TEMPE, Ariz.--The ASU soccer team dropped its first match of the 2018 Sun Devil Desert Classic, falling to the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, 2-1, Friday night at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
After an ASU foul in the 25th- minute UNH junior forward Ally Reynolds connected on a penalty kick to give UNH an early 1-0 lead.
The Wildcats wasted little time building their lead as junior forward Kaylan Williams blasted a deep strike outside the 18' box, just out of reach of the ASU keeper, extending the UNH lead to 2-0.
Check out some of the sights from the first half here at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium! pic.twitter.com/BlT0xLVP3r
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) September 1, 2018
The Sun Devil scoring drought would end early in the second half. A slight tweak in the formation by Coach Winkworth, moving to a three defender look, would pay immediate dividends.
In her first game for the Sun Devils since returning from the U20 World Cup where she captained the Mexican team, ASU freshman midfielder Alexia Delgado rocketed a shot from outside the 18' box that skipped just under the cross bar. The goal, Delgado's first as a Sun Devil, cut the Wildcat lead to just one goal with nearly the entire second half to play.
"Second half, we had to go through and change the system," Coach Winkworth said. "We proved that we can play with a back three if we need to. We scored a wonder-strike from Alexia."47' @AlexiaDelgado99 cuts the New Hampshire lead to one! Her first goal of the season was a perfect strike that just found its way under the crossbar! #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/h3a3YBwoCT
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) September 1, 2018
The Sun Devils continued to put pressure on the Wildcats through the second half, controlling a majority of the possession in the period, but UNH goalkeeper Mia Neas came up with three saves preventing an ASU equalizer.
"I was happy with the effort in the second half," Coach Winkworth added. "We spoke about commitment at halftime and that is something that we did put out there in the second half. I was much happier with the response from an effort standpoint in the final 45 minutes of the match."
The 2018 Sun Devil Desert Classic will conclude Sunday, with a pair of games scheduled at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 Sun Devil soccer season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter.