CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Less than a week removed from a pair of games in which it had to overcome slow starts, the Sun Devil soccer team came into this weekend’s games looking to come out of the gate faster. ASU came out of the opening weekend of the season with a tie and a win. On Friday the Sun Devils were not as fortunate as they were dealt a 3-1 setback by Illinois.
Unfortunately for ASU (1-1-1), it was not able to change the opening act that caused it so much angst last weekend. For the third time in as many games, the Sun Devils found themselves having to play from behind after Illinois sophomore midfielder Allison Stucky found the back of the net seven minutes into the game.
“One of our goals coming into the game was to improve on how we started and we didn’t do that. We started slow again,” said ASU head coach Kevin Boyd. “We gave up a goal seven minutes into the game after they were all over us. We can’t keep letting teams do that because once you are down you have to change the way you play in terms of trying to find a goal. Illinois was very good about patiently sitting and waiting and trying to counter and they did it well.
“There are a couple basic parts of the game that our team has to figure out that we have not done very well with and right now we are learning the hard way that if you don’t do those things you won’t win games.”
Like in their previous two games in which they got behind – 2-0 vs. Texas and 1-0 at Hawaii – the Sun Devils would respond. While they would ultimately tie the game in the second half, the Sun Devils would later be lamenting the opportunity they didn’t get much sooner. Midway through the first half, freshman defender Madison Stark found junior forward Cali Farquharson behind the defense. Stark’s pass was about to meet Farquharson in stride in the box when Farquharson’s feet appeared to get tangled with the defender who was trailing her on the play. Farquharson tumbled to the ground while the ball harmlessly rolled into the hands of Illinois goalkeeper Claire Wheatley. The immediate whistle that Farquharson and the entire Sun Devil bench were expecting to hear never came.
“(If a penalty kick is called) I’m assuming we are going to likely score and then we are 1-1 and have a new game,” said Boyd.
The shot that the Sun Devils never got a chance to take, be it in the run of play or via a referee’s call, turned out to be their best scoring opportunity of the first half as they would remain down 1-0 at the intermission.
Just like last week’s season opener against Texas, the Sun Devils started the second half looking like an entirely different squad. Their relentless attack produced four shots and two corner kicks over the first 3:38. At that rate it seemed only a matter of time before the Sun Devils broke through. Sure enough, a little more than three minutes later ASU tied the score at 1-1 on Aly Moon’s fourth goal of the season. Moon’s goal was set up by redshirt junior midfielder Mackenzie Semerad, who sent a ball from beyond midfield to the top of the 18. Freshman forward Jessica Raybe was trying to catch up to the ball. Raybe’s run toward the ball diverted the attention of an Illinois defender, which allowed Moon an unimpeded path to the ball. Moon, who tied a single-game school record with three goals in last Sunday’s win over Hawaii, gathered in the ball and calmly poked it by Wheatley, who slid towards Moon in an attempt to knock down the shot.
Suddenly the game once again resembled last week’s contests: Opponent scores and ASU rallies to either win or tie the game. This script would ultimately be shelved as Illinois (2-1) would reclaim the lead a little more than three minutes later on a goal by Jannelle Flaws. Less than three minutes later Flaws would again find the back of the net to put Illinois up 3-1.
“We scored a goal and tied it and then we sat back and for some reason and let our foot off the gas and they didn’t,” said Boyd. “They responded by getting a goal three minutes later and another goal three minutes after that.”
Boyd said it came down to the Sun Devils’ inability to execute on both ends of the field while also adding the opposition played a role in that.
“Credit them because they went out and found the goals,” said Boyd. “Truth is we had some very good chances as well and kicked the ball right to their keeper. I thought we were a little off in everything that we did tonight. Even though we came back to tie the game after being down, I did not think we were great at any point.”
Friday’s game was the first full one of the season for Farquharson, ASU’s leading scorer each of the last two seasons who missed most of the first two games (played the first 16 minutes vs. Texas) due to a foot injury. Boyd said Farquharson did as much as she could given how little she had had played thus far.
“Her work rate was great, but she was just a little off and she was trying to find her way,” said Boyd.
Farquharson tied Moon for the team lead with two shots on goal.
ASU closes out its road trip to the state of Illinois on Sunday (1 p.m. CT/11 a.m. PT) when it plays at Loyola Chicago.