Orlando, Fla. – Freshman Dai Williams notched her third goal of the season as the Arizona State soccer team fell, 4-1, to UCF Thursday afternoon at the UCF Soccer Complex.
The Knights got the scoring started with a strike in the 31st minute of play to take the lead late in the first half. The lead for the home side would be short-lived, however, as ASU would answer back on a beautiful strike from Williams just eight minutes later to tie the game at the half.
The second half started under a driving rain that soaked the field for the first 12 minutes of the half.
The Knights would take the lead for good in the 55th minute of play, before adding an insurance goal in the 59th minute, pushing the score to 3-1.
The final goal would come in the game's 79th minute, pushing the score to the final, 4-1.
Arizona State will be back in action on Sunday morning, when the team travels to Baton Rouge to face the 2018 SEC Champion LSU Tigers. Kickoff in Sunday's contest is set for 10 a.m. PT, and will be broadcast on SEC+ with Sara Dickson and Lyn Rollins on the call. Fans can also follow all of the action from the 2019 soccer season by following @SunDevilSoccer on Twitter and Instagram.
A Word with Winkworth...
On the performance of the team in Thursday's game;
"This was a game of two halves. I thought in the first half we were excellent. We defended extremely well and created one or two opportunities for ourselves. We limited them to two total shots there in the first half and we were very organized in the first half. I was really happy with the way we defended. But then we started the second half very poorly. We played well for 55 minutes today. The first half, and the last ten minutes when we made a bunch of changes, they all came in and had a positive impact. I was very disappointed in that 35 minutes to start the second half. We made too many individual errors, and didn't work hard enough."
On Dai Williams' goal;
"It was a nice finish for her. She went in and made a very positive impact. She is a player who is pushing for a starting position. She did very well and I was very happy for her to get on the score sheet. It is a shame it couldn't have been part of a more positive result. The players who came in off the bench made a very generous contribution for us today."
On the effect of the rain to start the second half;
"I don't think the rain affected the game, I thought Central Florida affected the game. They came out pressing in the second half and we weren't making smart decisions out of the back-line. We needed to play like we had prepared for in training, but unfortunately, we didn't make as many good decisions today as we did in training yesterday. I don't think the rain helped with that, but it was absolutely no excuse. All credit to UCF in coming out hard in the second half, and us not responding to it well until the final ten minutes."
On the team's response in their next game on Sunday;
"I am looking for an attitude reminder. I am looking for a response from the players, as well as the coaching staff. I want all of us to work harder. We are going to have difficult results through the season, and these are learning opportunities. When you lose a match you can either let it become a habit, or you can learn from them and respond to it with a hard-working positive attitude. That is something I will be looking for from the whole staff as well as the players on Sunday."
A Look Ahead...
The Sun Devils and Tigers will meet on Sunday for the first time in program history. The two teams will meet on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. PT, with SEC+ set to broadcast the game.