FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (August 7, 2022) - The Lumberjacks dropped their first exhibition match to Arizona in a 1-0 game Sunday afternoon.
After a few hours of weather delays in Lumberjack Stadium, the match was moved to the J. Lawrence Walkup Skydome. The 'Jacks debuted their 2022 roster, quickly proving their newcomers all have different skill sets to offer the team.
"It's clear to see that we have a deep team now and we took the opportunity in an exhibition to play some players that won't burn their eligibility, so it's an opportunity to give them some minutes, let them see the field and we can make some of those risky decisions before we start solidifying players," Head Coach Kylie Louw said. "I'm really happy that we could throw in a lot of different combinations of all different ages that looked really good and there was absolutely zero drop in any sort of quality."
Six of the starting eleven made their Lumberjack debuts today, and four substitutes also saw playing time for the first time at NAU. The 'Jacks had solid control over the ball a majority of the first half as they settled into the game and found their comfort zones.
Sophomore Natalie Manzo started in goal for the 'Jacks, seeing all 90 minutes on the field, making two incredible saves. About twenty minutes into the first half, Manzo made a diving save, grabbing the ball from the bottom right corner of the net.
Arizona was able to apply pressure to the 'Jacks offense forcing NAU to drop back a little at times. The first half of the match saw a lot of back and forth action between the two offense's, leading to a scoreless first 45 minutes.
"We're here to see and measure how some of our principles that we have learned and how can we apply them, where are we in learning those principles and how comfortable are we with our plan, that was the measurements and I thought they did excellent," Louw said.
The second half started slower for NAU, as Arizona found a path to the net one minute into the half. Samantha Baytosh scored a quick goal behind some traffic in the box, giving the Wildcats the 1-0 lead.
In goal for the Wildcats was leading returner Hope Hisey who made one save for the team. Senior Randalyn Hunter created an opportunity for the Jacks as she picked up speed on the right side and sent a shot to the bottom corner where Hisey came out and secured the ball.
NAU will return to Lumberjack Stadium next Sunday, Aug. 14 for their final exhibition match to host Hawaii. The match will start at 7 p.m. MST.
"The goal is to see how much better we can get this week to fix some of the things in our principles that we didn't make good enough decisions on, so challenging our soccer IQ and how can we go back and evaluate how we can make better decisions in different scenarios," Louw said.
To stay up to date with NAU Soccer, follow the Lumberjacks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
