TEMPE, Ariz. – Despite dominating the action for most of the game, the Arizona State women's soccer team came up on the short end of a 1-0 decision against visiting Beijing Normal University in an exhibition contest played on Saturday.
Fourteen hours after a stellar performance in their 4-0 win over Loyola Chicago on Friday night, the Sun Devils were right back on the field for a contest that kicked off at 11 a.m. local time. Despite the quick turnaround and with only two regular starters – Jazmarie Mader and Taylor Coon – among the first 11, the Sun Devils ended the game with big advantages in shots (19-6), shots on goal (11-5) and corner kicks (5-0).
In the end, however, it was Beijing Normal that was able to claim the win thanks to a goal by Lyu Yueyun in the 72nd minute.
"Today's game was a little tricky on our end because we finished one game 14 hours ago and it's less than ideal but it's also a nice opportunity for us to play a team from another country," ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said. "We were focusing on giving playing time to the players that needed it. For all practical purposes, we were the team that was the aggressor but I didn't think we kept the ball well enough. I thought we gave them too much time on the ball but we did better on that in the second half."
The Sun Devils were not without their chances on Saturday. Just like in its game against Loyola Chicago on Friday night (ASU had a 29-2 advantage on shots), ASU moved the ball into scoring position time and again. Unfortunately the shots were just not going on this day. Perhaps no sequence better illustrated ASU's offensive frustrations than in the 70th minute when – with the game tied 0-0 – a penalty kick and immediate rebound both missed their mark.
Adriana Orozco, Madison Kmetko, Kayla Satterfield and Jaimie Salas tied for the team lead with three shots each. Kmetko and Orozco both had two shots on goal to pace the Sun Devils. Kmetko had a shot hit the crossbar in the 54th minute and Orozco just missed scoring with a header off a great free kick by Devyn Kelsey in the 67th minute.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Day played all 90 minutes and made four saves.
In addition to Coon and Mader, also starting for ASU on Saturday were defenders Satterfield, Annie Warren and Madison Wolf, midfielders Kmetko, Orozco and Keeley Gormley and forwards Olivia Hernandez and Salas.
Saturday's contest against Beijing Normal concluded an arduous stretch for the Sun Devils in which they played four games in nine days, traveled across the country to Boston to open their season and started fall semester classes. Given the little rest time his team had in that stretch, Boyd said the objective of Saturday's game had everything to do with the big picture as it relates to the season
"Today's game was not for us to put our starting line out there and drive for the win," Boyd explained. "We were very much into playing more people and improving our game. I like some traits that we have that have been consistent. Our work rate and competitiveness are extremely high. We're organized defensively but I'd like us to be a little more organized. On offense, we need to keep the ball better and our personality players need to become those players. But 2-0-1 (after three regular season games), there's nothing wrong with that."
Still, the competitive instinct that resides in players and coaches alike, could be felt at the conclusion of the game. Boyd: "We took this game as a developmental tool but we wanted to win and we were a little disappointed that we didn't."
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend when they host the annual Sun Devil Desert Classic. ASU will host Columbia on Friday at 4:30 p.m. (followed by Arizona vs. Denver at 7 p.m.) and Denver on Sunday at 7 p.m. (Arizona will face Columbia earlier in the day at 11 a.m.). To purchase tickets for next weekend's games, click here or contact the Sun Devil ticket office at 480-965-5812.
Fourteen hours after a stellar performance in their 4-0 win over Loyola Chicago on Friday night, the Sun Devils were right back on the field for a contest that kicked off at 11 a.m. local time. Despite the quick turnaround and with only two regular starters – Jazmarie Mader and Taylor Coon – among the first 11, the Sun Devils ended the game with big advantages in shots (19-6), shots on goal (11-5) and corner kicks (5-0).
In the end, however, it was Beijing Normal that was able to claim the win thanks to a goal by Lyu Yueyun in the 72nd minute.
"Today's game was a little tricky on our end because we finished one game 14 hours ago and it's less than ideal but it's also a nice opportunity for us to play a team from another country," ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said. "We were focusing on giving playing time to the players that needed it. For all practical purposes, we were the team that was the aggressor but I didn't think we kept the ball well enough. I thought we gave them too much time on the ball but we did better on that in the second half."
The Sun Devils were not without their chances on Saturday. Just like in its game against Loyola Chicago on Friday night (ASU had a 29-2 advantage on shots), ASU moved the ball into scoring position time and again. Unfortunately the shots were just not going on this day. Perhaps no sequence better illustrated ASU's offensive frustrations than in the 70th minute when – with the game tied 0-0 – a penalty kick and immediate rebound both missed their mark.
Adriana Orozco, Madison Kmetko, Kayla Satterfield and Jaimie Salas tied for the team lead with three shots each. Kmetko and Orozco both had two shots on goal to pace the Sun Devils. Kmetko had a shot hit the crossbar in the 54th minute and Orozco just missed scoring with a header off a great free kick by Devyn Kelsey in the 67th minute.
Sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Day played all 90 minutes and made four saves.
In addition to Coon and Mader, also starting for ASU on Saturday were defenders Satterfield, Annie Warren and Madison Wolf, midfielders Kmetko, Orozco and Keeley Gormley and forwards Olivia Hernandez and Salas.
Saturday's contest against Beijing Normal concluded an arduous stretch for the Sun Devils in which they played four games in nine days, traveled across the country to Boston to open their season and started fall semester classes. Given the little rest time his team had in that stretch, Boyd said the objective of Saturday's game had everything to do with the big picture as it relates to the season
"Today's game was not for us to put our starting line out there and drive for the win," Boyd explained. "We were very much into playing more people and improving our game. I like some traits that we have that have been consistent. Our work rate and competitiveness are extremely high. We're organized defensively but I'd like us to be a little more organized. On offense, we need to keep the ball better and our personality players need to become those players. But 2-0-1 (after three regular season games), there's nothing wrong with that."
Still, the competitive instinct that resides in players and coaches alike, could be felt at the conclusion of the game. Boyd: "We took this game as a developmental tool but we wanted to win and we were a little disappointed that we didn't."
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend when they host the annual Sun Devil Desert Classic. ASU will host Columbia on Friday at 4:30 p.m. (followed by Arizona vs. Denver at 7 p.m.) and Denver on Sunday at 7 p.m. (Arizona will face Columbia earlier in the day at 11 a.m.). To purchase tickets for next weekend's games, click here or contact the Sun Devil ticket office at 480-965-5812.