Tucson, Ariz.-- The Arizona State soccer team snapped a two-game slide Sunday afternoon with a, 2-1, victory over the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles in ASU's final match of the 2017 University of Arizona Tournament at Mulcahy Soccer Stadium.
"Sometimes there are things that are far more important than the game of soccer," head coach Graham Winkworth said. "First off I would just like to say that I am happy that those ladies, and their coaching staff, are safe and away from everything that is going on in the state of Florida. For them to come out here and put on two quality performances like they did while anticipating the events of this weekend back home shows the type of character and people that are a part of that team. All credit to them, and my thoughts and prayers are with their families back in Florida."
Defense ruled the first half of play, with both teams combining for just eight shots total. As the game reached halftime, ASU had pushed to control the physicality of the game, earning eight whistles in the half.
"We wanted to play high tempo, that was the plan," Winkworth added. "We actually did not want to commit as many fouls as we did because they are a very dangerous team on free kicks, and that was one of the things we wanted to try to avoid. We were not able to get the ball wide, which is what we wanted to try to do, all credit to them for keeping us from being able to do that. If it wasn't for Nikki (Panas) in the first five minutes, we would have been down three goals. We pulled ourselves together and got through the first half, zero-zero."
The Sun Devils entered the second half of play looking to break through a defense that had allowed just six goals all season before the Sunday meeting.
The scoreless outing would be broke up by junior midfielder Jemma Purfield, who collected a long ball from senior Jessica Raybe and buried a ball in the lower corner of the net to put ASU up, 1-0. The goal for Purfield was her second of the season, and 16th- career goal.
The Sun Devils would increase their lead just eight minutes later when junior defender Angela Boyle was able to corral a deflected shot inside the 18, and fire it through a sea of Eagle defenders to give ASU a 2-0 advantage with just under 27 minutes remaining in the match.
FGCU would not go quietly, as the Eagles would answer back with a goal of their own in the 74th- minute, but it would not be enough as Nikki Panas and the Sun Devil defense would hold on to close out the, 2-1, Sun Devil victory.
"I thought the second half effort by Olive Jones was the very reason that she is going to be a big player for us over the next four years," said Winkworth. "She was fantastic in the second half. We called her in to hold the ball up and she didn't play like a freshman, she played like a senior under a lot of pressure. Sometimes it is that work that goes unrecognized, but it is a key component to what happened today. A lot of credit goes to her for that second half performance."
The Sun Devils will return to Tempe next weekend to host a pair of matches beginning with a Friday meeting against Hawaii, before closing the nonconference slate against Weber State on Sunday. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2017 Sun Devil soccer season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.
"Sometimes there are things that are far more important than the game of soccer," head coach Graham Winkworth said. "First off I would just like to say that I am happy that those ladies, and their coaching staff, are safe and away from everything that is going on in the state of Florida. For them to come out here and put on two quality performances like they did while anticipating the events of this weekend back home shows the type of character and people that are a part of that team. All credit to them, and my thoughts and prayers are with their families back in Florida."
Defense ruled the first half of play, with both teams combining for just eight shots total. As the game reached halftime, ASU had pushed to control the physicality of the game, earning eight whistles in the half.
"We wanted to play high tempo, that was the plan," Winkworth added. "We actually did not want to commit as many fouls as we did because they are a very dangerous team on free kicks, and that was one of the things we wanted to try to avoid. We were not able to get the ball wide, which is what we wanted to try to do, all credit to them for keeping us from being able to do that. If it wasn't for Nikki (Panas) in the first five minutes, we would have been down three goals. We pulled ourselves together and got through the first half, zero-zero."
The Sun Devils entered the second half of play looking to break through a defense that had allowed just six goals all season before the Sunday meeting.
The scoreless outing would be broke up by junior midfielder Jemma Purfield, who collected a long ball from senior Jessica Raybe and buried a ball in the lower corner of the net to put ASU up, 1-0. The goal for Purfield was her second of the season, and 16th- career goal.
"That goal was crucial," said Winkworth. "I want to credit this group of ladies for how hard they worked in the second half. It wasn't a game where you could play pretty soccer, and the way that we set up, we needed to get the ball wide early and we were able to play a little bit more direct in the second half. It was a beautiful ball forward and Jemma did what she does best."Amanda Jones finds @JemmaPurfield to put the Sun Devils up, 1-0! #SunDevilPassion pic.twitter.com/ohfhliU53v
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) September 10, 2017
The Sun Devils would increase their lead just eight minutes later when junior defender Angela Boyle was able to corral a deflected shot inside the 18, and fire it through a sea of Eagle defenders to give ASU a 2-0 advantage with just under 27 minutes remaining in the match.
FGCU would not go quietly, as the Eagles would answer back with a goal of their own in the 74th- minute, but it would not be enough as Nikki Panas and the Sun Devil defense would hold on to close out the, 2-1, Sun Devil victory.
The game winning goal by @AngelaRoseBoyle earns the @OpusBank #12Best Moment. #Pac12Soccer pic.twitter.com/QoLf8DKqZR
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) September 11, 2017
"I thought the second half effort by Olive Jones was the very reason that she is going to be a big player for us over the next four years," said Winkworth. "She was fantastic in the second half. We called her in to hold the ball up and she didn't play like a freshman, she played like a senior under a lot of pressure. Sometimes it is that work that goes unrecognized, but it is a key component to what happened today. A lot of credit goes to her for that second half performance."
The Sun Devils will return to Tempe next weekend to host a pair of matches beginning with a Friday meeting against Hawaii, before closing the nonconference slate against Weber State on Sunday. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2017 Sun Devil soccer season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.