TEMPE, Ariz. – The Sun Devils closed out its nonconference portion of the 2018 season with a 1-0 win over the Weber State Wildcats Sunday afternoon at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
Arizona State has now won three consecutive contests courtesy of a shutout. The Sun Devil defense has now not been score upon in over 311 minutes of game action.
"I thought we defended pretty well for the most part. Limited their opportunities," head coach Graham Winkworth said on the team's performance. "They were one of the most well organize and coached teams we have played so far this season. The way they set up is very difficult to break down and in the first half I felt that we were too impatient to get a goal too quickly. In the second half, we were a little more patient and we were able to create more quality chances as a result."
ASU spent a majority of the first half trying to establish an offensive rhythm. Both teams exchanged offensive runs and shots near the goal, but could not find the back of the net for a 0-0 first half.
ASU started building offensive momentum in the second half, as they become more familiar with how to attack the stingy Wildcat defense.
Minutes into the second half, ASU generated their best offensive opportunity to that point. After fantastic build up play, senior forward Jemma Purfield blasted a ball that rang off the front post. In the 50th minute ASU freshman forward Nicole Douglas was dribbling on a breakaway when Weber State Goalkeeper Nikki Pittman made a diving save at the doorstep. Pittman finished with 3 saves.
A change in mindset coming out of the half was clear, as Arizona State outshot the Wildcats 9-1 in the second half.
The Sun Devils scoring drought would end in the 61st minute when Purfield laid a beautifully placed ball into the box. Nicole Douglas managed to deflect the ball off her back foot while fending off several Weber State defenders, giving ASU the 1-0 lead. The goal marks Douglass fifth of the season, a team high.
"I got the ball and I knew I was one v. one and I have been told to go when one v. one, so I saw her legs open and flicked it through her legs and went around her," Purfield said on her assist. "I know when I have a quality center forward like Nicole Douglass running onto the ball, it will go into the back of the net. I was really happy with that."
Defensively, ASU prevented a late game equalizer thanks to discipline formation and solid goalkeeping. ASU senior goalkeeper Sydney Day recorded one save and picked up the clean sheet.
"I am very fortunate. I have three really good goalkeepers," Coach Winkworth remarked. "One is less experience so she is more for the future. The other two are fighting it out, but the way they are fighting it out in a positive manner. They are encouraging one and other and they are pushing each other in training. I can't praise them enough. Really proud of both of them."
"I think we have become more solid as a back four moving forward. Starting from the defender, we have gotten to the point where we are getting shutouts and taking pride in getting shutouts. That is massive for us if we want to win games and compete," Purfield said. " We have goals coming from all over the field, from midfield to the front three. Specifically Dougy (Nicole Douglas) is scoring a lot of goals for us. We are not worried about the goals aspect, as long as we can keep ourselves solid and keep clean sheets, we think the goals will come with it."
Sun Devils will begin a brutal stretch of Pac-12 competition. The Conference of Champions currently boasts four teams ranked in the top-25 of the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
"It is a tough conference, but I think we are ready for it. We have been building all year for it and have got some great results here coming in," Purfield said. "We have kept a lot of clean sheets and it is a big improvement from last year's non-conference. We are building, staying positive, and I think we have a real chance going into the Pac this year."
ASU will hit the road when the face the California Golden Bears to open up conference play on Saturday September 22. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 Sun Devil Soccer Season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
"We have got amazing camaraderie. The team is so tight. They are proud to be Sun Devils and it is that type of chemistry that goes a long way when it comes to the tougher games of the season," Coach Winkworth emphasized. "Next week, we have an extremely tough one at Cal. We are excited though. It is nice to match the number in the win column from last year and we have 11 games to try and improve upon it."
Arizona State has now won three consecutive contests courtesy of a shutout. The Sun Devil defense has now not been score upon in over 311 minutes of game action.
"I thought we defended pretty well for the most part. Limited their opportunities," head coach Graham Winkworth said on the team's performance. "They were one of the most well organize and coached teams we have played so far this season. The way they set up is very difficult to break down and in the first half I felt that we were too impatient to get a goal too quickly. In the second half, we were a little more patient and we were able to create more quality chances as a result."
ASU spent a majority of the first half trying to establish an offensive rhythm. Both teams exchanged offensive runs and shots near the goal, but could not find the back of the net for a 0-0 first half.
ASU started building offensive momentum in the second half, as they become more familiar with how to attack the stingy Wildcat defense.
Minutes into the second half, ASU generated their best offensive opportunity to that point. After fantastic build up play, senior forward Jemma Purfield blasted a ball that rang off the front post. In the 50th minute ASU freshman forward Nicole Douglas was dribbling on a breakaway when Weber State Goalkeeper Nikki Pittman made a diving save at the doorstep. Pittman finished with 3 saves.
A change in mindset coming out of the half was clear, as Arizona State outshot the Wildcats 9-1 in the second half.
The Sun Devils scoring drought would end in the 61st minute when Purfield laid a beautifully placed ball into the box. Nicole Douglas managed to deflect the ball off her back foot while fending off several Weber State defenders, giving ASU the 1-0 lead. The goal marks Douglass fifth of the season, a team high.
"I got the ball and I knew I was one v. one and I have been told to go when one v. one, so I saw her legs open and flicked it through her legs and went around her," Purfield said on her assist. "I know when I have a quality center forward like Nicole Douglass running onto the ball, it will go into the back of the net. I was really happy with that."
Defensively, ASU prevented a late game equalizer thanks to discipline formation and solid goalkeeping. ASU senior goalkeeper Sydney Day recorded one save and picked up the clean sheet.
"I am very fortunate. I have three really good goalkeepers," Coach Winkworth remarked. "One is less experience so she is more for the future. The other two are fighting it out, but the way they are fighting it out in a positive manner. They are encouraging one and other and they are pushing each other in training. I can't praise them enough. Really proud of both of them."
"I think we have become more solid as a back four moving forward. Starting from the defender, we have gotten to the point where we are getting shutouts and taking pride in getting shutouts. That is massive for us if we want to win games and compete," Purfield said. " We have goals coming from all over the field, from midfield to the front three. Specifically Dougy (Nicole Douglas) is scoring a lot of goals for us. We are not worried about the goals aspect, as long as we can keep ourselves solid and keep clean sheets, we think the goals will come with it."
Sun Devils will begin a brutal stretch of Pac-12 competition. The Conference of Champions currently boasts four teams ranked in the top-25 of the United Soccer Coaches Poll.
"It is a tough conference, but I think we are ready for it. We have been building all year for it and have got some great results here coming in," Purfield said. "We have kept a lot of clean sheets and it is a big improvement from last year's non-conference. We are building, staying positive, and I think we have a real chance going into the Pac this year."
ASU will hit the road when the face the California Golden Bears to open up conference play on Saturday September 22. Fans can follow all of the action from the 2018 Sun Devil Soccer Season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
"We have got amazing camaraderie. The team is so tight. They are proud to be Sun Devils and it is that type of chemistry that goes a long way when it comes to the tougher games of the season," Coach Winkworth emphasized. "Next week, we have an extremely tough one at Cal. We are excited though. It is nice to match the number in the win column from last year and we have 11 games to try and improve upon it."