Jada Talley, Jill Aguilera lead Arizona soccer past Oregon on record-setting night

Jada Talley | Photo by Ryan Kelapire

Jill Aguilera and Jada Talley have become super close, almost inseparable, since becoming teammates in 2017. They like to grab lunch, hang out in the locker room, and crack corny jokes together.

They say their families are just as tight.

That camaraderie was evident on the pitch Thursday on a record-setting night. Aguilera and Talley each netted two goals in Arizona’s 5-2 win over Oregon, UA’s highest scoring output ever in a Pac-12 game.

“Everything” was working between them, Aguilera said.

Talley set up both of Aguilera’s goals with a pinpoint through-ball and cross. Aguilera returned the favor to Talley by delivering a cross of her own.

“We’ve been getting closer as friends and I somehow feel like that is carrying over to the field,” Talley said. “I really do. We’re similar. We’re both fast, we’re both get-behind-the-defense type players, so I feel like what I would do off the ball like Jill’s gonna do on the ball, so it’s good. We work together really well.”

While the juniors were the headliners, it wasn’t a two-woman show. Arizona peppered a season-high 26 shots and generated seven corner kicks, getting contributions from several players.

Iliana Hocking scored from distance in the 76th minute, while forward Brooke Wilson and outside Morgan McGarry each fired four shots apiece. McGarry rocketed a shot off a diving goalkeeper in the 12th minute, then curled a ball off the post in the 43rd minute, missing a pair of goals by mere inches.

Midfielder Kelcey Cavarra twice appeared to score on a header, but one was cleared at the goal line while the other was waved off due to an offsides penalty.

“I thought our total movement, from our backs all the way up to our forwards, was pretty dynamic tonight and dangerous,” said Arizona coach Tony Amato. “We just kept moving the ball, we kept combining. Sometimes you can get in a little bit of a rut where it’s like one person doing a job at a time whether it’s attack or defense, and I throughout the game, we were able to make sure that everyone at one time was defending, everyone at one time was attacking and that worked out well for us.”

And yet the Wildcats were not comfortably ahead until Hocking provided them a 4-2 cushion with 15 minutes to play.

Arizona held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 thanks to 35th- and 52nd-minute goals by Aguilera, but the Ducks found an equalizer both times—and rather quickly. Oregon’s Jordan Wormdahl snuck a shot inside the far post less than two minutes after Aguilera made it 2-1.

Then it was Talley’s turn.

In the 57th minute, Aguilera made a deep run into the right side of the box and centered a pass to Talley. She calmly tapped it with her right foot to give Arizona a lead that, this time, it would not relinquish.

After Hocking provided some insurance, Talley capped the scoring in the 86th minute by executing a clinical give-and-go with Ava McCray.

“We’re team that fights to the end and we never shut down,” Talley said.

Added Aguilera: “We knew we’d get [the game-winner], and then once when got in that rhythm again, we were able to find those extra goals in there.”

It was a important win for the Wildcats, who improve to 9-4-1 overall and 3-3-1 in the Pac-12. A loss or draw to the Ducks, who remains winless in the Pac-12, would have been costly for their postseason resume, though not exactly surprising given the competitive nature of the conference.

This, after all, was more or less the same Oregon team that beat the Wildcats in Eugene last season.

“We knew coming in it was going to be tight,” Amato said. “And when it was 1-1, 2-2, it’s not surprising. Every game is going to be a tough, tight battle. But I was proud of how the team kept responding every single time.”

The Wildcats cap their homestand Sunday against eighth-place Oregon State, another critical game for Arizona’s RPI, which was 37th entering the week.

“I told the team tonight that I don’t think we’ve hit our ceiling yet,” Amato said. “And I think they believe that as well. And we’ll keep working tomorrow, we’ll get right back at it tomorrow to get better, train for Oregon State over the next two days, and know that we have another tough one Sunday.”

Postgame interviews

Tony Amato

Here’s Tony Amato on Arizona Soccer’s 5-2 win over Oregon

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Thursday, October 24, 2019

Jill Aguilera and Jada Talley

Jill Aguilera and Jada Talley each had two goals in Arizona Soccer’s 5-2 win over Oregon

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Thursday, October 24, 2019

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