TEMPE, Ariz. – Lucy Lara and Adriana Orozco both scored goals and Emma Malsy made three saves to record her second consecutive shutout as the Arizona State women's soccer team closed out non-conference play with a 2-0 win over Cal State Fullerton on Friday.
With the win the Sun Devils concluded the non-conference portion of their schedule with a mark of 5-2-1. They will now turn their attention to the 11-game Pac-12 slate that will kick off next week.
"We needed more of a test and today we got a better test. Cal State Fullerton is a better team in terms of what we needed to compete against and I thought the battle was excellent," ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said. "This game prepared us more for the conference. Now we go to UCLA and we know what that's like so we know that the challenge in front of us is a good one but I think as a whole we've done a solid job in our nonconference. We're disappointed with the two that we lost because we felt we should have won. Either way I thought that we played well through that period of time."
ASU and CSUF each recorded four shots over the first 45 minutes of the game. The Sun Devils would catch a break in the 23rd minute of play when Lara's shot from 25 yards out was deflected into the net by Titans goalkeeper Jennifer Stuart to give ASU an a 1-0 lead. Although the goal was the result of a miscue, it was a heads up play by Lara that was the impetus for the goal. Lara initially was attempting to find teammate Aly Moon with a pass, but a Titans defender intercepted it. Lara quickly regained possession of the ball, made a run toward goal and fired the shot that turned into ASU's first goal of the game.
"We got the luck of the bounce today," Boyd said. "You look at that goal, and I have a feeling that their keeper would make that save nine out of ten times. I think we're due for a little luck. We've been playing well and outshooting opponents and just not getting results. I was quite happy that one of those went in. That made an enormous difference (because) it made them have to come out and come at us more which opened more space and in the second half and we took advantage of that."
The difference Boyd referenced was an 11-5 advantage in shots in the second half for the Sun Devils, who increased their lead to 2-0 in the 47th minute after Orozco and Natalie Stephens perfectly executed a give-and-go maneuver that resulted in Orozco's third goal of the season. The scoring play was started by Orozco who dribbled along the 18 before sending a pass back to Stephens, who made a move to draw in the Titans defense while Orozco slipped into a vacated area of the box. Stephens quickly sent the ball back to Orozco, who took the pass in stride and beat the keeper for the goal.
After seeing a 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 double-overtime loss one week earlier against San Francisco, Boyd was pleased with the way the Sun Devils closed out Friday's match, something that was a point of emphasis during the week.
"One of the things the team talked about last week was they wanted to finish games better and they were spot on with that and so – with the exception of one change – we left our starters in the whole second half for the purpose of them practicing closing out games and I thought they did that well," Boyd said.
Helping Malsy record her second consecutive shutout were Kylie Miniefield, Devyn Kelsey, Mckenzie Grossman, Madison Stark, Hailey Zerbel and Melinda Gutierrez. Miniefield, Kelsey, Grossman and Stark all played from start to finish to help ASU record its fourth shutout of the season.
"I thought she was solid," Boyd said of Malsy's play on Friday. "I thought she did a very good job today. There are a couple little areas that we need to continue to clean up, but as a whole I feel like she has done a good job."
The Sun Devils nearly added on to their advantage as both Miniefield (crossbar) and Stephens (post) had shots just miss in the second half.
Stephens led the Sun Devils with fourth shots while Jazmarie Mader, ASU's leader in goals with six, had three shots. On more than one occasion Mader's extra effort nearly set up a scoring opportunity. Friday's game was the first time since the season opener that Mader did not score a goal. Her streak of scoring a goal in six straight games came within two of tying the school record of eight, set by former Sun Devil Cali Farquharson.
ASU begins Pac-12 play next Thursday (7 p.m. PT) when it goes on the road to face No. 9 UCLA in a game that will be televised live by Pac-12 Network.
With the win the Sun Devils concluded the non-conference portion of their schedule with a mark of 5-2-1. They will now turn their attention to the 11-game Pac-12 slate that will kick off next week.
"We needed more of a test and today we got a better test. Cal State Fullerton is a better team in terms of what we needed to compete against and I thought the battle was excellent," ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said. "This game prepared us more for the conference. Now we go to UCLA and we know what that's like so we know that the challenge in front of us is a good one but I think as a whole we've done a solid job in our nonconference. We're disappointed with the two that we lost because we felt we should have won. Either way I thought that we played well through that period of time."
ASU and CSUF each recorded four shots over the first 45 minutes of the game. The Sun Devils would catch a break in the 23rd minute of play when Lara's shot from 25 yards out was deflected into the net by Titans goalkeeper Jennifer Stuart to give ASU an a 1-0 lead. Although the goal was the result of a miscue, it was a heads up play by Lara that was the impetus for the goal. Lara initially was attempting to find teammate Aly Moon with a pass, but a Titans defender intercepted it. Lara quickly regained possession of the ball, made a run toward goal and fired the shot that turned into ASU's first goal of the game.
"We got the luck of the bounce today," Boyd said. "You look at that goal, and I have a feeling that their keeper would make that save nine out of ten times. I think we're due for a little luck. We've been playing well and outshooting opponents and just not getting results. I was quite happy that one of those went in. That made an enormous difference (because) it made them have to come out and come at us more which opened more space and in the second half and we took advantage of that."
The difference Boyd referenced was an 11-5 advantage in shots in the second half for the Sun Devils, who increased their lead to 2-0 in the 47th minute after Orozco and Natalie Stephens perfectly executed a give-and-go maneuver that resulted in Orozco's third goal of the season. The scoring play was started by Orozco who dribbled along the 18 before sending a pass back to Stephens, who made a move to draw in the Titans defense while Orozco slipped into a vacated area of the box. Stephens quickly sent the ball back to Orozco, who took the pass in stride and beat the keeper for the goal.
After seeing a 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 double-overtime loss one week earlier against San Francisco, Boyd was pleased with the way the Sun Devils closed out Friday's match, something that was a point of emphasis during the week.
"One of the things the team talked about last week was they wanted to finish games better and they were spot on with that and so – with the exception of one change – we left our starters in the whole second half for the purpose of them practicing closing out games and I thought they did that well," Boyd said.
Helping Malsy record her second consecutive shutout were Kylie Miniefield, Devyn Kelsey, Mckenzie Grossman, Madison Stark, Hailey Zerbel and Melinda Gutierrez. Miniefield, Kelsey, Grossman and Stark all played from start to finish to help ASU record its fourth shutout of the season.
"I thought she was solid," Boyd said of Malsy's play on Friday. "I thought she did a very good job today. There are a couple little areas that we need to continue to clean up, but as a whole I feel like she has done a good job."
The Sun Devils nearly added on to their advantage as both Miniefield (crossbar) and Stephens (post) had shots just miss in the second half.
Stephens led the Sun Devils with fourth shots while Jazmarie Mader, ASU's leader in goals with six, had three shots. On more than one occasion Mader's extra effort nearly set up a scoring opportunity. Friday's game was the first time since the season opener that Mader did not score a goal. Her streak of scoring a goal in six straight games came within two of tying the school record of eight, set by former Sun Devil Cali Farquharson.
ASU begins Pac-12 play next Thursday (7 p.m. PT) when it goes on the road to face No. 9 UCLA in a game that will be televised live by Pac-12 Network.