Inside The Wildcats

Wildcats Soccer Suffers First Loss of the Season

The Arizona Wildcats fell to the Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alton, CA.
Nathaniel Martinez|
Aug 31, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats mascot Wilma walks along side Arizona Wildcats cheerleaders through the Wildcat Walk before the game at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images
Aug 31, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats mascot Wilma walks along side Arizona Wildcats cheerleaders through the Wildcat Walk before the game at Arizona Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

The Arizona Wildcats soccer team (3-1) suffered its first loss after starting undefeated at the beginning of the season, being outscored 6-0 by the No. 1-ranked Stanford Cardinal (5-0) in Palo Alto on Thursday.

The Cardinal got the scoring streak started early by making three goals in the first 17 minutes of the match as senior Jasmine Aikey, sophomore Charlotte Kohler and junior Shae Harvey were all credited with creating the scoring strikes early on to set the tempo.

The last three goals were all scored in the second period, all within 15 minutes of each other between the 55th minute and the 70th minute. Kohler and Aikey scored the second goals of the night for the Cardinal while senior Elise Evans managed to notch the final strike of the night.

Aikey scored the first goal in the 6th minute of the match. Kohler followed with her first one in minute 12 and was assisted by Allie Montoya.

Harvey scored next in the 16th minute, which was the final goal of the half. Kohler scored her second goal of the night IN THE 57th minute and was assisted by Andrea Kitahata.

Aikey followed with her second goal less than two minutes later. She was assisted by Joelle Jung and Sammy Smith.

Finally, Evans scored in minute 70, being assisted by Joelle Jung.

Before the first shutout that Arizona suffered this season, or loss for that matter, it had dominated its previous three opponents, outscoring them 8-0 while also outshooting them 38-13 and 19-4 on goal.

UCF, Kansas State and TCU are now the only teams remaining to be unbeaten or finish with a draw in the Big 12. UCF is 5-0 while Kansas State and TCU sit at 4-0.

Colorado (4-0-1), Arizona State (3-0-1), BYU (3-0-1) and Houston (2-0-1) all have yet to lose, but have a tie on their record.

By the end of Thursday's match, Arizona was outshot 32-6, 16-1 on goal shots. Arizona had not committed a foul through the first three matches of the season, but committed two to snap its clean streak.

Of those 32 shots that Stanford took, the Arizona goalkeepers saved 10 of them. Senior Olivia Ramey saved seven through 73 minutes of play while freshman Sophia Cortes-Browne saved three more in relief.

Prior to Thursday's loss, Ramey had not allowed one goal in the first three matches and had saved four shots, showing the lack of adversity on defense the Wildcats had to endure to start the season. In total, the 5-foot-9, Frisco, TX product has saved 11 shots so far. It is also the first match that Ramey had not played the entirety of.

Senior defender Maia Brown is now the only player on the team who has played every minute through four matches.

Arizona will face its second former Pac-12 opponent when it travels to Berkeley, CA, to take on the Cal Golden Bears on Sunday, August 31. That match is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.

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Nathaniel Martinez
NATHANIEL MARTINEZ

Nathaniel Martinez and a set of shoulder pads at 7 years old. He later graduated from Pima Community College in 2023, where he began writing for the Pima Post. He is working to achieve a Bachelor’s in Mass Communication and Media Studies.