Arizona forward Christine Keeley said that having a comfortable 2-0 lead is the worst lead a team can have.

The soccer team (2-6 overall and 0-2 in the Pacific 10 Conference) lost to No. 16 Stanford on Friday night, 3-2 in the first match of the Arizona Eiger Soccer Classic.

"I thought we played really well this whole game. I was really pleased," head coach Lisa Fraser said. "When you play (against the) 16th-ranked team in the country, you're going to have some breakdowns."

The Wildcats came out strong at the start of the game, scoring their only two goals within the first ten minutes of the game.

Keeley, a senior and co-captain, scored both of Arizona's goals.

Keeley's first goal came just under six minutes into the game off a corner kick by freshman midfielder Sara Field. Keeley headed the ball into the left side of the goal, exciting many of the record-breaking 1,007 fans at Wildcat Soccer Field.

Less than three minutes later Keeley raced up the left side of the field, passing two Cardinal defenders, blasting the ball past Stanford goalkeeper Erin Bryla to increase Arizona's lead to 2-0.

The Cardinal answered with a shot to the left side of the goal by forward Erin Martin three minutes later. Forward Charmaine LeBlanc assisted on the goal, passing the ball to Martin, 15 yards in front of the goal.

The Cardinal tied the score at 2-2 fifteen minutes before halftime. LeBlanc broke free from Wildcat defenders and sped up the left side of the field, sliding a shot past Arizona goalkeeper Jen Weibel. Midfielder Ronnie Fair assisted on the goal.

Keeley said that a 2-0 lead is the toughest lead for a team to have.

"The plan was to come out in the first ten minutes and play high pressure and we did that," Keeley said. "A 2-0 lead is the worst lead to have (because) you get set (and) you're thinking, 'OK, we can relax.' I think that's why it tied up at 2-2 at the half."

The Cardinal improved its record to 5-3 overall and 2-0 in the Pacific 10.

Midfielder Mandy Tucker dribbled the ball up the right side of the field off a pass from LeBlanc and netted the shot to the right side of the goal, just past Weibel.

Weibel, who last week was nominated for Pac-10 player of the week, posted 13 saves on Friday, which brings her up to 58 saves on the season. Bryla had four saves for the Cardinal.

"It was a high pressure on their part. They came out (in the) second half and they had scored the last two goals and I think they had the advantage a little bit there," Keeley said.

The Wildcats play Wyoming this morning at Wildcat Field. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.

---

Daily Wildcat News Opinions Sports PoliceBeat Comics