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Arizona soccer held its senior day ceremonies two weeks ago during its last homestand, but this week brings the real end for one of the most decorated players in program history. Fifth-year goalkeeper Hope Hisey <\/strong>will wear the block A for the final time as a member of the Wildcats.
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely emotional, but I\u2019m mostly just trying to enjoy every last day I have and kind of both excited and kind of\u2014the best word is just emotional,\u201d Hisey said, her eyes glistening with that emotion. \u201cLike, closing this chapter, but I feel content about how things have played out.\u201d
How they\u2019ve played out for Hisey over her career and how they\u2019ve played out for the team this season are different. Hisey is now the program\u2019s leader in career saves (361) and games started (85). She is second in games played (86) behind Arizona\u2019s career leader in goals scored, Jill Aguilera<\/strong>.
The team came into the year smarting from barely missing the NCAA Tournament last year with a season-ending loss to Arizona State. The Wildcats felt this could be the year they finally broke into the field for the first time under third-year head coach Becca Moros<\/strong>. Arizona last made the tourney in 2019, the next-to-last season under former head coach Tony Amato<\/strong>, who departed for an ill-fated year at Florida following the season held during the spring of 2021.
Instead, Arizona is destined for a losing record, currently sitting at 5-8-5 overall and 2-6-2 in the Pac-12. The Wildcats have kept going by focusing on the smaller goals they have set during the season. A big one concerned this final game.
\u201cOnce Pac-12 started, we set little game-by-game objectives for ourselves so that every week, no matter how the season was going, we would have different things to strive for,\u201d Hisey said. \u201cOne of those goals is a rivalry win, so we still have a way to achieve that goal. And then different statistical objectives that we can still hit as far as goals that we score versus the goals that we give up. And so…every week, we\u2019ve kind of adjusted how we see the new challenge that presents itself on both Thursday and Sunday and that\u2019s kept us present…And so, the rivalry will just be another objective that we strive for all season.\u201d
For players who aren\u2019t playing their last game in cardinal and navy, the rivalry game has other importance. Ending the season on a high note could help them in the future. Junior midfielder Nyota Katembo<\/strong> is one of the players who will help lead Arizona into the post-Hisey future. She\u2019s looking to take from both the negatives and positives of the season.
\u201cI think we grew a lot this season,\u201d Katembo said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s mistakes that we did that made us grow as a team, and we know that going forward we cannot repeat the same mistake. So I think there\u2019s a lot of positivity and growth to take from this season. I think we had a hard time managing games this season. A lot of games that we were up 1-0 and then the other team would come back and then we either would tie or lose, but I feel like going like into this weekend even Utah, we kept the 1-0 and we finished strong.\u201d
The Sun Devils will be formidable foes. While they were outscored 6-0 by Colorado and Utah last weekend, ASU has had a strong season that has only grown stronger as it progressed. Early in the year, they didn\u2019t look great against Kent State, a team that Arizona beat 5-0. The Sun Devils tied the Golden Flashes 1-1. They also lost to Texas Tech in Tucson while Arizona tied the currently fourth-ranked Red Raiders 1-1.
The Sun Devils have continued to build since Pac-12 play started as they adapted to playing without big names like Nicole Douglas<\/strong>, who graduated last year as the program\u2019s career leader in goals scored and first two-time All-American. Half of their 10 wins have come since conference play started.
\u201cI think for them, they probably just had a little bit of a disappointing weekend for them, given that they\u2019ve had a lot of great performances previously and gotten results,\u201d Moros said. \u201cI know they\u2019re a hard-working team. They\u2019ll grind out the results and defend well for 90 minutes to protect a lead or to keep themselves in the game to be able to get that last opportunity to score and win. So, I think they\u2019ve done a really good job there as a team this season. And I think they have a well-rounded team with some good depth versus some of the superstars that they graduated last year. I don\u2019t think they\u2019ve found their replacements like-for-like yet, but they\u2019ve made up for it as a team with quality play from a lot of different places.\u201d
ASU fell out of the rankings after dropping both matches last week, but they are still the more highly regarded team by far. That doesn\u2019t always matter in rivalry games, though. That was demonstrated two years ago when Aguilera played her last game as a Wildcat. The forward set the program record for career goals in Arizona\u2019s upset of the 10-7-2 Sun Devils, knocking them out of postseason consideration.
\u201cI\u2019m expecting them to bounce back,\u201d Hisey said. \u201cThey\u2019ve had a great year, and they\u2019re a solid team. And, obviously, it doesn\u2019t matter who\u2019s performing well at this moment in this season, every ASU game is a grind and it\u2019s a battle. I remember my freshman year, it was kind of the reverse of it, where we were looking for high tournament seeding and we were playing a team at ASU that maybe hadn\u2019t been performing to the level that they wanted to, and so to be on the reverse side of that it\u2019s just going to be very competitive. But we have to respect what they\u2019ve done throughout the season and put our best foot forward.\u201d
When: <\/strong>Friday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. MST
Where: <\/strong>Mulcahy Soccer Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
TV: <\/strong>Pac-12 Arizona
Stats: <\/strong>Arizona Live Stats<\/strong><\/a>
Rankings: <\/strong>ASU fell out of the United Soccer Coaches poll after losing both games last week, but the Sun Devils are still receiving votes. They are No. 33 in the RPI. Arizona is No. 80 in the RPI.
Follow us on X (Twitter) @AZDesertSwarm<\/strong><\/a> for all things Arizona Wildcats. For live posts of soccer matches and news throughout the week, follow our deputy editor @KimDoss71<\/strong><\/a>.
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