4 players leave Arizona soccer team, including top assister Amanda Porter

Arizona soccer’s roster has thinned ahead of Saturday’s spring season opener.

Freshman goalkeeper Makayla Aman, freshman forward Michaela Rentner, sophomore defender Hailey Clifford, and sophomore midfielder Amanda Porter have left the program and were removed from the online roster.

Porter is the big name here. The Littleton, Colorado native led the Wildcats in assists (7) and was tied for second in goals (4) in 2018. The skilled, left-footed midfielder was extremely versatile, also capable of playing forward and defender. Porter often took free kicks and netted one in UA’s NCAA Tournament win over Denver in November.

Porter said via text that she is “looking for a change.”

Aman, the third-string goalkeeper, did not play in 2018. Rentner and Clifford logged 60 and 22 minutes, respectively. Clifford’s twin sister, Hannah, is still on the roster.

Aman hails from Chandler, Arizona. Rentner is from Temecula, California. Clifford is from Salem, Oregon.

This kind of roster turnover is not unusual at this time of year, especially when it comes to players who were not receiving much playing time. Transfers are not required to sit out a season in NCAA soccer.

With Aman gone, the Wildcats only have one goalkeeper listed on their spring roster, freshman Kendyll Humphreys. Lainey Burdett, a four-year starter, completed her senior season in the fall.

Arizona is set to add Canyon del Oro’s Hope Hisey in the fall to bolster that position, but will still need to add another goalkeeper before the regular season kicks off in August. Including Hisey, the Wildcats have signed seven 2019 recruits, a class that drew praise from TopDrawerSoccer.

Arizona faces Del Sol Boys on Saturday in its first of five spring games. The Wildcats return eight starters from a team that went 13-6-2 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in the last five years.