When freshmen first arrive on college campuses each fall, many do so looking to gain knowledge in their desired career path and to grow as a person. There are many ways to accomplish both of those objectives, but for Madison Goerlinger, she has used soccer to help her in both areas.
She arrived at Arizona in the fall of 2019 from Orange, California and played over 1300 minutes as a midfielder in her first season at UA. She even scored two goals that season as the Wildcats advanced all the way to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In year two, she was once again among the team leaders in minutes played and scored a goal against UCLA in a season that was pushed to the spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was after that second season when Goerlinger and the Wildcats had to navigate their way through a coaching change.
“Obviously a coaching change can have a lot of unknowns,” said Goerlinger. “But I think being an upperclassmen when it happened allowed me to show my character and a lot of leadership. I realized it was on us as players to create the environment for the younger players to know what it takes to compete in the Pac-12 and juggle everything else that comes with being a student-athlete.”
When the dust settled, head coach Becca Moros was hired and Goerliner had to adjust to a new style of play just like everyone else. But she also dealt with playing a new position, moving to the back line as a defender.
“I am lucky enough to play a lot of positions,” Goerlinger said. “I have been able to adapt to those positions throughout the years. I just love being on the field and I take pride in having the versatility to play wherever the team needs me.”
Following a junior year where she led the Wildcats in assists, Goerlinger entered the 2022 season with two goals for the fall – lead Arizona back to the NCAA Tournament and complete her undergraduate degree a semester early.
On the field, she continues to lead by example, earning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week the first week of the 2022 season after Arizona opened with a 2-0 record.
She says that she was able to get in the position to graduate this fall because…
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