‘That was chaos’: Brynn Moga’s goal propels Arizona soccer past TCU, into second round of NCAA Tournament

Photo by Ryan Kelapire

When Tony Amato’s postgame interview ended, he rose from his seat and exhaled as he ducked out of the media tent in the corner of the Mulcahy Stadium parking lot.

“That was chaos,” he said.

Fortunately, it was the good kind of chaos. The kind he was looking for when he summoned Brynn Moga into the game early in the second half.

It wasn’t that much later when the senior forward collected a loose ball in front of the net and slotted the game-winning goal in the 63rd minute of Arizona soccer’s 1-0 win over TCU.

“Brynn is one of our go-to, go-out-there-and-cause-some-chaos (players),” Amato said. “Run hard and be difficult for the other team, and that’s been her role over the last few years.”

Lost for words, Moga could only describe the moment as “super exciting.” It was her first goal of the year, her last home game, and just her 12th appearance of the season.

“Every opportunity I get, I just really want to go and cause chaos,” she said. “Like Tony always says.”

Moga’s tally propelled Arizona (12-6-1) into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, the first time the program has accomplished such a feat. The Wildcats will play No. 4 seed Penn State in Palo Alto, California next Friday, with a chance to reach their first Sweet Sixteen since 2015.

“It’s pretty incredible,” said senior midfielder Kelcey Cavarra. “I mean, we’re a program that hasn’t done that because we haven’t even been in the tournament three years in a row. So that’s pretty big. You always talk about building a legacy, and this is just part of the legacy we want to leave.”

Looking to avoid its third loss to Arizona in as many years, TCU gave the Wildcats everything they could handle.

The visitors peppered the UA defense with 17 shots and nine corner kicks. Arizona goalkeeper Hope Hisey was tested early and often, making seven saves in her first career postseason game, showing why she made the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.

“(TCU’s Messiah Bright) was really good in the air and we worked on it and practiced it and I think our players just had to find a way to clear some of those (corners), especially some of the knock downs and second balls,” Amato said. “And Hope was really good on a few of them. And that was the key to the game.”

Bright was ejected in the 72nd minute after striking Arizona center back Hallie Pearson in the face as the Wildcats fended off TCU’s attack. Pearson fell to the grass where she’d lay for a few minutes before staying in the game.

The scene didn’t escalate and Amato was proud of the way his players kept their cool, knowing that any retaliation could have resulted in more red cards.

Besides, they knew a better way to fight back.

“I think it’s easier to take revenge by winning the game than retaliating on the spot,” Cavarra said.

Even down a player, TCU was able to get on the front foot. In the 81st minute, Yazmeen Ryan created some space on the left side of the box, but her shot rattled off the crossbar, then a UA defender, then the post, before the Wildcats were finally able to clear it.

“It had to be super close,” Amato said with a smile.

A few minutes later, Ryan had another opportunity on a corner, but Hisey was there to glove it. Arizona, which beat TCU 4-3 in September, only owned an 18-17 shot advantage, with both teams logging nine in the second half.

Bright and Ryan combined for 14 shots. Brooke Wilson led Arizona with seven.

“In order to win games like this, you’re going to have to have a bit of luck,” Amato said. “You’re gonna have to have your keeper make some saves, you’re going to have to play well and grind through some stuff, and we were fortunate to be on that end tonight.”

The Wildcats now hope to do what they haven’t been able to in the past two seasons: reach the Sweet Sixteen. Arizona came painstakingly close last year when No. 2 Tennessee scored in the final minute to end UA’s season in Knoxville after the Wildcats rallied from a two-goal deficit.

They are confident this year will be different and aren’t satisfied with merely making the tournament.

“I think this group has the ability to play really good soccer and be dangerous in attack,” Amato said. “And tonight, I didn’t think we were as mobile and threatening going forward at all times, and some of that was them, some of that was us, but I thought that grit defensively was big time. I thought the character we showed, the toughness, we showed, the emotional control we showed was really good. And so if we can combine the two next weekend, like we did against UCLA, like we did against Washington State on the road, the team’s capable of winning the game.”

Postgame interviews

Tony Amato

Here’s what Tony Amato had to say after Arizona Soccer’s first-round win over TCU

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Saturday, November 16, 2019

Seniors Kelcey Cavarra, Samantha Falasco and Brynn Moga

Seniors Kelcey Cavarra, Samantha Falasco and Brynn Moga discuss Arizona Soccer’s dramatic NCAA Tournament win over TCU

Posted by AZ Desert Swarm on Saturday, November 16, 2019

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