San Diego, Calif.-- The Arizona State women's soccer team needed extra time, but came away with their first victory of the season, 2-1, over San Diego State at the SDSU Sports Deck Friday evening.
"I was very happy with the girls tonight," said head coach Graham Winkworth. "They went a long distance tonight and worked extremely hard. They were very unfortunate to come away with nothing against Ohio State. We worked just as hard tonight and fortunately we were the team that was able to find the winner in overtime. I think we need to be a little more patient in our buildup, but I was really pleased for the girls to get that win."
The Aztecs and Sun Devils fought through the first 40 minutes of Friday's game with neither offense able to generate many chances on goal. As the match closed in on the 40th- minute, both teams had combined to record just three shots, and just one ASU comer kick.
The Sun Devils would strike first in the 42nd minute when Christina Edwards lofted a pass into the box that found Natalie Stephens who buried a header into the back of the net for her first goal of the season.
"It was a great play set up by Amanda Jones," Winkworth added. "She dribbled it to the backline and pulled a defender wide and flicked a pass on to Christina who sent a sweet cross in. Natalie got on the end of it and sent a header in back across. It was a great finish. I was teasing her before that it was more than she had scored last season and she told me it was more than she had scored the last two seasons so we had a good laugh. She is a great finisher and it was great for her to get off the mark tonight."
With 21 minutes remaining in regulation, the Aztecs pulled even with a goal from Angela Mitchell to make it a 1-1 game entering the 69th- minute of play.
With nether team able to break through in the remaining minutes of play, the Sun Devils found themselves in their second overtime match of the 2017 season.
Both teams buckled down on defense through the first eight minutes of overtime, with neither side able to even record a shot. Senior Jessica Raybe would break that stalemate when she corralled a ball inside the 18' box and fired in the game winner in the 100th minute of play. The goal for Raybe was her first of the season, and eighth of her Sun Devil career.
With the win, Arizona State pulled even against San Diego state in the all-time series which now stands at 4-4-1. Friday's win also marked the first Sun Devil road victory over the Aztecs, in a series that dates back all the way to the 1996 season.
Making her first start in the net, freshman Nikki Panas anchored a defense that held the Aztecs to just four shots on goal in the match, including zero shots in the overtime period.
"Going into preseason Nikki wasn't here yet," said Winkworth. "Our other three girls had about eight days to show what they could do before the Northridge game, and they all got an opportunity in that game. With Nikki coming in so late, I didn't feel like it was the right time to give her a chance against Ohio State, but she has had about the same amount of time before this game so we gave her that opportunity tonight. She played extremely well and pulled off a couple of big saves. She is very commanding and communicates well with the back line. She has excellent feet and is good on crosses and is a good shot blocker. I think that she has the potential to grow into one of the nation's best goalkeepers."
Friday's win over the Aztecs also marked the first victory at ASU for head coach Graham Winkworth, who has now amassed an incredible 178-100-15 record in his 13 year head coaching career.
"It is always nice to get the first one," Winkworth said of the win. "I put a lot of pressure on myself, but these girls are working extremely hard and I knew it was just a matter of time. When you have got young ladies who are prepared to grind and work as hard as they do, I knew it was not going to be long before results start to follow. I am really happy for the girls. It isn't about me getting my first win, it is about these girls getting the first win of the season."
The Sun Devils will return to action next Friday with a home match against Boston University, before hosting UCF on Sunday afternoon. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2017 Sun Devil soccer season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.
"I was very happy with the girls tonight," said head coach Graham Winkworth. "They went a long distance tonight and worked extremely hard. They were very unfortunate to come away with nothing against Ohio State. We worked just as hard tonight and fortunately we were the team that was able to find the winner in overtime. I think we need to be a little more patient in our buildup, but I was really pleased for the girls to get that win."
The Aztecs and Sun Devils fought through the first 40 minutes of Friday's game with neither offense able to generate many chances on goal. As the match closed in on the 40th- minute, both teams had combined to record just three shots, and just one ASU comer kick.
The Sun Devils would strike first in the 42nd minute when Christina Edwards lofted a pass into the box that found Natalie Stephens who buried a header into the back of the net for her first goal of the season.
"It was a great play set up by Amanda Jones," Winkworth added. "She dribbled it to the backline and pulled a defender wide and flicked a pass on to Christina who sent a sweet cross in. Natalie got on the end of it and sent a header in back across. It was a great finish. I was teasing her before that it was more than she had scored last season and she told me it was more than she had scored the last two seasons so we had a good laugh. She is a great finisher and it was great for her to get off the mark tonight."
With 21 minutes remaining in regulation, the Aztecs pulled even with a goal from Angela Mitchell to make it a 1-1 game entering the 69th- minute of play.
With nether team able to break through in the remaining minutes of play, the Sun Devils found themselves in their second overtime match of the 2017 season.
Both teams buckled down on defense through the first eight minutes of overtime, with neither side able to even record a shot. Senior Jessica Raybe would break that stalemate when she corralled a ball inside the 18' box and fired in the game winner in the 100th minute of play. The goal for Raybe was her first of the season, and eighth of her Sun Devil career.
With the win, Arizona State pulled even against San Diego state in the all-time series which now stands at 4-4-1. Friday's win also marked the first Sun Devil road victory over the Aztecs, in a series that dates back all the way to the 1996 season.
Making her first start in the net, freshman Nikki Panas anchored a defense that held the Aztecs to just four shots on goal in the match, including zero shots in the overtime period.
"Going into preseason Nikki wasn't here yet," said Winkworth. "Our other three girls had about eight days to show what they could do before the Northridge game, and they all got an opportunity in that game. With Nikki coming in so late, I didn't feel like it was the right time to give her a chance against Ohio State, but she has had about the same amount of time before this game so we gave her that opportunity tonight. She played extremely well and pulled off a couple of big saves. She is very commanding and communicates well with the back line. She has excellent feet and is good on crosses and is a good shot blocker. I think that she has the potential to grow into one of the nation's best goalkeepers."
Friday's win over the Aztecs also marked the first victory at ASU for head coach Graham Winkworth, who has now amassed an incredible 178-100-15 record in his 13 year head coaching career.
"It is always nice to get the first one," Winkworth said of the win. "I put a lot of pressure on myself, but these girls are working extremely hard and I knew it was just a matter of time. When you have got young ladies who are prepared to grind and work as hard as they do, I knew it was not going to be long before results start to follow. I am really happy for the girls. It isn't about me getting my first win, it is about these girls getting the first win of the season."
The Sun Devils will return to action next Friday with a home match against Boston University, before hosting UCF on Sunday afternoon. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2017 Sun Devil soccer season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.