Arizona soccer’s unbeaten streak comes to an end with loss at GCU

It was a historic night at GCU Stadium, but not one the Arizona Wildcats wanted to be part of. The Antelopes completed their first-ever win over a Power 5 team with a 1-0 defeat of the visitors. In doing so, they snapped Arizona’s three-game unbeaten streak to open the season and dropped the Wildcats’ record to 2-1-1.

Going into the match, Arizona head coach Becca Moros thought they had found a few areas that the Wildcats might be able to exploit. It didn’t turn out that way as GCU dominated possession in the first half and finally broke through with a goal in the 54th minute.

The Lopes outshot the Wildcats 10-6, although both teams had just one shot on goal. The difference was that GCU made theirs count.

Arizona had several opportunities. In the 22nd minute, Megan Chelf made a strong move to get open in the box but put too much on the shot.

The Wildcats had two strong opportunities in the final 25 minutes of the game. In the 67th minute, GCU had trouble gaining control of a corner kick by Mariah Dunn but were eventually able to clear it.

Six minutes later, Nyota Katembo took a dangerous shot on the counterattack and the GCU goalkeeper wasn’t able to corral it. Chelf took a second shot right at the goal, but a Lopes defender was perfectly placed to block the ball.

There was some good news for the Wildcats. Freshman Angela Baron made her first appearance for Arizona. The defender returned last week from the FIFA U20 World Cup where she represented Colombia. Prior to that, she spent time with the full senior squad.