The San Jose State women’s soccer team fought aggressively against the University of Arizona, a competitive Pac-12 team, but were unable to come back after a textbook finesse goal by Arizona, losing 1-0.
Wildcats junior forward Jill Aguilera curved the ball into the top left corner for the only goal of the game early in the first half, which set SJSU to focus on playing defense.
Despite locking down their defense, the Spartans still managed to put up 7 shots thanks to their counter-attack plays.
SJSU senior forward Jamilecxth Becerra and freshman forward Isabella Shallou-Enes were the only two players to shoot on goal as they tried to capitalize on teammates stealing the ball
from Arizona.
Becerra had SJSU’s best chance of tying the game late in the second half with only 5 minutes to go as she headed the ball straight into the hands of Wildcats freshman goalie Kendyll Humphreys after a corner kick.
Becerra’s one-on-one with Humphreys at the 60th minute went just wide of the goal. The missed shots from SJSU were a common issue the Spartans offense encountered throughout the game.
“As a team I believe that we can learn from this,” Becerra said. “Just to keep going and always play the full 90 minutes, even if you’re tired.”
Becerra said overall the Spartans pressed really well but as a forward, she thought she could have done more to capitalize on stray passes from counter attacks.
Apart from those two shots on goal, SJSU relied heavily on its defensive game, taking every chance to steal the ball from Arizona during crucial plays that almost led to big plays.
Head coach Lauren Hanson said her team played great with an organized defense as well as putting team pressure on Arizona, but said SJSU now needs to work on finishing opportunities.
“We just got to capitalize on those opportunities,” Hanson said.
She said there really wasn’t much her team could do against the “hell of a shot” by Arizona other than trying to block shots like that, but she was proud of her team keeping up with a Pac-12 team.
After the half, the Wildcats dominated the ball, keeping most of the battle on the Spartans’ side of the field or in midfield where both teams fought to maintain position.
One of the biggest challenges Hanson saw in playing against Arizona was how athletic and fast they were as well as how the team kept putting pressure on the Spartans.
“The fact that we were able to hold them was a good component on confidence,” Shallou-Enes said.
Two key players in battling it out to break up Arizona pushing through SJSU’s defensive lines were junior defender and captain Karlee Pottorff and junior midfielder Gabriella Hurtado.
Pottorff maintained her composure throughout the entire 90 minutes, constantly shouting “regroup” to keep the team’s formation in check.
Aside from team management, Pottorff played an extremely aggressive game with constant body checking and using her strength to get to the ball before the Wildcats offense could attempt any cross passes or shots.
Hurtado did the same in the midfield by using her strong tackling to control the center. With every possible through-pass attempt by Arizona, Hurtado was right there to launch the ball out of harm’s way.
The team pressure on the Arizona’s midfielders showed top-notch organized defense by the Spartans as they stole many opportunities away from the Wildcats.
For Hurtado, communication and starting off strong helped her and her team keep up with a high profile team such as Arizona.
“If we can play like this against a Pac-12 team and only lose 1-0, we can do so much better when it comes to conference,” Hurtado said. “We just need to learn to take our chances and finish on our opportunities that we have on the attack.”
SJSU has one game left in its non-conference schedule before things kick off in the Mountain West Conference when the Spartans face Colorado College on Sept. 27.
