Arizona at New Mexico // Sunday, March 4 // 12 p.m. MST // Albuquerque, NM // UNM Soccer Complex
TUCSON, Ariz. – Freshman defensive midfielder Kennedy Kieneker and the Arizona Wildcats are headed for Albuquerque, N.M. this weekend to play the Lobos in their first game of the spring season. The match is set for 12:00 p.m. MST on Sunday.
Kieneker is a key aspect of the future for the Arizona Soccer program. As a freshman last year, she played in all 22 games and notched one goal and one assist. That's a strong performance from a defensive midfielder.
“My season was different from high school,” says Kieneker. “Being one of the top-ish players and then coming here and everyone is really good, so it's definitely a lot more competitive and fast tempo.”
Last year's starting defensive midfielder was Arizona star Haley Estopare, so Kieneker has big shoes to fill in that department. She noted that her primary focus right now is on her strength and speed-of-play, two key facets of the transition from high school to collegiate-level play. As a defensive midfielder, those are the fundamentals that will put her on the same playing field as Estopare. Estopare was arguably the cornerstone of last year's Sweet Sixteen team, and Kieneker says that she wants to live up to that.
The spring season has a different dynamic to it, as these games are exhibition games for the team to prove their worth and test their new players.
“We had a lot of redshirts last year, and they will have a chance to show what they are made of,” says Kieneker. “A lot of people have shown that they can step-up during practice, and a lot of the freshman have been stepping up too.”
It will be interesting to see what the Wildcats can do as they try out some new aspects to their game, and test those players that Kieneker is talking about.
Kieneker notes that her relationship with the coaches is strong, and that she and the rest of the team are willing to back-up and support the coaches with whatever tactics they have.
“[The coaches] are motivating,” Kieneker said. “They make sure that you know what you need to do and what we need to do as a team. They push us really hard, but we know it's just because they want us to do well.”
Hopefully, the Wildcats will perform well this weekend in their match against the Lobos and continue to develop throughout the rest of the spring season. The Wildcats hope to make it back into the NCAA Tournament next fall, and you can be sure that Kieneker will be at the helm of the team to lead them into action.
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