The return trip home from Columbia, Mo., to Tucson probably seemed a lot longer than the flight to the Nike-Tiger Invitational.

Arizona (1-3-0) was put down, 3-1, by host Missouri and held off by Arkansas, 3-2, on Friday.

Despite out-shooting the opposition 26-17, the Wildcats were unable to pull out a victory in either match, as they never held a lead in the tournament.

Junior defender Lindsey Peeples was the only Arizona player named to the All-Tournament team.

Junior transfer Krystal Werges played all 180 minutes in front of the net for the Wildcats, logging six goals against with three saves.

Missouri notched all three of its goals in the first 20 minutes of play. The Wildcats lit the scoreboard when sophomore Mallory Miller passed through the goalie box and found junior Vanesha Bailey, who netted Arizona's lone goal.

When the Wildcats strapped up against Arkansas on Friday, junior Candice Wilks continued making opposing goalkeepers sweat with three shots, two of them on-goal.

Wilks tied the game at 1-1 in the 57th minute with her third goal of the season off a pass from freshman Lauren Winters. The Ladybacks took back the lead at 63:04, but were quickly countered by UA freshman Erin Bevacqua from sophomore Lisa Kosena's corner kick.

The game would remain tied into the 80th minute, when Arkansas put one past Werges. The junior transfer allowed three goals on four shots for the Wildcats in the loss.

"We played well enough to get some positive results," UA head coach Dan Tobias said. "We didn't win though, and that stings a bit."

Arizona looked to rebound during its match against host Missouri yesterday, but was unable to recover after falling behind early, trailing 3-0 after just 20 minutes.

Missouri notched its three goals ÷ scored by Kristen Heil eight minutes in, Jennifer Nobis at 14:08 and Ashley Gibbs at the 20-minute mark ÷ on its first three shots of the game, leaving the Wildcats to play catch-up for the rest of the match.

"We didn't play poorly in the first half," Tobias said. "(Missouri is) just a good team, and they were quite proficient with the chances they got. Despite being down 3-0 at the half, we kept battling. And that says a lot about the character of our team."

With Arizona holding a 13-11 shot advantage ÷ including a 6-5 advantage in shots on goal ÷ Tobias said capitalizing on opportunities is the difference between winning and losing.

"Our opponents are finishing their opportunities, and right now, that seems to be the difference in the results," he said. "We just have to keep pushing forward and keep making progress. The goal is to turn that progress into positive results."

The Wildcats look to regain their winning ways when they take the field Sunday in Flagstaff against Northern Arizona. The match begins at 2 p.m.