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Sophomore forward/midfielder Sierra Cristiano dribbles the ball in a match last season at Murphey Field. The Wildcats were swept this weekend by the University of Denver and Air Force.

Tuesday October 9, 2001

Women's soccer loses senior, suffers weekend sweep

The Arizona women's soccer team suffered a weekend series sweep and lost its fourth consecutive game this past weekend.

But the team's biggest loss might have come when UA head coach Cathy Klein found out senior midfielder/defender Erin Nelson would be out for the remainder of the season.

Nelson suffered an ankle injury during her routine warm-ups minutes before UA played Air Force on Sunday.

Nelson said she stepped to kick the ball and her ankle got stuck in the grass, dragging behind her.

The senior said that she knew that the "freak accident" would leave her sidelined for the rest of the season.

"I knew right then and there that I wouldn't play again," Nelson said. "My ankle popped four times and I knew it wasn't right."

Klein said that the Wildcats will miss having a player of Nelson's caliber on the field.

"Erin is a huge part of this team," Klein said. "Whenever you lose someone in such a shocking way, it adds perspective to what you are doing."

Klein said she and her assistants have yet to determine who will replace the senior in the starting lineup, and a substitute will be chosen based on the week's practices.

After Nelson was taken away in an ambulance, things did not improve for the Wildcats.

The Falcons managed to knock off Arizona 2-1 in overtime Sunday.

The Falcons' Elaine Tatarek scored the first goal of the game, leaving the Wildcats trailing 1-0.

Sophomore forward Liz Bartlett - who led the Wildcats in scoring last season with five goals - tied the game at 1-1 on an assist from freshman forward Candice Wilks.

Bartlett's goal was her third of the season.

Arizona's only goal forced the second overtime game for the Wildcats this season.

Klein said that she was upset by the game's outcome.

"I'm as disappointed as I have ever been," Klein said. "We have the talent to compete and win these games and it's disappointing that we continue to allow these (losses) to happen."

The Wildcats were shutout 3-0 on Friday night in their match against the University of Denver.

Arizona was unable to stop the Pioneers, who controlled the tempo of the game by scoring the only first-half goal.

Denver added two more goals to the scoreboard in the second half to defeat the Wildcats, tying its series match-up with Arizona at 1-1.

Arizona dropped to 3-4-1 on the season after a promising start.

The Wildcats have yet to eclipse last year's win total of three games - Arizona went 3-15-2 last year - but Klein said she is expecting improvement.

"The team we want to be is within us, but it is not here right now," Klein said. "We are a shell of the team we were earlier in the season and we need to face our fears and agree to work harder to stop this spin."

With the Pac-10 schedule starting this weekend against UCLA in Los Angeles, the road won't get any easier for UA.

"We all have to realize the way we've been playing isn't effective and we need to change it - fast," Nelson said.

Arizona wraps up its six-game road trip with a pair of matches this weekend against the Bruins on Friday and Southern California on Sunday.