6 HRS AGO - The legend of Lainey Burdett reached a crescendo last September. On a cool night in Palo Alto, the Arizona goalkeeper set a new career-high with 11 jaw-dropping saves to keep the Wildcats within striking distance of the eventual-national champion Stanford Cardinal. Arizona wound up losing 1-0, but holding the nation’s No. 1 offense to one goal was a remarkable feat, considering Stanford fired 32 shots and Burdett was, well, not herself early on. “She had the worst warmup in her life, in her career. She was awful,” recalls UA assistant Paul Nagy, “but she had the best game she ever had.” Arizona (7-1) returns to Laird Q. Cagan Stadium Friday riding a seven-game winning streak, and they will need a similar performance from Burdett to challenge the top-ranked Cardinal in their Pac-12 opener. Stanford (7-0-1) averages roughly three goals and 23 shots per game, and has not lost since August of last season. “You just go into it knowing that it’s going to come and you just have to Collapse

8 HRS AGO - Arizona Volleyball (12-1, 1-0) cruises to a convincing win over visiting Arizona State Sun Devils to begin Pac-12 Conference play. The Wildcats are one a roll! Winners of three straight, as well as 11 of their last 12 meetings entering Thursday, the Arizona Volleyball team had a marquee match-up versus rival ASU. After a stellar […] Arizona Volleyball sweeps rival ASU in Pac-12 Opener - Zona Zealots - Zona Zealots - An Arizona Wildcats Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more. Collapse

17 HRS AGO - The senior is dealing with an ankle injury The Oregon State Beavers have split quarterbacking duties this season, but it looks like that won’t be an option for them Saturday when they host the Arizona Wildcats. OSU head coach Jonathan Smith told reporters Thursday that Jake Luton is doubtful for Saturday’s game “unless there is a drastic change,” according to Amy Schwartz of BeaverBlitz.com. Injury updates from Coach Smith... WR Trevon Bradford is likely to play, TE Noah Togiai still hopeful, & unless there is a drastic change with QB Jake Luton he is doubtful for Saturday vs Arizona.— Amy Schwartz (@TheAmySchwartz) September 20, 2018 Luton, who missed several games last season with a thoracic spine fracture, is dealing with an ankle injury. The 6-foot-7 pocket-passer is 28-of-45 for 372 yards, one touchdown and one interception this year. Luton hardly played in OSU’s first two games due to a concussion, but he threw for 284 yards in the loss to Nevada last week. With Luton Collapse

1 DAY AGO - The Pac-12 is the best conference in college soccer. Why? We asked Arizona players and coaches to find out. While the Pac-12 has lost its luster in basketball and football in recent years, it remains the crown jewel of women’s soccer, producing the sport’s champion in each of the past two seasons. Conference play is starting up this week, so I asked several Arizona players and coaches to outline what makes the Pac-12 so unique. Here’s what they had to say. The elite teams UA midfielder Kelcey Cavarra said playing against national champions “like every week” is what makes Pac-12 soccer special. Is that an exaggeration? Only slightly. As mentioned earlier, the last two national champions have come from the Pac-12. Stanford won the title in 2017 — beating UCLA, no less — and USC won it in 2016. Those teams are always at the top of the polls. Stanford is currently ranked No. 1, USC is No. 4, and UCLA is No. 5. While the ACC does have four teams in the Top 10, it only has one team in the Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Before Saturday’s matchup, Oregon State writer Joe Londergan answered some questions for us. The Oregon State Beavers and Arizona Wildcats came into the season with very different expectations. Nevertheless, the two will meet Saturday in Corvallis (1 p.m. PT, Pac-12 Networks) with very similar resumes in this young season. Before the game, we asked Joe Londergan, who writes for our sister site Building the Dam, about what we could expect from the Beavers on Saturday. Here’s our Q&A. We also answered questions about Arizona for them, and you can see that here. The Beavers and Wildcats are both 1-2 with the victory coming against Southern Utah. How has the reaction to the beginning of the season been in Corvallis? Mostly positive, honestly. The Ohio State loss was something we all saw coming for obvious reasons but given how dinged up the team was (and still is) collectively, it could have been a lot worse. OSU is leading the Pac-12 in total yards after all. Young guys like Jermar Collapse

1 DAY AGO - Redshirt junior had 60 yards and a TD vs. Southern Utah In his first three years with the Arizona Wildcats, Anthony Mariscal got on the field for nine games including a start as the “spur” safety in 2016. Each opportunity to play was a blessing, but he couldn’t help feeling like something was missing. Then last spring he realized what it was: the football, in his hands. A two-way star at Bakersfield’s Liberty High School, Mariscal realized how much he missing playing running back since coming to Tucson. And with Arizona going through a staff overhaul during the offseason he decided the time was right to make the switch back to offense. “I went to Coach Sumlin to talk about a position change,” Mariscal said Tuesday. “He said, ‘go ahead and be in the room.’” That’s where Mariscal was when new running backs coach Clarence McKinney was hired in mid-January. Eight months later the redshirt junior got his first carries, rushing nine times for 60 yards and a touchdown in last Saturday’s Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - After another successful weekend by the Arizona Soccer (7-1, 0-0) team, the Wildcats continue their winning ways, landing in the Top 25! The Wildcats are on a roll! Weeks after losing their opening game to Albany to start the season, the Arizona Soccer team has been cruising since, winners of seven-straight! Sometimes all it takes is […] Arizona Soccer beats Cal State Fullerton, lands in Top 25 - Zona Zealots - Zona Zealots - An Arizona Wildcats Fan Site - News, Blogs, Opinion and more. Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Now that Layth Friekh is back, the unit is hoping to build some continuity The Arizona Wildcats’ offensive line was manhandled in the first two weeks of the season, particularly in the running game, but it showed marked improvement in Week 3 against Southern Utah. Sure, the Wildcats were playing an FCS team, so that was to be expected, but it was also the first time the unit was at full strength this season, too. Senior Layth Friekh returned from a two-game suspension and reclaimed his starting spot at left tackle. With his blindside protected, quarterback Khalil Tate threw for a career-high 349 yards and the Wildcats rushed for a season-high 268 yards, nearly double the amount they compiled in their first two games. That could not have happened without a strong performance from the O-line, Coach Kevin Sumlin noted. “We’ve got a long ways to go, don’t get me wrong, but that group was more solid tonight than they’ve been,” he said after the game. Sometimes it can take players some Collapse

2 DAYS AGO - Throughout the summer, Arizona Wildcats coach Kevin Sumlin seemed hopeful that the NCAA would allow Texas A&M transfer Robert Congel to be eligible this season. That’s no longer the case. “That book has been closed,” Sumlin said of Congel during Tuesday’s Pac-12 teleconference. Congel, a 6-foot-3, 315-pound offensive lineman, transferred in July after appearing in five games during his freshman season at Texas A&M. He was a walk-on with the Aggies, making it possible he could have become eligible this season rather than sit out a year per NCAA transfer rules. Oregon State recently learned that Brandon Kipper, an offensive lineman transfer from Hawaii, had become eligible for this season despite playing 11 games in 2017. Congel was one of two former Sumlin player at A&M to join Arizona in the offseason, the other being redshirt freshman linebacker Santino Marchiol. Marchiol was dismissed from the team in late August, days after a video surfaced in which he used an Collapse