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Fraser's milestone on hold

Scott Andrew Taras Arizona Daily Wildcat UA women's soccer head coach Lisa Fraser looks on as her Wildcats prepare for tonight's 7 p.m. game against Arizona State at Murphey Stadium. Fraser reached a coaching milestone Friday night by capturing her 100th career victory in her 16th season of coaching college soccer.

Throughout her career, UA women's soccer head coach Lisa Fraser has made a name for herself by way of building programs from the ground up.

Fraser laid the foundation for programs at Kenyon College, Case Western Reserve, Washington State and now the University of Arizona.

In her sixth year with the Wildcats and 16th year overall involved in college soccer, Fraser has accomplished the coaching milestone of gaining her 100th career victory in the UA's season-opening win over Northern Arizona University Friday night.

"The longer you coach, eventually you will get there," Fraser said, adding that the 100th victory represents a "new start for everything."

The accomplishment should be a representation of her 16 years of hard work and dedication, but to her and her coaching staff the 100th victory has taken back seat to the team's success. Fraser's coaching milestone has become nothing more than an afterthought.

"I don't know if she will want to focus on the 100th win," assistant coach Bruce Caris said. "It's a nice milestone, but it was not even a consideration for her going into the game (against NAU)."

The feat seems to mean much more to the players than the coaches, though.

"I think it's awesome," sophomore mid-fielder Marisa Padula said. "I didn't know 'til after the game. I am happy personally to be a part of it."

The Wildcats look to capitalize on the momentum generated from Fraser's milestone by winning their first-ever game against Arizona State University in tonight's Pacific 10 Conference opener.

The Wildcats, though, are not lacking confidence as they head into battle with their in-state rivals.

"I have confidence in us that we will win" Padula said. "We can't wait. The adrenaline rush, it's going to be crazy."

The Sun Devils ride into Tucson with an 0-1-0 record. They lost to No. 14 Brigham Young University in overtime this weekend.

"They are a solid team, they will be experienced," assistant coach Andre Luciano said of an ASU team that returns all 11 starters from last year's 8-11 squad. "They're good, always a battle, they play a real direct style and will come at you hard and fast."

The Sun Devils are led by their all-time leading scorer and All-American sophomore Stacey Tullock. Tullock had 33 total points - 13 goals and seven assists in her first year.

UA looks to continue its scoring frenzy of this past weekend, when they scored four goals against NAU. Sophomore mid-fielder Tiffany Sabado and junior forward Chrissy Sanford took care of the scoring as they netted two goals a piece. Junior goalkeeper Inger Airheart stopped 13 Lumberjack shots in the 4-1 victory.

"You will see a lot of different people scoring for us this year," said Fraser. "We will score goals, it will be a good season."

To continue their success, the Wildcats must be able to keep their emotions under control and continue their solid play.

"Anytime you have a rivalry the intensity rises a little more," Caris said. "The team with the cooler head will prevail."

With this in mind, Arizona will be shooting for their first two game win streak since they beat the University of Denver and Northern Arizona University in consecutive games last September.

"We are expecting a huge crowd. It will be good to have all the support behind us," sophomore forward Keli Stredwick said.

The Wildcats and Sun Devils square-off at 7:00p.m. tonight at Murphey Stadium, located at 15th and Plumer.