College season already a few weeks old and some Arizona university and college programs have impressed early on. Every Thursday on AZKicksit, we will provide a weekend preview for all the programs in the state. Then on Tuesday’s check the site for a weekend recap.
By Garrett Cleverly
Grand Canyon University – Men
GCU is on the road again and will be for the majority of their first year in Division I. In their first ever Division I match last Friday, they defeated Nebraska-Omaha 2-1. Both goals were scored by Kyle Ciliento, who missed the past two seasons due to an injury. Two days later GCU lost to Loyola of Chicago 0-1.
This weekend, GCU will travel to Florida to take on Jacksonville on Thursday night with kickoff scheduled for 4:00 p.m.. Fans can watch the match for free here. Then on Sunday they will face Stetson with game time also at 4:00 p.m.
University of Arizona
The Arizona Wildcats are white-hot. They are unbeaten in 4 matches and made a statement on Sunday when they played #24 Ohio State to a scoreless draw. It’s still too early in the season to truly gauge where this team is at, but three wins, a draw and outscoring opponents 11-2 has to give hope that the program has turned the corner with new head coach Tony Amato. Players who have impressed early on this season are: Jazmin Ponce, Ana-Maria Montoya, Emily Lai, Jaden DeGracie and Justene Kesterson. A telling stat in the Ohio State game was not the amount of shots Arizona had, but how many players had an opportunity. As a team Arizona had 15 shots with nine different players contributing to the total. Ted Prezelski who does an excellent job covering all things Tucson soccer posted an interesting stat on his website about how the team is more aggressive in the final third.
Cats lead the PAC-12 in shots with 51. Last year’s 271 shots put them in the lower half of the conference. The new scheme creating chances.
A few weeks ago, AZKicksit previewed the Wildcats and Amato said he “wants to play soccer where we are attacking and trying to score goals by connecting forward passes and combining in and around the box.” It’s a long season and Arizona will face much tougher opponents when they hit PAC-13 play, but for now this year’s Wildcat team has shown some promise.
This weekend, Arizona will travel up to Tempe to participate in the Sun Devil Classic. They will face Kansas on Friday at 4:30 p.m. and then Illinois on Sunday at 11:00 a.m. Both teams head into the Classic with a 3-1 record.
Arizona State
The Sun Devils kicked off the 2013 college season with a win 2-0 win over Cal State Northridge at home. ASU then went on the road for a Texas two-step. They lost 2-1 to then #19 Texas A&M and defeated Stephen F. Austin 3-1 two days later (Where current Arizona head coach Tony Amato coached last season). ASU is going to rely on goal scorers Cali Farquharson and Devin Marshall who have already scored 4 and 1 goal respectively. Another key placer for the Devils is Holland Crook, who has picked up two assists.
This weekend, ASU will stay home and host the Sun Devil Classic. They will face Illinois on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and then Kansas on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Both games can be watched online here. Kansas and Illinois head into the Classic with a 3-1 record.
Grand Canyon University – Women
Division I hasn’t been as kind to the GCU women as they would like. They have opened up the 2013 campaign with three losses and no goals scored. GCU has struggled to create chances in the final third, which has plagued them early on. Head coach Steve Gil has been pleased with his team thus far, but wants more quality on the offensive side, as well as more hustle throughout the match.
This weekend, GCU will be up in Colorado taking on Colorado State on Friday at 4:00 p.m. and then Air Force on Sunday at 11:00 a.m.
Northern Arizona University
The Lumberjacks have also started off the season strong by going unbeaten in their first four matches. They defeated Long Beach State 1-0 on August 23rd. They defeated Lamar at home 3-2 on August 25th and then defeated CSU Bakersfield 1-0 on August 30th. Their lone draw was on September 1st at UC Riverside.
NAU entered the season without two of their better players on the offensive side, but that hasn’t stopped the team from scoring. Head coach Andre Luciano has told his team that multiple players will need to score for them and so far they have listened. In four games NAU has scored 6 goals from six different players: Savannah Berry, Cierra Gamble, Haley Wingender, Lindsay Doyle, Malia Tano and Jordan Stenger. Goalkeeper Lauren Weaver, who is an absolute stud, was named as the Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week.
This weekend, NAU will stay home and host UNLV, who have also started off the season strong. Kickoff is at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Embry-Riddle – Men
The Eagles kicked off the 2013 season with a 4-0 win over Simpson University on Wednesday night. Embry-Riddle goes into the season with a huge target on their back due to the success the program had last year when they won the Cal Pac Conference Title.
This weekend, the Eagles are off. Next match is on Saturday, September 14th.
Embry-Riddle – Women
The lady Eagles dropped their opening game of the 2013 season 2-5 on August 31st and then took their frustration out on Simpson University on Wednesday night when they defeated them 5-0. The women also won the Cal Pac Conference Title last year and it looking to build off of their banner 2012 season.
This weekend, the lady Eagles are off and will play their next match on Saturday, September 14th.
Arizona Christian University – Men
The ACU Firestorm are hoping this season will turn the program around and when they defeated Soka University of America 2-1 on August 17th, it marked the first time in program history they won their opening match and were above .500. They dropped their second game in overtime 3-4 to University of the Southwest and then smashed Simpson University 7-0. Jesse Gerkey has had a monster start to the season scoring 4 goals and picking up 3 assists.
This weekend, ACU will be on the road and will take on California Institute of Technology on Thursday at 4:00 p.m. and then Occidental College on Saturday with kick off scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
Arizona Christian University – Women
The women’s team hasn’t had the start to the season they would have hoped for. Dropping the first three matches of the season they turned the tide when they defeated Simpson University on Monday night
This weekend, the lady Firestorm are off and will play their next match on Thursday, September 12th.
ACCAC – Arizona Community College – Men
Phoenix College is on a 4 game winning streak and will face MCC on Thursday night and then SMCC on Saturday night. Kickoffs for the matches are 8:00 p.m. and 11:30 a.m., respectively.
Yavapai is on a three match winning streak and will host PVCC on Thursday night with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. and then College of the Desert on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
For a more in depth look into the ACCAC Men click here.
ACCAC – Arizona Community College – Women
PVCC, which is one of the best teams in the country, will be on the road on Thursday when they face Cochise at 3:00 p.m. They then host GCC on Saturday at 9:00 a.m.