Oct. 22, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. - Despite a valiant effort in the final minutes of the match, the Arizona State University soccer team was unable to completely climb out of a two-goal deficit before falling to visiting No. 3 UCLA, 2-1, Sunday afternoon in a Pac-10 match played at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium in Tempe. The loss dropped the Sun Devils to 6-8-2 overall and 1-4-0 in the conference while the Bruins improved to 14-2-0 overall and 5-0-0 in the Pac-10.
UCLA, the national runner-up one year ago, put the pressure on the ASU defense early as it posted 15 shots in the first 45 minutes of play, including one goal and another shot that caught the cross bar. Lauren Cheney put the visitors on the board first as she was in the right spot at the right time after Lydia Cook chipped the ball into the box before Sun Devil GK Kim Bingham misplayed the ball, knocking it to the ground where Cheney hit it home for the 1-0 lead at 16:02.
Following the intermission, Cheney struck again, this time running down the left flank and into the box where Christina DiMartino passed the ball into Cheney who one-timed the ball to back corner of the net for a 2-0 goal with 67:45 elapsed in the match. Despite being down two goals, the Sun Devils continued to battle before taking a page out the Bruins' playbook at 80:29. Alisa Oldenkamp carried the ball down the right side before cutting into the middle of the field. There, she hit a cutting Courtney Crane on the right post where Crane one-timed the pass into the net to close the gap to 2-1. ASU tried hard to break through for a second score, but were unable to.
Overall, the Bruins out-shot the Sun Devils, 28-8, while earning a 10-6 advantage in corner kicks. Defensively, Bingham recorded a season-high 10 saves in the match while the team was credited with one stop when UCLA sent a shot on goal that Kyleyn Felts headed out of danger in the second half. Bruin keeper Valerie Henderson recorded four saves in the match.
Only one match is on the slate for the Sun Devils next weekend as the team plays host to Arizona at 7 p.m. on Saturday night, October 28, inside Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. The contest with the Wildcats will mark the home finale for the Sun Devils and also will serve as Senior Day for four student-athletes: Michelle Becker, Kim Bingham, Michelle Deatherage and Katie Mahoney.