Sept. 1, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. - A boisterous crowd of nearly 700 fans were treated to a solid match Friday night as the Arizona State University soccer team fell to visiting No. 1 Florida State, 1-0, in overtime inside Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. The match, the second of two on the day as part of the 2006 Heather Farr Kicks Against Breast Cancer Invitational, saw two sides play a physical and fast-paced match before the hosts dropped their first contest of the season and a 2-1-0 record while the Seminoles improved to 2-0-0.
The Sun Devils, with five true freshmen in the starting lineup, played the first half to a scoreless draw with both teams producing several chances to take the lead. ASU goalkeeper Kim Bingham made two saves in the first half before adding another two in the second with several coming on sliding blocks to thwart a breakaway goal. The Seminoles, who fired 12 shots in the first half including 10 before ASU registered one, also had to stop several Sun Devil attempts with Ali Mims recording three of her five saves in the first half of play.
With 90 minutes played and no goals scored, the teams headed into overtime where FSU scored just 2:14 into the session. After pushing the ball down the field, the Seminoles took a throw in with Kelly Rowland sending the toss into the box where Selin Kuralay gathered the ball in traffic and ripped a shot into the back of the net for the victory. The score marked the first goal allowed by ASU's defense this season after shutting out both UC Irvine and Loyola (Md.) this year.
Kyleyn Felts and Christine Nieva led the team with two shots each while Michelle Deatherage and Liz Harkin each added an attempt at goal. Kuralay, the goal scorer, led all players with seven shots in the match.
In the first match of the day, No. 27 St. Louis scored a 4-1 defeat of Loyola (Md.). On Sunday, Loyola and Florida State will play at 10:30 a.m. before the Sun Devils and Billikens close out the event with their match at 1 p.m.