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UA soccer still lacking

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat Chris Jackson

Last season the UA athletic department gave soccer head coach Lisa Fraser a contract extension. It marked the first time in her career that she decided to stay at a school for more than five years.

Fraser is the type of coach who builds programs from scratch and then moves on to do it all over again.

She did it at Kenyon College (1984), Case Western Reserve (1985-88), Washington State (1989-93) and Arizona (1994-present ).

The question is, then, why did she choose to stay at Arizona beyond the initial five years of building? And is Arizona better off with her staying?

Fraser's reason for staying is that she probably wants to provide a stable environment where her infant son can grow up. Also, there aren't many schools without women's soccer now, so it's not like she had many options.

But while she brought the Arizona program into existence, she has yet to bring it to any sort of respectability.

The team peaked in 1997, going 8-11-1 overall, 2-7 in the Pac-10. Then it flopped last year, going 3-12-2 and 0-8-1 in the Pac-10.

Players complained that Fraser failed to motivate them, often remaining mute on the sidelines while the team got pounded by the other Pac-10 schools. She could not stem the tide of a nine-game winless streak, all against Pac-10 opponents.

Football coach Dick Tomey has said that conference play is where it matters. So far, the UA soccer team is 0-1 in Pac-10 play in 1999, having gotten waxed by Arizona State 4-0. UA has never beaten ASU in soccer.

In four years of Pac-10 play, Arizona is 3-29-1. That translates to somewhere between miserable and horrendous.

Athletic director Jim Livengood said last year that the team would expand its recruiting base, which was made up of only in-state players in 1998, to challenge the Pac-10 powers like UCLA, USC and Stanford.

The team followed up on Livengood's promise, going to California and recruiting five players, including forward Chrissy Sanford, who has five goals in four games.

Sanford is already showing the signs of being Arizona's best striker ever, and while Fraser and her staff deserve kudos for bringing the junior transfer to Tucson, there still needs to be more pressure on the team.

Using the "we're a young program" excuse anymore won't cut it. Even though it doesn't seem to be UA policy, it's time for the athletic department to start putting pressure on the programs at this school that are struggling.

Arizona may have given Fraser a contract extension, but the Anaheim Angels gave one to manager Terry Collins, and when he didn't produce, they forced him out.

Like it or not, if the UA soccer team doesn't improve, especially in Pac-10 play, it may be time to make a coaching change.