KEVIN KLAUS/Arizona Daily Wildcat UA defender Vanesha Bailey battles for the ball in a match last fall. The Wildcats opens their 2002 season tonight.

The UA women's soccer team will begin its ninth season today as it plays host to the Wildcat Invitational at Murphey Stadium.

The tournament begins when Cal Poly and Detroit play at 5 p.m. with the Wildcats playing Drake in the 7:30 p.m. nightcap.

The invitational then continues on Sunday when Drake plays Detroit at 11 a.m. Arizona plays the late game again, this time against Cal Poly at 2 p.m.

It will be the third season for UA head coach Cathy Klein as she is ready to show off the youth and depth of the 2002 team, which she thinks is the best team in her time in Tucson.

"We have lots of new players and a fresh, new team," sophomore Candice Wilks said.

This is the first time that Nebraska transfer Lindsey Greenwood will take the field for the team she describes as a "young, very talented team."

This tournament will be the first time UA has played both Detroit and Drake. The 18 freshmen on the UA roster have big eyes for the opening tournament.

Drake, located in Des Moines, Iowa, will play their inaugural women's soccer game when they take the field against UA. The Bulldogs, who, despite their rookie status, are picked to finish seventh out of eight in the Missouri Valley Conference, ahead of only Northern Iowa.

Head coach Corbin Stone, who served as an assistant at the University of Iowa last year, has netted the 15th-best recruiting class in the Midwest region. The Bulldogs have played only one exhibition game in school history, which they lost 4-0 to Nebraska.

Cal Poly, is preseason No.3 in the Big West, a division the Mustangs have won two of the last three years. Coming off of a 7-9-4 year, and its first losing season in 10 years under head Coach Alex Crozier (121-63-15), the Mustangs are only looking up.

The 2002 Cal Poly squad features nine returning starters, including 18 lettermen in all. Cal Poly has a tough road in front of them as they will play five teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last year, including the defending champions, Santa Clara. The Mustangs and Wildcats have met only once, in 1995 with Cal Poly winning 5-1 on neutral ground in San Diego.

University of Detroit-Mercy ended the 2001 season with an 8-11-0 finish and from that team they retain nine starters and 14 letter winners. The Titans finished third in the Horizon League and are predicted to finish fourth this season, in a league of seven. Head coach Mike Lupenec is in his 10th year at Detroit (90-79-4).

This will be the first time other than an exhibition game Aug. 22 against UTEP in which the Wildcats were defeated 6-2.

Murphey Stadium is located on Broadway Boulevard and Plumer Avenue.