University of Nevada Athletics

Who: Nevada Wolf Pack at Arizona Wildcats
Where: Mulcahy Stadium - Tucson, Ariz.
When: Friday, Sept. 12 - 7 p.m.
Live Video Stream: Pac-12.com/videos
Live Stats: ArizonaWildcats.com

The Nevada soccer team enters the Arizona Cats Classic in Tucson, Ariz. this weekend in search of its third consecutive win. The Wolf Pack will battle tournament host Arizona on Friday night under the lights and wrap up the weekend stay in Tucson with a Sunday afternoon bout against another Pac-12 school, Arizona State.

Friday night's showdown will be just the second meeting between Nevada and Arizona. The Wildcats defeated the Pack 2-1 back in the 2007 season during the series' inaugural matchup.

NEVADA LAST TIME OUT...

A pair of goals with under 18 minutes remaining in regulation yielded in a 2-1 victory for the Nevada soccer team over visiting Saint Mary's Sunday afternoon at Moana Field. Sunday's result marked the first program win over the Gaels.

Saint Mary's (3-3-0) tallied its goal in the 12th minute of play and on the Gaels' first shot attempt of the match. SMC's Vicki Shimkus recorded her second goal of the season on a feed from Jessica Imbrie and Valerie Laforge and guided a shot far post from about 10 yards out.

As the second half continued on and time began to become a factor, the Wolf Pack's constant offensive pressure started to pay off. In the 73rd minute of play, senior Madison Lorenzen lined a ball off a corner kick in front of the net to the foot of fellow senior Kellyn Morning. Morning tapped the ball off the side of her foot and into the back of the net to knot the score even at 1-1. For Morning, a defender, the score is the first goal of her collegiate career.

Nevada wasn't done yet and rode that momentum into taking the lead with about five minutes to play. Team-assist leader Daisha Jones-Oglesby fought hard for the ball with a SMC defender and got a clean pass back to freshman Angel Meriwether. From about 20 yards out, Meriwether took a high, bending shot that landed over the outstretched arm of McDonald for the game-winning strike. Meriwether has now scored three of the five Wolf Pack goals in the first six games.

The Gaels had one final opportunity to net the equalizer with the clock stopped with 4.5 seconds remaining. On a free kick, SMC's Jessica Castillo booted a hard shot on goal that forced Nevada goalkeeper Devyn Bryar to make a low diving stop, securing the Pack's second consecutive win, a feat that had not been accomplished since the 2012 season.

Bryar did not see much of a test in the first half, making just one save, but kept the Gaels off the board in the second half with four stops. The Pack posted 10 of its 14 shots on goal in the game, with McDonald making eight saves.

UNDER PRESSURE

Since the Pack's second game of the season against San Francisco, the team has consistently put up more and more shots each game. Nevada registered six shots versus the Dons and has increased its shot total up to collecting 14 during its most recent contest against Saint Mary's. The Pack ranks seventh in the Mountain West, averaging 9.3 shots per game, thanks in large part to Angel Meriwether's 13 shots on the year, which ranks her tied for sixth in the league.

CAN YOU ASSIST ME

Junior Daisha Jones-Oglesby, last year's team assist leader, is at it again in 2014. Through the first six games of a 20-game schedule, Jones-Oglesby has dished out three assists to her teammates, tying her for the conference lead with two others. For her career, the Arizona native has eight assists to her name, which ties her for eighth all-time at Nevada (the record is 17).

BY THE NUMBERS

.554 - Team shot on goal percentage

1 - Career goals scored by senior Kellyn Morning

3 - Assists for Jones-Oglesby (one shy of tying 2013 total)

5 - Yellow cards this season

14 - Season-high shots put up against Saint Mary's

24 - Coaching wins at Nevada for Price

MOUNTAIN WEST PRESEASON POLL

The Mountain West released its 2014 soccer preseason poll with the Nevada soccer team predicted to finish ninth in the 12-team league, as voted on by the league's head coaches.

1. San Diego State

2. Colorado College

3. Boise State

4. New Mexico

5. Utah State

6. Fresno State

7. UNLV

8. Wyoming

9. Nevada

T10. Colorado State

T10. San Jose State

12. Air Force

2014 ROSTER BREAKDOWN

By Position: Forward (7), Midfield (6), Defense (9), Goalkeeper (2)

By State: Nevada (4), California (13), Arizona (4), Hawai'i (1), Oregon (1), Massachusetts (1)

By Class: Freshmen (7), Sophomore (7), Junior (5), Senior (5)