TUCSON, Ariz. --- UC Irvine women's soccer's unblemished opening weekend was cut short in the final minutes Sunday falling on a late goal, 1-0, at Arizona at Murphy Field at Mulcahy Stadium.
- A well-played even matchup was undone in the final minutes as the Wildcats were awarded a corner kick in the 89th minute that was headed home by Kennedy Fletcher for the decisive score in the 1-0 match
- The 'Eaters pressed on looking for a late equalizer and had the attack going earning a solid chance in the 90th minute that went just long of the far post.
- UC Irvine had lesser of the offensive chances, but all of them were quality
- Early in the second half, the Anteaters broke out up the left wing as Mia Colombini found space and fed Trinity Morales in front of goal, but the keeper met her at the shot stopping it to keep the match scoreless at that time in the 51st minute
- Another chance came in the 84th minute as UC Irvine had held a large portion of the possession in the match's final minutes, and Jenika Davis found herself with the ball shooting through traffic and bounding a shot just wide of the far post
- Shot advantage went to Arizona, 10-3, on the day with seven of the 13 shots between the sides on target
- Laurynn Ziller was a star for the Anteaters along with the defense that held the Arizona attack that had scored five first-half goals in their season opener scoreless for nearly the entire match
- Ziller made four saves and thwarted a number of other promising attacks along with the Anteater defense
- UC Irvine committed just two fouls on the afternoon in a clean game. The Wildcats earned all eight corners with the final proving fatal.
UC Irvine ends its opening week at 1-1 against high-caliber competition. It returns to Southern California for a final road test Thursday, August 21 at San Diego before coming in for the home opener vs. Washington, August 24.
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