oregon freshman Chalise Baysa broke through the Wildcat defense, breaking the scoreless period for her team at just under the 10-minute mark of the game.

"That goal gave us the confidence that yes, we can score, and it put us right back in the game," Oregon head coach Bill Steffen said.

Baysa's goal, along with goals by Kristi Morris and Erin Anderson, pushed the Ducks to a 3-2 lead at halftime.

"It's hard (to say what happened)," UA sophomore midfielder Brooke McManus said. "We got really nervous. We got up with two goals in the first 10 minutes and I think we just got nervous thinking about our previous win record. And they (the Ducks) counterattacked on that."

Morris used her head to seal the Ducks' victory with her second goal in the first half, ending her team's five-game losing streak.

Another losing streak broken this weekend was the Beavers' (6-10-1, 1-6-0) when they defeated the Wildcats Sunday.

"We played a lot better on Sunday," UA head coach Lisa Fraser said. "They had a couple of chances and capitalized on those. We had the chances and didn't."

Again, the Wildcats started the scoring in the game, with their one and only goal by McGehee off an assist by McManus.

"It was Oregon State and we were supposed to win," McManus said. "I think we were a little (re)laxed, but I still knew we had to play hard."

The Beavers apparently knew they needed to play hard, too. They got two goals in the first half, and their third in the last quarter of the game.

"It was a very physical game," McManus said. "They came out hard. There was a lot of fighting off the ball. They were tugging at our jerseys, and there was pushing and kicking. Maybe we were a little intimidated."

The Wildcats will have a chance to recover with a week of practice before they finish off the '98 season this weekend at home against UCLA Friday evening at 7 and Southern Cal Sunday afternoon at 1.

"We (have) got to go out and do it for our team," McManus said of the games. "We need to bond together to find our 'clique' and need to come out as a team."

Kate Longworth can be reached via e-mail at Kate.Longworth@wildcat.arizona.edu.