TEMPE, Ariz. – On a wet and rainy day at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium the Arizona State women's soccer team was not able to secure it first conference win of the season as the visiting Colorado Buffaloes edged the Sun Devils 1-0 to capture their seventh straight win and remain perfect in Pac-12 play.
The Sun Devils (5-4-2, 0-2-1 Pac-12) put six of their 10 shots on frame on Sunday, however four of those shots on goal – and eight of their 10 shots overall – came in the second half when they were looking for the goal that would equalize the contest.
"Earlier in the season we talked about wanting to be a better second half team. Right now, we're a good second half team but we've got to go find the first goal," ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said. "I'm trying to get them to combine those two. That's what we talked about before the game today. I thought we did well in the first half. It was raining at that time, so it was very wet. What you saw is that we were playing great balls behind but it was wet and they kept running away from us and we weren't catching them. We were, I thought, very, very close to getting one of those and then we got a break away. So, I actually thought we played pretty well in the first half."
The Sun Devils and Buffaloes (9-3, 3-0 Pac-12) were involved in a very physical affair as the two teams combined for 26 fouls (14 on ASU and 12 on Colorado) and one yellow card (Colorado). The physicality of the contest would end up having a direct effect on the outcome.
In what has become an all-to-common theme for the Sun Devils, an unlucky series in the waning moments of the first half proved to be the difference in the game. The sequence that eventually led to the only goal of the game occurred in the 45th minute when Colorado's Stephanie Zuniga sent a high pass for teammate Mikaela Kraus at the top of the 18. In an attempt to beat Zuniga to the pass, Sun Devil defenders Mckenzie Grossman and Madison Stark both went up to try and head the ball out of the area. Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, Grossman and Stark collided heads where all three players met in an attempt to make contact with the ball. In addition to losing Stark and Grossman for the remainder of the game, the Sun Devils were also called for a foul and the Buffaloes were awarded a free kick at the point of the foul. Taylor Kornieck, who came into Sunday's game tied for the conference lead in goals with seven, would take full advantage of the opportunity as she got her kick around ASU's wall of players and past Sun Devil goalkeeper Emma Malsy to give Colorado a 1-0 lead with 32 seconds left in the half.
"The wall was set. We were good," Boyd said of ASU's defensive alignment on the shot that led to the only goal of the game. "With a shot from the top of the 18, wall or not, there are only so many bodies. From that far away, there's a lot of open goal, and their player is good. She struck it really well. She hits a great ball."
According to Boyd, there was confusion in the immediate aftermath of the collision that led to the free kick.
"I thought (the call) was going to be for us," Boyd said of his initial reaction. "Then I thought they were doing a drop ball because they didn't call anything right off the bat. Then I thought 'Well, ok, (the referee ) is just telling them to kick it to our keeper. And then it looked like he was going to do a drop ball where both (teams) were going to contest it so I said 'Ok. Get out of the way and we'll just kick it back to you guys.' He ended up giving them a set piece direct kick at the top of the 18 and they drove it right in our goal."
In Thursday's game against Utah the Sun Devils found themselves in a similar situation after the Utes converted a set piece with 62 seconds left in the first half to take a 1-0 lead. In that contest the Sun Devils were still chasing the equalizer with less than 10 minutes left in the game. In the 81st minute Jazmarie Mader came through with her team-leading seventh goal of the season to send the game into overtime in what eventually ended in a 1-1 tie.
It appeared it might be déjà vu all over again in the 63rd minute when Mader took possession of a short goal kick and was off to the races, but Colorado's goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins was able to knock down Mader's shot from 12 yards out.
Melinda Gutierrez started an equally dangerous sequence in the 83rd minute when Tompkins went up and got a hand on the ball that Gutierrez sent towards the goal. The ball went straight to Mader, who was inside the six and to the right of the goal. Mader quickly surveyed her options and then passed to Natalie Stephens, who one-timed a shot from 12 yards away, but Tompkins, who had six saves on the day, denied the Sun Devils again.
Mader and Adriana Orozco tied for the team lead with two shots with Mader leading the team in shots on goal with two. Also putting a shot on frame were Jessica Raybe, Stark, Stephens, Madison Kmetko and Gutierrez. Malsy, who made four saves, Devyn Kelsey and Kylie Miniefield played all 90 minutes on Sunday.
In addition to not having Stark and Grossman on the field for the entire second half, the Sun Devils were also without junior forward Aly Moon, the team's active career leader in goals and points, for the second straight game.
The Sun Devils will be on the road for four of their next five games, beginning on Thursday (4 p.m. PT) when they play the Washington Huskies in Seattle in a game that can be seen live on Pac-12 Networks.
The Sun Devils (5-4-2, 0-2-1 Pac-12) put six of their 10 shots on frame on Sunday, however four of those shots on goal – and eight of their 10 shots overall – came in the second half when they were looking for the goal that would equalize the contest.
"Earlier in the season we talked about wanting to be a better second half team. Right now, we're a good second half team but we've got to go find the first goal," ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said. "I'm trying to get them to combine those two. That's what we talked about before the game today. I thought we did well in the first half. It was raining at that time, so it was very wet. What you saw is that we were playing great balls behind but it was wet and they kept running away from us and we weren't catching them. We were, I thought, very, very close to getting one of those and then we got a break away. So, I actually thought we played pretty well in the first half."
The Sun Devils and Buffaloes (9-3, 3-0 Pac-12) were involved in a very physical affair as the two teams combined for 26 fouls (14 on ASU and 12 on Colorado) and one yellow card (Colorado). The physicality of the contest would end up having a direct effect on the outcome.
In what has become an all-to-common theme for the Sun Devils, an unlucky series in the waning moments of the first half proved to be the difference in the game. The sequence that eventually led to the only goal of the game occurred in the 45th minute when Colorado's Stephanie Zuniga sent a high pass for teammate Mikaela Kraus at the top of the 18. In an attempt to beat Zuniga to the pass, Sun Devil defenders Mckenzie Grossman and Madison Stark both went up to try and head the ball out of the area. Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, Grossman and Stark collided heads where all three players met in an attempt to make contact with the ball. In addition to losing Stark and Grossman for the remainder of the game, the Sun Devils were also called for a foul and the Buffaloes were awarded a free kick at the point of the foul. Taylor Kornieck, who came into Sunday's game tied for the conference lead in goals with seven, would take full advantage of the opportunity as she got her kick around ASU's wall of players and past Sun Devil goalkeeper Emma Malsy to give Colorado a 1-0 lead with 32 seconds left in the half.
"The wall was set. We were good," Boyd said of ASU's defensive alignment on the shot that led to the only goal of the game. "With a shot from the top of the 18, wall or not, there are only so many bodies. From that far away, there's a lot of open goal, and their player is good. She struck it really well. She hits a great ball."
According to Boyd, there was confusion in the immediate aftermath of the collision that led to the free kick.
"I thought (the call) was going to be for us," Boyd said of his initial reaction. "Then I thought they were doing a drop ball because they didn't call anything right off the bat. Then I thought 'Well, ok, (the referee ) is just telling them to kick it to our keeper. And then it looked like he was going to do a drop ball where both (teams) were going to contest it so I said 'Ok. Get out of the way and we'll just kick it back to you guys.' He ended up giving them a set piece direct kick at the top of the 18 and they drove it right in our goal."
In Thursday's game against Utah the Sun Devils found themselves in a similar situation after the Utes converted a set piece with 62 seconds left in the first half to take a 1-0 lead. In that contest the Sun Devils were still chasing the equalizer with less than 10 minutes left in the game. In the 81st minute Jazmarie Mader came through with her team-leading seventh goal of the season to send the game into overtime in what eventually ended in a 1-1 tie.
It appeared it might be déjà vu all over again in the 63rd minute when Mader took possession of a short goal kick and was off to the races, but Colorado's goalkeeper Jalen Tompkins was able to knock down Mader's shot from 12 yards out.
Melinda Gutierrez started an equally dangerous sequence in the 83rd minute when Tompkins went up and got a hand on the ball that Gutierrez sent towards the goal. The ball went straight to Mader, who was inside the six and to the right of the goal. Mader quickly surveyed her options and then passed to Natalie Stephens, who one-timed a shot from 12 yards away, but Tompkins, who had six saves on the day, denied the Sun Devils again.
Mader and Adriana Orozco tied for the team lead with two shots with Mader leading the team in shots on goal with two. Also putting a shot on frame were Jessica Raybe, Stark, Stephens, Madison Kmetko and Gutierrez. Malsy, who made four saves, Devyn Kelsey and Kylie Miniefield played all 90 minutes on Sunday.
In addition to not having Stark and Grossman on the field for the entire second half, the Sun Devils were also without junior forward Aly Moon, the team's active career leader in goals and points, for the second straight game.
The Sun Devils will be on the road for four of their next five games, beginning on Thursday (4 p.m. PT) when they play the Washington Huskies in Seattle in a game that can be seen live on Pac-12 Networks.