CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Sun Devil soccer team had its 2014 campaign come to an end on Friday as it fell to Kentucky, 3-1, in the second round of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament.
The Sun Devils (12-6-4) were making their first appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament since 2003. The lack of experience on ASU’s side compared with Kentucky (16-6-1), which was making its third consecutive appearance in the second round was one of the contributing factors in Friday’s outcome according to Sun Devil head coach Kevin Boyd.
“I think the difference in today’s game was about experience and mentality as much as anything else,” Boyd said. “I thought we were two pretty even teams. They have experience playing in this round of the NCAAs. I thought we started the game rather tight and it showed. We gave up an early goal and it put us on our heels and then we had to chase the game from that point. I still thought we made a pretty good game out of it.”
Kentucky struck first when Courtney Raetzman headed in a cross less than five minutes into the game to give the Wildcats the early 1-0 advantage.
ASU was on the wrong end of an 8-2 shot count in the first half. Although only three of Kentucky’s shots were on frame, the shot discrepancy reflected how the two teams went about attacking in the first half, something that would change as the game got closer to the half.
“I did not think we started looking like us until the last 10 minutes of the first half,” Boyd said. “We started moving the ball and at that point the game kind of migrated in front of their goal for a bit, but they did a nice job defending and not giving us clean looks and we are a program that likes to find clean looks.”
The slow swing in momentum that the Devils started to build toward the end of the first half reached its zenith less than five minutes into the second half when junior midfielder Whitney Kanavel’s shot from distance crept under the crossbar to tie the game at 1-1 in the 50th minute.
“(Kanavel’s goal) started the game over,” Boyd said. “At that moment it was back to even and it gave us that sense that we were right back into the game.”
Kentucky’s Zoe Swift would break the tie in the 53rd minute when she got free and managed to get her foot on the ball a split second before Sun Devil goalkeeper Chandler Morris could thwart her attempt. Swift’s shot, which came outside and to the right of the penalty area, had just enough on it to bounce into the goal before an ASU defender could catch up to it.
The Wildcats would extend their lead to 3-1 in the 66th minute when Carla Ledman got an unobstructed look at the goal from 10 yards out and deposited the ball into the far left post.
“We made too many errors across the board,” Boyd said. “There is not getting around it, we did not play our best game. We had a number of players who I think were tight and not playing the way we are used to seeing them play. They were slow either because they were tight and nervous or they were trying to overthink and overdo things and that complicates it as well.”
The difference in experience notwithstanding, the Sun Devils were at a disadvantage before the game even started. For much of the week Boyd did not expect Cali Farquharson, who tied for the lead in the Pac-12 in goals during the regular season (14), to play due to a hamstring injury. Although Farquharson would end up playing 59 minutes on Friday, the injury limited her explosiveness, which, when she is healthy, is on par with the top goal scorers in the nation.
“Cali at best was 50 percent today,” Boyd said. “She tweaked her hamstring against Arizona two games ago and she pulled it 15 minutes into the game against NAU (last Saturday). “She felt good enough to go, but when I pulled her out at the half after playing she said she could not hit a sprint and we knew that.“
A testament to Farquharson’s ability, Boyd acknowledged that even at 50 percent, Farquharson still had the potential to influence the game.
“She is still so good on the ball and so smart with positioning that she is still good to have out there,” Boyd said. “When she is healthy she can single-handedly take a game over and take teams apart. We did not have that today and it was a reality that we had to deal with.”
Lucy Lara and Aly Moon tied for the team lead with two shots on goal each. Seven of ASU’s nine shots came in the second half.
Morris came up with three saves, each one of which helped the Sun Devils stay within striking distance.
The Sun Devils concluded the season with their most wins (12) since 2003, which is also the last time they advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“I think as young as we were we did very well,” Boyd said of his team, which this season defeated No. 5 Texas A&M and nearly became the only team to defeat top-ranked UCLA before settling for a 1-1 tie. “I think there are some steps we are going to continue to take, but our soccer is good, our competitiveness is good and we are very well balanced across the board. We are going to be better next year. We have a bright future, that is for sure.”