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UA senior forward Twila Kaufman eludes a defender during a match this season at Murphey Field. Kaufman and the UA soccer team will take on Denver and Air Force this weekend.

Thursday October 4, 2001

Wildcats kick off against Denver, Air Force

After the Sept. 11 attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, UA athletic director Jim Livengood canceled all Arizona sports - a decision that led to the cancellation of the soccer team's scheduled road matches against West Virginia and Pittsburgh.

The Wildcats will replace them with a pair of matches in Colorado this weekend.

Arizona first faces the University of Denver tomorrow afternoon.

UA head coach Cathy Klein said although she was pleased with the decision to stay home after the attack, she felt Denver will be one of the more difficult opponents the team has faced this season.

"Denver is as good as either team we saw last weekend and any team this year," Klein said. "We'll definitely have our hands full."

The Pioneers (6-2-0, 2-1 Sun Belt Conference) are coming off of a pair of weekend shutouts.

Denver blew by Arkansas State, 8-0, on Sunday after it defeated Arkansas-Little Rock, 5-0 on Friday.

Tomorrow's match-up marks just the second time in Arizona's history that it has played Denver.

The Wildcat's have the series' only win with a 3-1 victory in 1998 at UA's Murphey Stadium.

Arizona then travels to Colorado Springs to face Air Force Academy on Sunday.

The Falcons (4-3-1, 0-0 Mountain West) are coming off of a weekend split after participating in the Toys for Tots/Military Academies Women's Soccer Classic in St. Louis.

Air Force defeated Army 2-0 Sunday, but suffered a 2-0 shutout to Navy Friday.

Klein said that like Denver, a game against the Falcons will be a battle.

"They are very hard working group of kids - historically that's their reputation," Klein said. "They will be a very physical and contact team."

Sunday's match-up is just the first game between Arizona and Air Force.

Arizona - for the first time this season - was shutout, 2-0, by BYU Friday night.

Two days later, the Wildcats lost 4-1 to Utah.

According to Klein, her team came out struggling from the first minutes of play - which resulted in the weekend losses as well as a 2-2 tie to Pepperdine the week before.

Klein said that in order to be successful - not only this weekend but for the entire season - the squad must begin strong from and not fear any opponent.

Assistant coach Casey Mann agreed.

"We came out and let the other team take control to dictate the momentum of the game," Mann said. "We need to establish dominance and be focused. (Last weekend) we were a bit afraid to lose."

With a 3-3-1 overall record, the Wildcats already matched last season's number of wins.

However, Klein said wins and losses are not her main emphasis. She just wants to push this Arizona program forward.

"We're looking to take two steps forward," Klein said. "Last week is in the past. At no time are we focusing on winning and losing but rather on our effort and being proud of our performance."