Arizona Wildcats vs. Duquesne Dukes Yesterday Final Score: UA 4, Duquesne 1 Damwijk: 2 goals Miller: 2 assists Pittsburgh

The UA soccer team suffered its first loss of the season on Friday, but won yesterday to move to 5-1 on the season after the Wildcats' second road trip of 2004.

Arizona defeated Duquesne yesterday, 4-1, on a pair of goals by senior forward Kamaya Damwijk, her third and fourth of the season. It took Damwijk just over a minute to score her first goal of the day, a header off a corner kick by freshman Kaity Heath.

"We got on the board early. Sometimes that's a good thing, and sometimes it's a bad thing. We didn't take care of the ball like we needed to after that goal," second-year head coach Dan Tobias said.

Tobias said sloppy play in the first half, particularly by the defense, led to the Dukes' only goal of the game by Katie Schwager in the 28th minute which tied the game at one. Less than a minute later, the Wildcats were given a penalty kick, but Duquesne goalkeeper Virginia Bondi made the clutch save to keep the game tied.

The Wildcats took a permanent lead in the 40th minute on a goal by freshman forward Sally Thurner off assists by junior midfielder Mallory Miller and sophomore midfielder Erin Bevacqua. The third goal of the game came as a gift to the Wildcats when Duquesne scored on itself in the 55th minute.

Finishing off the scoring for the day was Damwijk, scoring on assists from freshman defender Claire Bodiya and Miller.

Friday, the Wildcats lost for the first time this season, 2-0 to No. 16 West Virginia.

Although the Wildcats were out-shot by the Mountaineers 14-6, Tobias said that the Wildcats had their chances, but were unable to execute.

In the first 15 minutes of the game, Tobias said the Wildcats had two opportunities - including a one-on-one against the Mountaineer goalkeeper Lana Bannerman - but they did not put them away.

"Had we finished one of our first two chances in the first 15 minutes, the game (would be) totally different," Tobias said.

After the two missed opportunities by the Wildcats, the Mountaineers scored just before the 20-minute mark when forward Marisa Kanela connected from 12 yards on an assist by Laura Kane. It was the first goal against UA freshman goalkeeper McCall Smith this season.

The second goal was scored by defender Ashley Weimer on a corner kick in the 39th minute, with midfielder Mollie Merkel getting the assist. Two different times, the Wildcats tried to clear the ball out of danger after the corner kick, but Weimer finally capitalized on their errant clearances.

The Wildcats did not allow a goal in the second half against the Mountaineers. Smith had five saves on the day, and totaled 10 for the weekend.

"You'd rather not have to take a loss to learn some lessons, but we told the team this will make us a better team," Tobias said. "Six games into (the season), we feel like we have pointed ourselves in the right direction."

Senior forward and 2003 UA leading scorer Candice Wilks did not play this weekend due to an ankle injury suffered in practice on Wednesday. She was eligible to play, but Tobias said they did not want to take the chance of hurting it further, and had her stay off of the ankle this weekend.