Kelcey Cavarra’s late goal lifts Arizona soccer past No. 15 Washington State in Pullman

Kelcey Cavarra wants to be more of a scoring threat in her senior season.

And while it took her a while to notch her first goal, it couldn’t have come at a better time. The midfielder scored in the 81st minute to lead No. 25 Arizona to a 1-0 win over No. 15 Washington State on Thursday in Pullman.

Cavarra collected a corner kick from Hallie Pearson inside the penalty box and fired a shot inside the far post to give the Wildcats their second win over a ranked team this season.

None of it would have been possible without a stellar performance by freshman goalkeeper Hope Hisey and some heady plays by the backline.

Hisey logged four saves—diving, leaping, and making a kick save to keep the Cougars off the board. Meanwhile, midfielder Iliana Hocking and defender Morgan McGarry each blocked a shot along the goal line.

Washington State forward Morgan Weaver was so awestruck that, after Hisey saved her shot from distance, she smiled and raised her arms in Hisey’s direction before muttering a few words that were probably something along the lines of, Are you kidding me?

It is Hisey’s second shutout in her last three games. The Tucson native has taken over as the full-time starter after splitting starts with redshirt freshman Kendyll Humphreys earlier in the season.

With the win, the Wildcats improve to 8-3 overall and 2-2 in the Pac-12 heading into Sunday’s match at Washington.

Arizona entered the week 44th in RPI and should experience a big jump next week, thanks to Thursday’s win. Even more so if the Wildcats can complete the sweep Sunday. The Huskies are 32nd in RPI.