TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 22 Arizona State women’s soccer team experienced a pair of firsts on Sunday as it gave up its first goal of the season and failed to score for the first time in a 1-0 loss to No. 18 Texas Tech.
ASU’s first loss comes on the heels of the Sun Devils’ 5-0 win over No. 14 Pepperdine on Friday. The victory over the Waves gave ASU its first 4-0 start since 2000.
“I thought we were off from the very beginning,” said Sun Devil head coach Kevin Boyd. “Our technique was off and we weren’t communicating well and that tells me we were not fully engaged. We just didn’t look like who we are and that’s what I was talking to the team about (after the game): Reminding them about who we are and that we have to be the same every single game.”
The Sun Devils came into Sunday’s game having outscored their opponents 16-0 in their first four contests. They would find themselves trailing for the first time this season when Texas Tech’s Caity Heap picked off a pass and took a shot from distance that tucked under the far right post to give the Red Raiders a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute.
“I thought we started the game okay and then we had some technical errors that led to some turnovers and one of those turnovers led to a goal,” said Boyd.
With an offense that came in averaging 4.0 goals per game – and one goal for every six shots it had taken – the question figured to be not if, but when the Sun Devils would get on the board. Unfortunately for ASU, the ensuing 82-plus minutes after Texas Tech scored would prove to be very frustrating on the offensive end. After scoring five goals on 13 shots in Friday’s win, ASU was unable to turn any of its 14 shots into goals against the Red Raiders.
“That is something we should be able to come back and deal with,” said Boyd of the one-goal deficit. “It took way too long in the second half for us to start showing what we can do. I did not think we were lively or active enough searching out loose balls Too much of it was letting the game come to us and that is not how this game is played."
Senior forward Cali Farquharson led the way with five shots while senior defender McKenzie Berryhill had two. Berryhill was close to scoring on both of her shots as she had one go high on a sliding attempt in the first half and another off a free kick by Lucy Lara that was saved in the second half. Farquharson’s attempt to tie the game in the closing seconds went high.
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend when they leave the state of Arizona for the first time this season for games at Oklahoma State (Friday at 7 p.m. CT) and at Oklahoma (Sunday at noon CT).
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