CLAIRE C. LAURENCE/Arizona Daily Wildcat Arizona freshmen and Phoenix-area natives (clockwise from bottom left) Shaylyn Scott, Shannon Kusmit, Kaity Heath, Claire Bodiya and Amanda Urtuzuastegui return to the Valley of the Sun tomorrow to face Arizona State at 7 p.m. in Tempe. The Wildcats hold an all-time record of 0-8-1 against the Sun Devils.

Soccer quintet back home for ASU match

The initials of freshman midfielder Amanda S. Urtuzuastegui are no coincidence. Needless to say, choosing to play soccer at Arizona wasn't exactly a popular choice in her family.

"It's like the favorite school of the family," Urtuzuastegui said, adding that most of her family has attended Arizona State. "My uncle, he had cancer. He wanted a boy, but my mom had me so he had to name me, and he named me after ASU."

"My grandpa said he was never going to talk to me again," Urtuzuastegui said of her choice to head south to Tucson, on the heels of the Wildcats' annual matchup with the Sun Devils tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Tempe.

Battle of I-10 Arizona Wildcats vs. Arizona State Sun Devils Tomorrow 7 p.m. Tempe

Freshman defender Shaylyn Scott relates.

"I grew up in Tempe, so it's where I was expected to go. When I told my parents I was really thinking about U of A, it was like a shock. My brothers hate U of A, and they never wanted to come to any of my games," she said.

Urtuzuastegui of Red Mountain High School, Scott of Corona del Sol High School, and three other freshmen - defenders Kaity Heath of Mesquite High School, Claire Bodiya of Horizon High School and midfielder/defender Shannon Kusmit of Pinnacle High School - all came to the Wildcats from the Phoenix area.

They may not understand the past struggles the UA soccer team faced, never having had a winning season until this year. They may not understand the impact they have made since they got here. But they do understand winning at the highest level, and they certainly understand UA versus ASU.

This week, the decision to play in Tucson instead of Tempe comes into the spotlight for Arizona's Phoenix Five, as the group gets set for its first taste of the school rivalry. Old coaches, friends and family will be watching, and ex-club teammates will be playing for the other side.

The Phoenix Five played club soccer for six years together on the Sereno Golden Eagles, a team that won Nationals in 2003 in the under-17 age group and also won the prestigious Surf Cup tournament in 2001.

The Phoenix Five will try to help the team accomplish yet another first for the program, something they have been instrumental in doing all season. The Wildcats are 0-8-1 all-time against the Sun Devils. Last year's contest ended in a 1-1 overtime tie, the best result the Wildcats have ever had against their top rival.

The game also features two players on ASU's team who played for the Golden Eagles with Heath, Bodiya, Urtuzuastegui, Kusmit and Scott. To Heath, this matchup isn't just about beating old teammates on the field.

"They were interested in here (UA) too, so it's kind of like who chose the better college," she said.

All five may have attended different high schools, but they made their decisions to attend the UA independently and have found the transition to college, and the college game, much easier as a result.

"One of the hardest things about going to college would be learning to play next to another player; learning their styles, their speeds, their tendencies," Scott said.

Luckily for Scott, she doesn't have to worry too much about that. Scott plays right alongside Bodiya in the backfield, and Heath plays on the left flank. Bodiya and Scott have started all 15 games this season, while Heath has started 14. She missed Friday's game against Stanford because of an ankle injury suffered against Washington on Oct. 10.

Along with senior defender Lindsey Peeples and goalkeeper McCall Smith - another freshman - the three freshman defenders have helped hold opponents to just eight goals in 15 games, along with a record-breaking eight shutouts this season.

"We don't know what it's like because we haven't been here," Bodiya said. "From the club we came from, we expect to be No. 1. We expect to do the best and be the best, and be the hardest working team."

Urtuzuastegui plays one of the central midfield positions, starting 11 of the 13 games she has played in. Her one goal this season came at Brigham Young on Sept. 23, a game UA won 1-0. She also suffered an ankle injury in the Washington game, and is hoping to play Friday. Kusmit has played in four games this season, getting an assist in the 7-0 victory over Farleigh Dickinson Sept. 5.

All five have put their touches on a season full of firsts and broken records, both offensively and defensively. Bodiya recalled an article in a newspaper before the start of the season that put down the UA soccer program and that didn't give them much of a chance to do well this season. While Bodiya, Heath, Urtuzuastegui and Scott admitted that even they didn't expect to get off to as good a start as they have this season, they aren't that surprised.

She talks a little about the less-than-flattering article about the team, cracks a grin and says, "but we proved them wrong."

Proving people wrong is what they have done all season, but with a win on Friday, they might prove to those they hold dearest that coming to the UA wasn't such a bad idea after all.