Corvallis, Ore. -- Following a gutsy win in double-overtime over Oregon Thursday evening, the Arizona State soccer team capped their weekend with a dominant, 4-0, win over Oregon State Sunday afternoon. The win improved the Sun Devils to 10-5-1 on the season, including a 5-3-1 mark in Pac-12 play.
Looking to get their offense off to a fast start, the Sun Devils wasted little time as senior forward Casey Martinez put ASU on the board in just the sixth minute of the match with a shot from inside the six off a free kick.
"It was really important that we maintained our focus and discipline coming off what was a very important win on Thursday," head coach Graham Winkworth said of his team's performance. "I thought that scoring our first goal early was very important. Because of that, we allowed ourselves to open up and play with a little bit of freedom. It could have been very difficult if we would have found ourselves down early. I was really happy with the team's professionalism and character that we showed today."
Following a few back and forth minutes, the Sun Devils would extend their lead in the 33rd- minute when Nicole Douglas positioned herself perfectly to fire in a deflected shot from the top of the box, making it a 2-0 ASU lead.
The Sun Devil offense would not let off the gas to end the half, as Christina Edwards and Martinez combined to make it a 3-0 game with a goal in the 38th- minute, tying for the highest scoring half for the Sun Devils this season. The Sun Devils last scored three goals in the second half of a 4-0 win over SEMO earlier this season.
Following the break, ASU and Oregon State again traded jabs through the first 26-minutes of play, before ASU would strike again with a goal from freshman Marleen Schimmer, pulling the score to 4-0 in favor of the Maroon and Gold. The goal by Schimmer marked her third of the weekend after scoring twice in ASU's win over the Ducks Thursday.
"It was great to score four goals in the game today, but I was more happy with the fact that we didn't concede any. "I was really really happy with our back-line and goalkeeper because they take special pride in that. As a team we try to pride ourselves on our ability to defend all over the pitch. I felt that we worked extremely hard today, defending from front to back, and because of that our ladies were rewarded with a clean-sheet."
The two weekend wins for ASU push the team to important milestones on the year. The 10 overall wins mark the first time the Devils have reached double-digit wins since winning 12 matches in 2014. The win also leaves the Sun Devils with five wins in Pac-12 play, making their highest win total in conference play since the 2015 season.
The Sun Devils will return home this week to host Arizona and top-ranked Stanford to close out the 2018 regular season. Action will begin Friday with a 5:00 p.m. PT meeting with the Wildcats, before closing out the Pac-12 schedule with a 3:00 p.m. MST meeting with Stanford on Sunday.
"Obviously we have a big match coming up on Friday," Winkworth added. "We are very fortunate that we have such a great senior class who understand the importance of this game. I have no doubt in my mind that every day we get closer to Friday, they will continue to remind the younger players how big of a game this is. We are excited. It is homecoming weekend and we are hoping for a massive crowd on Friday night. We hope to put in a strong performance and give everyone a game that we can all be proud of."
Fans can follow all of the action from the final weekend of the regular season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
Looking to get their offense off to a fast start, the Sun Devils wasted little time as senior forward Casey Martinez put ASU on the board in just the sixth minute of the match with a shot from inside the six off a free kick.
"It was really important that we maintained our focus and discipline coming off what was a very important win on Thursday," head coach Graham Winkworth said of his team's performance. "I thought that scoring our first goal early was very important. Because of that, we allowed ourselves to open up and play with a little bit of freedom. It could have been very difficult if we would have found ourselves down early. I was really happy with the team's professionalism and character that we showed today."
Following a few back and forth minutes, the Sun Devils would extend their lead in the 33rd- minute when Nicole Douglas positioned herself perfectly to fire in a deflected shot from the top of the box, making it a 2-0 ASU lead.
What. A. Goal.
— Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) October 28, 2018
Nicole Douglas' ?? for @SunDevilSoccer is the @OpusBank #12Best Moment! pic.twitter.com/DHQUKhDV31
The Sun Devil offense would not let off the gas to end the half, as Christina Edwards and Martinez combined to make it a 3-0 game with a goal in the 38th- minute, tying for the highest scoring half for the Sun Devils this season. The Sun Devils last scored three goals in the second half of a 4-0 win over SEMO earlier this season.
Following the break, ASU and Oregon State again traded jabs through the first 26-minutes of play, before ASU would strike again with a goal from freshman Marleen Schimmer, pulling the score to 4-0 in favor of the Maroon and Gold. The goal by Schimmer marked her third of the weekend after scoring twice in ASU's win over the Ducks Thursday.
With the Beavers unable to break through the stout ASU defense in the final 20-minutes of play, the Sun Devils secured their fourth-straight win, and fifth-shutout of the season.48'| Sun Devils start the second half the same way they ended the first, on the attack! Martinez has a look that sails just high.
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) October 28, 2018
?? - 3
OSU - 0 #ForksUp pic.twitter.com/KLGBMZkYK5
"It was great to score four goals in the game today, but I was more happy with the fact that we didn't concede any. "I was really really happy with our back-line and goalkeeper because they take special pride in that. As a team we try to pride ourselves on our ability to defend all over the pitch. I felt that we worked extremely hard today, defending from front to back, and because of that our ladies were rewarded with a clean-sheet."
The two weekend wins for ASU push the team to important milestones on the year. The 10 overall wins mark the first time the Devils have reached double-digit wins since winning 12 matches in 2014. The win also leaves the Sun Devils with five wins in Pac-12 play, making their highest win total in conference play since the 2015 season.
The Sun Devils will return home this week to host Arizona and top-ranked Stanford to close out the 2018 regular season. Action will begin Friday with a 5:00 p.m. PT meeting with the Wildcats, before closing out the Pac-12 schedule with a 3:00 p.m. MST meeting with Stanford on Sunday.
"Obviously we have a big match coming up on Friday," Winkworth added. "We are very fortunate that we have such a great senior class who understand the importance of this game. I have no doubt in my mind that every day we get closer to Friday, they will continue to remind the younger players how big of a game this is. We are excited. It is homecoming weekend and we are hoping for a massive crowd on Friday night. We hope to put in a strong performance and give everyone a game that we can all be proud of."
Fans can follow all of the action from the final weekend of the regular season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
?? SUN DEVILS WIN ??
— Sun Devil Soccer (@SunDevilSoccer) October 28, 2018
Four different ASU players net goals as ASU gets past Oregon State, 4-0! #TeamFirst pic.twitter.com/uSWYXLs2Oc