Mallory Miller's fifth goal of the season couldn't help Arizona soccer from coming up short against the San Diego Toreros, 2-1 on Friday.

The loss marked the first time this season the Wildcats (4-5-1) did not out-shoot their opponents. The UA matched the Toreros (5-2-3) with nine shots.

Miller brought the Wildcats back into contention after Arizona fell behind 2-0. Miller's goal, in the 63rd minute, came after she directed a corner kick to sophomore forward Kelly Nelson, who then passed back to Miller for the score.

Trailing at the half, 1-0, Arizona was out-shot in the opening frame for the first time all season, 7-3.

"San Diego really dictated play in the first half. That's why they were up 1-0 at halftime," UA head coach Dan Tobias said. "This is the fourth game in a row we've had to play from behind, and it's difficult to do that against such good teams."

The Toreros took the lead in the 17th minute when a corner kick was sent towards the back post and knocked in by Alexis Obeji.

Nelson and forward Candice Wilks, who led last year's team in points, both had one-on-one opportunities but could not convert against USD goalie Libby Bassett. Bassett has notched five shutouts this season.

"We committed more players forward, but (Bassett) had three tremendous saves in the second half," Tobias said. "I am very happy with our performance in the second."

The second half saw the Wildcats send six shots towards the goal, while San Diego only had two. But Arizona could not capitalize on its chances.

Natalie Juarez and Krystal Werges split time in the goal for the Cats, with each allowing one goal in the match.

"This is one of those games where, if we'd had more time, I know we could've tied the game and probably won in overtime," Tobias said.

Arizona now awaits the start of the Pacific 10 Conference schedule at home next weekend against Bay Area teams Stanford and California.