Nov. 6, 2009
TEMPE, Ariz. - Karin Volpe's goal a little more than four minutes into overtime gave the Arizona State women's soccer team its first Pac-10 win of the season on Friday night as the Sun Devils defeated Oregon State 1-0 before a season-high crowd of 925 at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
In addition to earning their first Pac-10 win of the season, the Sun Devils (8-7-3, 1-6-1 Pac-10) snapped a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) in overtime games, all of which were Pac-10 games.
"Tonight we put in a full effort for the entire game," said ASU head coach Kevin Boyd, who collected the 150th win of his coaching career on Friday. "We've been due [for an overtime victory]. That was the fifth overtime game we played in the Pac-10 and we hadn't won one before tonight even though we played everyone tight. The goal we stuck away was a tremendous finish by Karin."
The goal came as a result of a perfectly placed ball served up on a free kick by sophomore Kari Shane. Volpe went wide and found herself all alone as the ball arrived and she connected on a header that sent the ball into the net.
Volpe's goal was the culmination of a contest that was fiercely contested by both teams. The Sun Devils played with a sense of urgency all night knowing they needed a win to remain in consideration for an NCAA Tournament berth. Coming into this week's play the Sun Devils were rated 37th in the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index. The Beavers came into Friday's game rated 19th.
For the game, ASU outshot the Beavers 10-8 while Oregon State (11-7-1, 3-5 Pac-10) held a 5-2 advantage in corner kicks. Freshman goalkeeper Alyssa Gillmore was instrumental in the win, her first as a starter, finishing with five saves.
With the goal, Volpe now has nine game winning goals in her career, which puts her in a tie for third place on ASU's list for most career game-winning goals.
The Sun Devils return to action on Sunday when they host Oregon at 1 p.m. in ASU's final home game of the regular season. Prior to Sunday's game the Sun Devils will honor seniors Katie Cochran, Liz Harkin, Carly Kallas, Briana Silvestri and Katie Smith.