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UA News
Soccer seniors play last home match

By Ross Hammonds
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday November 1, 2002

All things come to an end, regardless of whether they are good or bad.

This weekend is the final home stand of the season for the Arizona soccer team (5-9-1, 0-5-0 Pacific 10 Conference), and for two players it is the last time in a UA jersey in front of a home crowd.

Seniors Naomi Chu and Tymarie Novak will play their last home games as Wildcats when they take the field against Washington (8-5-3, 3-1-1 Pac-10) tonight at 7 p.m. and Washington State (8-5-2, 2-1-2 Pac-10) Sunday at noon.

"It's sad but exciting," Chu said. "It's the close to a four-year chapter, but the start to something ÷ but I don't know what yet. I just hope I'm ready for it."

Chu is the only four-year member of the team, as Novak transferred from Cypress College before the beginning of last year.

"My life has been so busy for so long," Novak said. "I have always had soccer in my life."

Both girls plan to keep soccer in their lives; they are just not sure how, as they and their teammates are focusing on this weekend as the three teams are coming off of completely different performances.

Last weekend, the Wildcats let one slip away Friday against Oregon 3-2 after taking a 2-0 lead, and then proceeded to fall apart Sunday against Oregon State 5-0.

"We lacked intensity last week," Novak said. "We'll change and hopefully come out the team we were before last weekend."

Redshirt freshman Kelly Nelson is still on the hunt for the UA single-season scoring record with 23 points via 11 goals and one assist. She only needs one goal to put her name in the record book.

"I really hope it's this weekend at home," Nelson said. "We're all looking forward to it; it's just one more record."

The Wildcats have set or tied 11 records so far this season, with four games to play. Those records include team-scoring points (94 points), team goals (32), single-season assists (30) ÷ and three players are tied just two assists short of tying the individual record.

"We're going to come together as a team," Nelson said. "We'd die on the field for each other."

Both the Huskies and the Cougars fell to then-No. 1 Stanford, but both managed to sweep then-No. 11 Cal. The Huskies have been ranked by No. 20 by Soccer America, but not in the coaches' poll.

The all-time series with UW stands in the Huskies favor at 7-0-0.

"We hope to have more cohesion; we lacked that in the previous games," Nelson said. "We want to be the spoiler."

Wazzu opened the season with an impressive 5-0-0 mark but have since gone 3-4-2. Beating the then-No. 11 Golden Bears was one of those conquests. The Cougars will play at ASU on Friday before traveling down to Tucson. Last year, the Cougars fought back in the rain to take the game from the Wildcats, 3-1.

The series with Wazzu is 3-1-1, favoring the people from Pullman.

"It's all coming down to the last four games," said Chu. "No matter the outcome, we're going to play for each other, to make the program better."

The Wildcats are playing not only for their first conference win this weekend, but also for the grand home finale to two illustrious careers.

"(Chu) has been here for four years," Nelson said. "We want (Chu's and Novak's) last games to be special."

Murphey Stadium is located on East 15th Street and North Plumer Avenue.

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