TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State was unable to complete the upset of No. 7 USC and fell 2-1 to the defending national champions after being held scoreless in the second half of Sunday's match at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
"I am so proud of my team's effort today," said head coach Graham Winkworth. "We just played an excellent game against the No. 7 team in the nation, and the defending national champions. If you watched that game and didn't know who were the defending champions from last year, I don't think you would have been able to tell the difference."
Jemma Purfield's early goal, and a lock-down performance by the defense in the first half, set hopes for an upset, but two unanswered USC goals in the second half reversed the tide in favor of the seventh-ranked Trojans.
Arizona State had a chance to add an insurance after a red card was issued to USC's Dominique Randle, but Angela Boyle's shot went high over the bar.
The Sun Devils remained steadfast on defense and kept the Trojans scoreless until the 61st- minute. After Boyle was issued a red card, USC capitalized on a penalty kick and tied the match at one-all.
The Trojans' took the lead a little over 10 minutes later with another goal, 2-1. However, the Sun Devils showed fight and continued to attack on offense. Arizona State finished with both the advantage in shots (17-13) and shots on goal (9-6).
Despite the loss, the Sun Devils will take confidence into the home slide of the 2017 season, after playing a stretch of games that featured four opponents that rank in the top-15 in the last two weeks of play.
"We have just played four teams that are ranked in the top-11 in back-to-back matches," Winkworth added. "For periods of the game against UCLA I thought we looked good. I thought we were the stronger team today until the decision to send Angela off was made. I couldn't be more proud of the team's effort these last few weeks. They have been excellent."
The Sun Devils travel to Eugene next to take on Oregon on Friday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m. MST. Following the trip to the North West, the Sun Devils will continue their road stretch with matches at Colorado and Utah. The Sun Devils will close out their home schedule the weekend of Oct. 26 with matches against Washington State and Washington. Fans can keep up with all of the action from the 2017 soccer season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.
"I am so proud of my team's effort today," said head coach Graham Winkworth. "We just played an excellent game against the No. 7 team in the nation, and the defending national champions. If you watched that game and didn't know who were the defending champions from last year, I don't think you would have been able to tell the difference."
Jemma Purfield's early goal, and a lock-down performance by the defense in the first half, set hopes for an upset, but two unanswered USC goals in the second half reversed the tide in favor of the seventh-ranked Trojans.
Arizona State had a chance to add an insurance after a red card was issued to USC's Dominique Randle, but Angela Boyle's shot went high over the bar.
The Sun Devils remained steadfast on defense and kept the Trojans scoreless until the 61st- minute. After Boyle was issued a red card, USC capitalized on a penalty kick and tied the match at one-all.
The Trojans' took the lead a little over 10 minutes later with another goal, 2-1. However, the Sun Devils showed fight and continued to attack on offense. Arizona State finished with both the advantage in shots (17-13) and shots on goal (9-6).
Despite the loss, the Sun Devils will take confidence into the home slide of the 2017 season, after playing a stretch of games that featured four opponents that rank in the top-15 in the last two weeks of play.
"We have just played four teams that are ranked in the top-11 in back-to-back matches," Winkworth added. "For periods of the game against UCLA I thought we looked good. I thought we were the stronger team today until the decision to send Angela off was made. I couldn't be more proud of the team's effort these last few weeks. They have been excellent."
The Sun Devils travel to Eugene next to take on Oregon on Friday, Oct. 13 at 4 p.m. MST. Following the trip to the North West, the Sun Devils will continue their road stretch with matches at Colorado and Utah. The Sun Devils will close out their home schedule the weekend of Oct. 26 with matches against Washington State and Washington. Fans can keep up with all of the action from the 2017 soccer season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.