TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State battled for 90 minutes Thursday but ultimately fell to Washington State in a tight, 1-0 heartbreaker.
It was a 63rd-minute header from Cougar (9-6-2, 4-5-0 Pac-12) forward Elyse Bennett that ultimately doomed the Sun Devils (4-10-3, 1-6-2), the lone blemish for a Sun Devil defense that answered nearly everything thrown at them throughout the evening.
"We were set up defensively where we knew we were going to be out-shot considerably," said head coach Graham Winkworth after the match. "We knew that if they were shooting from distance with Nikki (Panas) in goal, we would be fine. Unfortunately, we just got beat around the outside once."
In the match's first half, a strong defensive effort from Arizona State allowed them to withstand a relentless Washington State attack.
Midfielder Kylie Miniefield got in on the action from the start, making two header saves from behind goalkeeper Nikki Panas in the match's fifth-minute. Panas was nails as well, finishing the opening stanza with a clean sheet and nine saves.
Panas ended up cracking the program's top-10 list for saves in one season in the 29th-minute, snagging a shot off the foot of Morgan Weaver to write her name in the school's record book. She ended the night with 76 saves on the year, putting Panas in seventh place in Sun Devil history.
"The Pac-12 is probably the strongest conference in the country," Panas said after. "I just want to continue to grow as a goalkeeper and try to be one of those players that makes other teams say, 'Shoot, Nikki's in the net'."
Arizona State fought hard in the final 45 minutes and ultimately had three shots on goal, but none of the strong attempts were able to find the back of the net.
Washington State finished the match with an edge in both shots (25-9) and attempts on goal (12-3) in the 1-0 victory.
The Sun Devils will return to action on Sunday for the final home game of the season. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. and the match can be seen on the ASU Live Stream.
It was a 63rd-minute header from Cougar (9-6-2, 4-5-0 Pac-12) forward Elyse Bennett that ultimately doomed the Sun Devils (4-10-3, 1-6-2), the lone blemish for a Sun Devil defense that answered nearly everything thrown at them throughout the evening.
"We were set up defensively where we knew we were going to be out-shot considerably," said head coach Graham Winkworth after the match. "We knew that if they were shooting from distance with Nikki (Panas) in goal, we would be fine. Unfortunately, we just got beat around the outside once."
In the match's first half, a strong defensive effort from Arizona State allowed them to withstand a relentless Washington State attack.
Midfielder Kylie Miniefield got in on the action from the start, making two header saves from behind goalkeeper Nikki Panas in the match's fifth-minute. Panas was nails as well, finishing the opening stanza with a clean sheet and nine saves.
8' ?? Jumpman, jumpman, jumpman, jumpman ?? pic.twitter.com/XAB9kcZX9z
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) October 27, 2017
Panas ended up cracking the program's top-10 list for saves in one season in the 29th-minute, snagging a shot off the foot of Morgan Weaver to write her name in the school's record book. She ended the night with 76 saves on the year, putting Panas in seventh place in Sun Devil history.
"The Pac-12 is probably the strongest conference in the country," Panas said after. "I just want to continue to grow as a goalkeeper and try to be one of those players that makes other teams say, 'Shoot, Nikki's in the net'."
Arizona State fought hard in the final 45 minutes and ultimately had three shots on goal, but none of the strong attempts were able to find the back of the net.
SO ?? CLOSE ?? pic.twitter.com/aMLXkAlKrk
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) October 27, 2017
Washington State finished the match with an edge in both shots (25-9) and attempts on goal (12-3) in the 1-0 victory.
The Sun Devils will return to action on Sunday for the final home game of the season. Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. and the match can be seen on the ASU Live Stream.