By
Audrey DeAnda
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Lorona shines on offensive end
The UA soccer team dropped two games this weekend in Southern California after being edged out by Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount in the last few minutes of both matches.
The Wildcats lead 2-0 almost the entire game, Sunday, against Loyola Marymount University until the Lions scored two consecutive goals in the last five minutes of regulation to send the match into overtime.
The Wildcats and LMU would battle it out for 114 minutes until Lions midfielder Tumia Moe would notch the game winning goal, nine minutes into the second overtime.
The loss against LMU marks the fifth game this season in which the Wildcats have allowed their opponents to come back to win or tie in the last few minutes of the game.
"There's no question it's devastating," UA head coach Cathy Klein said. "For 80 minutes we're as good as most teams - for 10 minutes we have to focus on the opportunities at hand."
Wildcat junior forward Kristi Lorona was the offensive key for the Wildcats this weekend as she scored her first goal of the season against Pepperdine on Friday and both goals in Sunday's game against LMU.
"I know and Kristi knows that she's our most talented forward," Klein said. "(Kristi) really got it done this weekend."
Lorona helped the Wildcats come out early when she scored 50 seconds into the LMU game with an assist by Erin Nelson. Lorona would come back two minutes later to score the Wildcats' second goal to put Arizona up 2-0.
"This is the closest we've been (to turning things around,)" Klein said. "LMU was an excellent team and if we had won it could have been the most important game of the season."
The Wildcats' weekend got off to a rocky start when they suffered a last minute loss to Pepperdine on Friday when the Waves scored in the 83rd minute of the game.
Pepperdine senior midfielder Stacia Spangler scored the winning goal with less than seven minutes remaining, marking one of many games where Arizona's defense has broken down late in the game.
"The team is not playing to win, rather, they're playing not to lose," Klein said.
Earlier in the season, Arizona allowed Pittsburgh to tie up the game with 16 minutes, which set the Panthers up for an overtime win. Last weekend the Wildcats lost a 2-1 lead to the University of New Mexico in the 83rd minute of the game. Arizona went on to win 3-2 in overtime.
Pepperdine came out early when Waves midfielder Lacey Ubaldi scored in the 4th minute of the game. The Wildcats bounced back about a minute later when junior midfielder Tiffany Sabado scored to tie the game up 1-1.
Freshman forward Meaghan McNatt assisted Sabado's goal, which was her first score of the season.
The Wildcats would take the lead with a goal from Lorona at 15:54 to give Arizona a 2-1 advantage.
Pepperdine junior forward Kate Desmond tied the game in the 49th minute, which set the Waves up for a game-winning goal in the final minutes of the game.
"I've never been a part of something so devastating," Klein said. "They want too much to represent U of A well and earn their keep."
Pepperdine outshot the Wildcats 20-10 and had a 5-0 advantage to Arizona.
Lorona had a team-high, five shots, Sabado and senior forward Keri Kennedy-Weber each had two shots. Wildcat goalkeeper Shannon Monti played the whole time in front of the net, making five saves.
The win against the Wildcats is the fifth straight victory for the Waves. Pepperdine moves to 6-1-1 for the season, making it their best start since winning a school-record seven in the program's inaugural season in 1993.
After the weekend losses, Klein told the team not to give up.
"We played our hearts out," Klein said. "That's why I feel we're so vulnerable and fragile."
Klein said heart and attitude are not a problem with the team.
"You have a problem if the kids don't care and aren't doing everything they can - but right now they're trying," Klein said. "This team would run through a wall if we asked them to."
Arizona moves to 1-6-1 for the season. The Wildcats are now looking toward this weekend's Starwoods Plaza Soccer Classic where they will face Long Island Friday and Northern Arizona University Saturday at Murphy Stadium.
