By Steve Fanucchi
Arizona Daily Wildcat
An "awful" first half contributed to the Wildcats' 3-1 loss to the No. 17 Oregon State Beavers yesterday at Pima Community College's Aztec Field.
"They felt they did not come out with confidence," UA head coach Lisa Fraser said. "They were not intense during their warm-ups. Those are the things they need to look at. The first half was awful. We were disorganized. We were not taking responsibility."
It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Wildcats (3-5 overall, 0-4 in the Pacific 10 Conference), who are now at the bottom of the conference. The Beavers (8-2, 2-0) move to the top of the Pac-10 with the win.
OSU's All-American forward Val Williams scored the game's first goal on a breakaway three minutes into the game, dribbling the ball around several UA defenders before kicking it past goalkeeper Jen Weibel.
The Beavers' three goals in the first half put the game out of reach for the Wildcats, who scored their only goal with 4:31 left in the game. Jillian Bressler got a rebound out in front of the goal and shot it past Oregon State goalkeeper Michelle Mitchell.
Annie Freund replaced Weibel in the first half for Arizona, marking the first time she has not started the second half. Weibel was replaced for insufficient play.
"Jen had two balls she should have gotten to," Fraser said. "She is big, she is tall. We were down 3-0 and we're not a high-scoring team, so we have to get Annie in and get her some playing time."
The Wildcats put more pressure on in the second half, but could not get through the Beaver defense.
"I ripped into them at halftime and I do not usually do that," Fraser said. "I hate to do that but obviously we came out and played (better) in the second half."
"I think that the first half was a mental lapse on our part, and it took Coach getting on our backs at halftime in order to get back in the game," midfielder Jennifer Rickard said. "We need to work on playing our game for a full 90 minutes."
Senior forward Christine Keeley tacked on four more shots on goal for the Wildcats, giving her a team-leading 25.
"Right now we need to work on some more things mentally," Fraser said. "We need to come out with more confidence right away. I think we are still coming out scared and we cannot do that."
Arizona's next game will come Oct. 5, when the team opens the three-day University of Arizona Tournament.