Arizona soccer surges in second half to beat Oregon State in Corvallis

A trio of second-half goals led the Arizona Wildcats to a comfortable 3-0 victory over lowly Oregon State on Thursday in Corvallis, extending their winning streak to three games.

Sophomore Amanda Porter scored from the center of the box in the 49th minute to break a scoreless tie and senior Kennedy Kieneker notched her first and second goal of the season in the 55th and 72nd minute, respectively.

Jill Aguilera was credited with an assist on Porter’s goal, while Porter set up both of Kieneker’s goals. Kieneker knocked in a corner kick for her first goal, and headed in a cross for her second. Porter leads Arizona in assists (7).

UA coach Tony Amato foresaw this kind of scoring outburst for Kieneker, a steady midfielder who has started nearly every game the last four years.

“She’s welcome to score anytime she wants. We don’t tell her not to score,” he joked last week, “it’s just she plays a little deeper on the field, she wins balls, she covers ground, distributes from a deeper position on the field ... but I think you’ll see her down the stretch pop up with some goals on set pieces or long-range shots.”

The Wildcats outshot the Beavers, 29-8. Lainey Burdett, the reigning Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Week, logged her seventh shutout of the season. The senior made three saves.

Arizona (11-4-2, 4-3-2 Pac-12) has won six straight against Oregon State (2-15, 1-8), their longest active winning streak against a Pac-12 team. The Beavers have been outscored 29-2 in conference play this season.

It’s the fourth time in Amato’s six seasons that Arizona has won 11 or more games. The program only reached that mark twice in the 19 seasons prior to his arrival.

The Wildcats return to action Sunday when they face Oregon (7-9-1, 1-8) in Eugene. The Ducks lost a heartbreaker to ASU in double overtime Thursday.

Arizona will likely host the first round of the NCAA Tournament if they fare well in their last two games. They cap the regular season next Friday at ASU, who are pushing hard for a postseason bid.