Just over a week ago, Arizona soccer was sitting pretty. The Wildcats were No. 31 in the RPI and were finished with what should have been the toughest part of Big 12 play. They were battling for a top four seed in the Big 12 Tournament and a place in the NCAA Tournament.
What a difference three matches make.
The Wildcats had their third straight underwhelming effort and second straight loss as the Kansas Jayhawks came to town and handed them a 4-0 defeat. It was the most goals UA had given up all season and their second straight match without scoring. KU matched its season high in goals that it set against UCF on Sept. 26.
It wasn’t just the fact that the Wildcats didn’t find the back of the net. They didn’t possess the ball much, had just four shots only one of which was on goal, and looked like they were on their heels from the opening whistle.
“Kansas did a good job,” said Arizona head coach Becca Moros. “I think they played hard. They won a lot of first ball, second balls. They played direct, but they also kept the ball at times and played through us.”
Despite the fact that the Jayhawks jumped out and kept the ball in their attacking third for almost the entire first half, fifth-year forward Nicole Dallin didn’t feel that control was a matter of energy.
“I know that the team, especially coming from the locker room, were all super pumped,” Dallin said. “I think that’s just the way that they play. They like to fly at people. So I think energy just seems higher when teams play like that, but I don’t think our energy was low in any case. I think that that was the way that they play, and we didn’t match up well tonight.”
Whether it was about energy or not, Kansas was relentless all game. The Jayhawks were dominant from the start and did not let up even when they got a lead. The first goal came in the 14th minute and the final one was at the start of the 85th minute.
Arizona did not deal with KU’s physicality well. Dallin felt that physicality got out of hand, but that the Wildcats could have dealt with that better.
“I think a lot of us were disappointed with the ref’s control of the game tonight,” Dallin said. “Of course, the hardest job in soccer is to be a ref, but tonight I think that there were a lot of fouls not called and I think that we just need to remember to stay in it mentally. If teams are going to hit us, let them hit us and just walk away.”
The physicality may have affected Arizona’s offense and mental focus, but the defense couldn’t keep up with the Jayhawks, either. KU had 11 shots to Arizona’s 4. Ten of the Jayhawks’ shots were on goal compared to one of the Wildcats’. Corner kicks were an 11-2 Kansas advantage.
While both Dallin and Moros referred to Kansas being more prepared, it wasn’t the only difference for Moros. The head coach felt the visiting team was more true to itself and its style of play.
Arizona did very little building from the back or through the middle of the field, a style of play that Moros instilled when she was hired before the 2021 season. The Wildcats played a lot more direct balls down the field. The style looked much more like the team under former Arizona head coach Tony Amato, but it didn’t work for the group of players who have trained under Moros’ possession style for the past four years.
“If we go down doing it our way, then we deal with that,” Moros said. “But in the last few games, we’ve had considerable amounts of the game where we are not playing the way we play. And I would say that that’s not a recipe for success for any team. When you deviate from what you do best that dramatically, you’re not going to be as good at something else.”
Moros was animated in the team huddle after the game and was still to the point when meeting with the press. She felt it was time to put her foot down.
It wasn’t just about Thursday evening’s loss for Moros. Her concerns went back to the UCF game that Arizona salvaged with a late penalty kick and the loss to Houston. She challenged both her veterans and her younger players to be competitors—not just with their opponents but with each other.
“I got in their head,” Moros said. “That’s my job. And at the end of the day, we have some really key players, some veteran players, who did not play well and have not played well in a couple games. The team is going to go that direction, wherever they play. If they play well, then we’re going to play well. And there’s some other players who the door has been open for them to take playing time and they haven’t done it. So at the end of the day, it’s up to them to get more competitive, to push themselves, push each other. Someone leaves a door open for you to take a spot or get their playing time, take it. It’s a little bit too much Kumbaya in the locker room at this point. And this is do-or-die time, so you got to have that intense senior passion, and you got to go for it if someone isn’t going to own their minutes and take them.”
Arizona faces Kansas State on Sunday at Mulcahy Soccer Stadium. The game was originally scheduled for noon but has been moved up to 11:30 a.m. MST. It will be streamed on ESPN+.
The Wildcats likely need to defeat KSU and Arizona State to finish the regular season and then make a run in the Big 12 Tournament if they are going to make the NCAA Tournament.
Lead photo courtesy of Arizona Athletics