Search

ARCHIVES
CONTACT US
WORLD NEWS

Wildcats primed for a win against No. 14 Baylor

Scott Andrew Taras Arizona Daily Wildcat Junior mid-fielder Kate Nighswander-Will (No. 9) takes control of the ball in UA's last home game Labor Day weekend, as the Wildcats took control of a 3-2 victory over New Mexico. The Wildcats (3-2-0 overall) are back home tonight as nationally ranked Baylor (5-1-0) visits Murphey Stadium at 7 p.m.

The UA women's soccer team faces another tough challenge tonight as the Wildcats will look for their first-ever victory against a nationally ranked opponent when they take on Baylor.

"Baylor is a very good team, right now they are ranked 14th in the nation," UA head coach Lisa Fraser said. "So I am expecting another tough, tough match, but I think after playing BYU the confidence is there to know we can compete with them."

The Wildcats (3-2-0 overall) come into the game playing their best soccer of the year after barely losing to an extremely talented BYU team last weekend.

"I think since we did a really awesome job against BYU, and they are a higher ranked team," sophomore midfielder Tiffany Sabado said, "I think that we can actually beat this team (Baylor) even more."

The streaking Bears (5-1-0) come to Tucson riding a four-game win streak and are sure to give the Wildcats all they can handle.

Baylor is lead by senior forward Courtney Saunders, who has six goals and four assists, and senior midfielder Nikki Hales, who has contributed six goals and two assists. The Bears have outscored their opponents 17-6 this year.

"They have two extremely good forwards up front and that is something we are really going to have to concentrate on," Fraser said. "They have good overall team speed, so it's going to be a good battle for us."

Protecting the net for Baylor will be junior goalkeeper Dawn Greathouse, who brings in an outstanding 0.82 goals against average.

Greathouse has made 38 saves and recorded three shutouts, so far this season.

The Wildcats plan on countering the Baylor offense with their own offensive strike, led by the dynamic scoring duo of Sabado and junior forward Chrissy Sanford.

Sanford is leading the Pacific-10 Conference in scoring with six goals and one assist for 13 points. Sabado is not far behind, with three goals and one assist for seven points.

"I think we have the confidence and we are just more pumped up and motivated," Sabado said. "We just have a lot of confidence in one another."

The UA will also be looking to sophomore forward Kim McGehee to continue the scoring touch that she found over the weekend with a pair of goals in the win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Playing goalkeeper for the UA tonight will be either junior Inger Airheart or sophomore Shannon Monti. If Airheart plays 71 minutes in the game, she will become the UA women's soccer team all-time leader in minutes played.

The Wildcats have already matched last season's win total and have tied for the program's best start ever.