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3rd in our series evaluating every UA athletic program
The offseason is here, with all of Arizona’s sports done for 2023-24 season and the 2024-25 campaigns still a little ways away.
That makes this a great time to step back and see how all of the Wildcats’ programs are doing, especially with the impending move to the Big 12 Conference.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll take a look at each of the UA’s men’s and women’s athletic programs to see what shape they’re in and what prospects they have for the near future. We’ll break down each team and evaluate how it is performing under its current coaching staff, looking at the state of the program before he/she arrived and comparing it to now while also looking at the upcoming debut in the Big 12 and beyond.
Next up: Soccer under Becca Moros.
Arizona soccer had by far the most successful run in program history under former head coach Tony Amato. During his eight years he took the Wildcats from nine straight losing seasons to eight straight of being .500 or better, including five trips to the NCAA Tournament. Amato left in the spring of 2021 to become the head coach at Florida and Arizona responded by hiring Moros, the youngest coach in the Pac-12.
Moros was hired in June that summer and instantly had to get her roster ready for August, retaining players and recruiting some of her own. She has led UA to one winning season in her three years and has been in the bottom three in the conference in scoring all three seasons.
Moros believes she’s been putting the pieces together with a veteran team coming back for 2025, getting ready to perform against new conference competition.
Taking Stock 2024
The offseason provides a great opportunity to evaluate each of Arizona’s athletic programs under its current leadership.
Sunday: Football
Monday: Volleyball
Today: Soccer
Wednesday: Triathlon
Arizona is missing a consistent second scoring option other than Nicole Dallin after forward Cameron Valladares transferred to ASU in December. Moros said that MacKenzie Moring has been having time to develop in the opposite striker position as Dallin. Moring did not appear in any games last season and saw a combined 22 minutes of play in two games her freshman year.
On the goalkeeper’s end of things for UA, Hope Hisey, who had held down the net for UA the past five seasons, has graduated. Which brings up, who’s next? On the roster already was Ciara Ulreich-Power, who didn’t see any action last year and Olivia Ramey who transferred from Oklahoma where she started 22 games the past two seasons.
Moros feels this team has more depth attacking out of the midfield and the front line than they have ever had since she has been there.
As Arizona leaves the Pac-12, which has been arguably the hardest conference to play in recent years, it will enter a Big 12 that will be a challenge of its own. Texas Tech and BYU were the only teams still in the conference to make the NCAA tournament last season. The UA doesn’t see Texas Tech in the regular season and will host BYU.
The Big 12 had eight teams of .500 or better in the regular season and UA will have to face five of them along with ASU.
Can Arizona get some momentum rolling and get back to the tournament? Before Arizona won its last two games of the season, UA went on a 6-game losing streak and two draws which stopped any hope at a tournament berth.
Moros retained key players, Megan Chelf, Sarah Rice and Dallin for their fifth seasons. Adding more depth to her forward position will give UA the chance to compete in the Big 12.
If Arizona finishes within the top 12 of the conference they will have a shot in the Big 12 Tournament, which is being held in CPKC Stadium, home of the NWSL’s Kansas City Current, for the next two seasons.
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