Soccer slides by BYU, 1-0


By Amanda Branam
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Friday, September 24, 2004

UA one win from tying season victory record

Freshman midfielder Amanda Urtuzuastegui's first collegiate goal gave the Arizona soccer team a 1-0 win over Brigham Young in Provo, Utah, last night, continuing the Wildcats' remarkable turnaround from 2003.

For the Wildcats (7-1), No. 11 West Virginia was the only team of national prominence they had faced this season before BYU, which reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Women's College Cup last year. Arizona lost that game to West Virginia 2-0, but beat a tough BYU team on the road for what is arguably its biggest win thus far in 2004.

Urtuzuastegui's game-winner came in the 72nd minute off a corner kick by freshman defender Kaity Heath. The Wildcats played a strong second half, said head coach Dan Tobias, taking six shots to BYU's three.

"We did a much better job on both sides of the ball in the second half," he said. We had a number of good chances in the box, but their goalkeeper made some outstanding saves."

One such opportunity in the final minutes of the first half was a ball that senior forward Kamaya Damwijk headed into the goal off a cross from freshman forward Sally Thurner. The goal was called back after an offsides call.

Freshman goalkeeper and Salt Lake City native McCall Smith notched her sixth shutout of the season playing in front of friends and family. If she failed to get another shutout all season, Smith would still go down as having matched the best season ever by a UA goalie. Inger Airheart had six shutouts in 20 games in 1997. It has taken Smith, who registered seven saves against the Cougars, just eight games to accomplish the feat.

"They're (BYU) a very good team," Tobias said. "We felt real good about getting that result, especially on the road."

The Wildcats will stay in the state of Utah to face Weber State in Ogden tomorrow at 11 a.m.