TEMPE, Ariz. – Jessica Raybe, Larisa Staub and Lucy Lara all found the back of the net and Chandler Morris made three saves to claim sole possession of the school record with 24 career shutouts in the Arizona State women’s soccer team’s 3-0 win over Oregon State on Friday night.
A little more than a week after upsetting (then) No. 18 Washington on the road to get their first win since Sept. 11, the Sun Devils (6-7-1, 2-4-1 Pac-12) extended their unbeaten streak to three games (2-0-1) and are now within a win of getting back to the .500 mark. ASU head coach Kevin Boyd stressed after the game that the team’s focus is strictly on the next opponent and that it is not looking any further than that.
“Right now I am just going one game at a time, trying to win a game,” Boyd said. “Certainly our mentality is better. When we won in Washington, it was like thank God, the curse (of eight-game winless streak) is over. And then tonight, we even got a little bit of luck, which we haven’t seen any of for awhile. The first goal was fortunate for us, unfortunate for them, but I felt like we were due after having so many go against us.”
The Sun Devils had more twice as many shots as the Beavers (13-6) and also had more than twice as many shots on goal (8-3).
“We are attacking harder,” Boyd said. “We are not playing as pretty, but we are playing with a little bit more urgency then we maybe had been before and it seems to be more effective for our particular group.”
Boyd also said having senior forward and leading scorer Cali Farquharson back on the field has made a big difference in the team’s attack. Although she did not score on Friday, Farquharson, who missed 4.5 games during ASU’s seven-game losing streak, continued to create opportunities for her teammates because of what she can do when she is on the field.
“She is a massive difference maker,” Boyd said. “She has the ability to just open up the game. She gets it and she can hold it, she doesn’t lose it and she beats people. At one point in the second half she beat three players and ran right through the middle. To have a player that does that allows your team to get out of its end, to get excited, be confident and attack has made an enormous difference and she is not even at 100 percent. When we didn’t have her it really hurt and you can see the change as soon as she came back.”
For the third time in as many games it was Raybe who notched ASU’s first goal of the game. The goal was set up by redshirt senior Mackenzie Semerad, whose pass for Raybe was mishandled in the box by Oregon State’s goalkeeper Bella Geist. Raybe was in perfect position to take advantage of the opportunity and quickly put the ball away to give ASU a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute. It was the second straight game Raybe gave the Sun Devils an early lead after recording a goal in the 12th minute of ASU’s win at Washington last week. Two games ago, Raybe’s goal in the 14th minute provided an immediate answer to a goal scored by UCLA in the ninth minute of the eventual 1-1 draw between the two squads.
“She has been outstanding,” Boyd said of Raybe’s recent offensive success. “She was definitely our MVP against Washington. I thought she was the player of the match and I thought she was really good again tonight.”
In the 38th minute, Adriana Orozco slipped a pass to Staub that left the junior forward with just enough time to take advantage of a wide-open look from outside of the penalty arc. Before OSU’s defense could close in, Staub laced her shot that found its way into the lower left corner of the net to give ASU a 2-0 lead.
The Sun Devils went into the half with a two-goal lead that they managed on only four shots in the half while limiting the Beavers to only two.
In the second half, the Sun Devil defense would step up time and again as it did not allow the Beavers (6-6-3, 2-5 Pac-12) to get any up-close, dangerous looks at the goal. ASU’s starting backline of Sara Tosti, Madison Stark, Alyssa Martinez and Mckenzie Grossman with assistance from Taylor Coon left the Beavers’ attack befuddled throughout the game. Morris came through with a diving save on Oregon State’s best chance of the contest, a shot from 25 yards in the 71st minute by OSU’s Nikki Faris that Morris snared for the save.
The Devils would add a third goal in the 89th minute. Orozco found sophomore forward Jazmarie Mader with a pass that Mader received in stride as she was going toward goal. Geist got a foot on Mader’s shot, but fell to the ground while keeping the ball from passing her. Lara, who was trailing the play, was quick to pounce on the opening and scored on a rebound for her third goal of the season.
After securing shutouts in the first four games of the season to tie the school record for career shutouts, Morris was able to get the one to put her over the top and into sole possession of the top spot following her clean sheet against the Beavers.
“We are thrilled for Chandler. She has earned it.” Boyd said. “I think one of her reasons for coming back (for a fifth year) was to own that record and I hope it stands for a long time.”
The Sun Devils return to action on Sunday (11 a.m. PT) when they host Oregon in their 2015 home finale. Prior to the game the team will honor senior Sun Devils McKeznie Berryhill, Cali Farquharson, Tommi Goodman, Whitney Kanavel, Lucy Lara, Alyssa Martinez, Chandler Morris, Rachel Ometer, Christina Rebata, Mackenzie Sermerad and Sara Tosti.
Sunday’s game will be televised live by Pac-12 Networks.