Arizona soccer’s draw against Washington State improves undefeated streak to three straight games

At the beginning of October, it looked like Arizona soccer was headed towards a third straight season with no hopes of getting to the postseason. After being swept at home by No. 19 Stanford and California, the Wildcats stood at 3-5-2 heading into matches at No. 8 USC and No. 1 UCLA.

What a difference three weeks make.

Arizona salvaged a 0-0 draw against Washington State on Sunday afternoon, marking the third straight game that goalkeeper Hope Hisey kept a clean sheet.

It was Hisey’s sixth shutout of the season, giving her that mark twice in her career and tying her with McCall Smith for the second-most career shutouts with 20. Hisey needs seven more to surpass Lainey Burdett’s program record, a mark she has a good chance of matching if she returns for her fifth season in 2023.

Hisey is one shutout shy of matching her career high of seven in a season that was set in 2019. She is tied for fourth and eighth in program history for the most shutouts in a single campaign.

After their win at Washington on Friday, the Wildcats now stand at 6-6-3 on the season and 3-4-1 in Pac-12 play. With matches against Oregon State (4-9-3, 0-7-1 Pac-12), Oregon (4-6-6, 2-4-2), and Arizona State (7-4-3, 3-4-1) to go, it now seems well within the Wildcats’ grasp to get to the NCAA Tournament.

After two straight games with double-digit shots, the Wildcats were limited to eight shots on Sunday. The Cougars outshot their guests 17-8 but weren’t able to get better shots. WSU only got one more shot on goal than UA, ending with a 4-3 advantage.

The Cougars had a considerable advantage in corner kicks with a 9-4 advantage. However, they gave up 10 fouls to the Wildcats’ six, somewhat evening out the balance in set pieces.

The 16 total fouls were indicative of an extremely physical game. The Wildcats were handed four yellow cards with Nicole Dallin, Mariah Dunn, Illiana Hocking, and Marley Chappel all going into the book. The Cougars received two. One went to Lindsey St. Turner and the other was charged to the team for dissent.