Arizona wraps up year against I-10 rival

KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat

UA senior midfielder/forward Twila Kaufman evades a defender during a match earlier in the season at Murphey Field.

From the beginning of the season, UA soccer head coach Cathy Klein set a goal to demonstrate to the country just how much the Arizona soccer team has improved.

With their final game of the season tomorrow night at Murphey Stadium, the Wildcats get one last opportunity to do so in the match that every coach and player wants to win - against rival Arizona State.

"We're going to get right back into it," Klein said. "We're going to approach it like any other game. We're as talented as anybody, but we know we're the underdog - again."

In order to prove anything, Arizona must first battle some adversity.

The Wildcats (5-11-1, 2-6-0 Pacific-10 Conference) have had little success among the elite Pac-10 competition so far this season.

Currently on a four-game losing skid, the Wildcats lost to No. 2 Stanford 5-0 and No. 23 California 2-1 in overtime last weekend.

And to make matters worse, Arizona faces its final opponent without the help of senior midfielder/defender Erin Nelson, who was injured in the Wildcats' pre-game warm-up against Air Force earlier this season.

ASU comes into Tucson on a roll after playing the role of giant killers.

The Sun Devils (9-8-1, 3-4-1 Pac-10) recently upset then-undefeated Stanford 1-0 in overtime.

ASU holds a perfect 6-0 record against the Wildcats and defeated UA 3-1 last year.

However, if there is one advantage the Wildcats have, it's the home-field kind.

"Playing at home will definitely give us a little bit of an edge because it's always better to play on your home field and with your fans behind you," sophomore forward/defender Liz Bartlett said. "We need to come out with way more intensity and play this game for us."

Although the season's record may not have emulated the success Klein said her team enjoys, the Wildcats set some team records along the way.

Arizona has 80 corner kicks on the season. The previous record stood at 75 and was held in 1996.

Senior midfielder Twila Kaufman became the career leader in games started (71) and games played (73) this season.

Despite their youth, Arizona's freshmen have contributed greatly this season.

Freshman forward Candice Wilks has been a key scoring threat for the Wildcats, contributing seven goals in a four-game stretch.

Freshman midfielder Vanesha Bailey has been a threat with the ball as well.

Bailey either scored or assisted on a goal in nine of UA's matches this season.

Freshman defender/midfielder Lindsey Peeples continues to be Arizona's most consistent freshman, according to Klein.

Despite its personnel's success, Arizona faces a big challenge tonight.

If there is one thing Bartlett said she would like to see from the match, it's for the Wildcats to resemble the team that Klein said they have become.

"We need to come out and beat them for us and prove to ourselves that we can do it," Bartlett said.

The game kicks off at 7 p.m.