CORVALLIS, Ore. – Despite Nicole Douglas' team-leading 14th goal of the season, the Sun Devil soccer team was unable to claim its first Pac-12 victory of the season after falling to the Oregon State Beavers, 2-1 on Thursday night.
Although the Sun Devils (8-4-1, 0-3-1 Pac-12) took six more shots (16-10) than the Beavers (10-2, 2-2), both teams had the same number of shots (four) on frame.
"Soccer, like many sports, is a game of fine margins," ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said following the game. "Tonight, we've done what we've done quite a few times this season, and that's providing the opposition with easy opportunities. If we're going to be successful, we can't gift easy opportunities to our opponents in the penalty area, and that's ultimately what's happened again."
The Sun Devils were undone by a 90-second sequence in the first half in which the Beavers scored two quick goals to take control of the game. After spotting OSU with an own goal in the 19th minute, the Sun Devils immediately came back looking for the equalizer. It was at this point ASU fell victim to a devastating momentum shift as they went from what they thought would be an opportunity to tie the game with a penalty kick to seeing their deficit doubled after the Beavers' counter attack going the other way produced their second goal of the game in the 20th minute.
"We found ourselves in a 2-0 hole," explained Winkworth. "Despite that, I felt like we could have had a penalty kick right after the first goal and it wasn't given. So, straight away they caught us on the counterattack and made it 2-0. It's a game of fine margins. It could have been 1-1 at that point instead of 2-0, but it wasn't given, so it is what it is."
Douglas nearly cut the lead in half in the 35th minute, but a diving save by OSU goalkeeper Bridgette Skiba denied Douglas and the score remained 2-0 at the half.
Olivia Nguyen provided ASU with a spark by creating a pair of shot opportunities in the 60th minute (blocked) and again in the 62nd minute (high) but was not able to find the back of the net.
A pass from Alexia Delgado set up Douglas with another look in the 79th minute but went just wide.
Despite the missed opportunities, Douglas' relentless play did not waver, an approach that paid off in the 90th minute when Nguyen set up Douglas with a look she took full advantage of to score her 14th goal of the season to keep ASU's hopes alive. Unfortunately for ASU, time was not on its side as it was not able to get off any shot attempts in final 44 seconds and for the third time in as many games, the Sun Devils came up one goal short.
"In the second half we did get a positive response from the girls," Winkworth said. "I felt like we were down at their half creating opportunities, but then our goal scoring touched eluded us until the final minute and then it was obviously too late. We did create three or four very good chances in the second half but didn't finish them again and we need goals from other areas besides [Nicole Douglas] and we've got to continue to work on that in practice this week, as we'll work hard, but ultimately, it's in the other penalty area where we lost this game."
Although ASU once again came up short on Thursday, Winkworth stressed how impressed he has been with his team's response throughout a season in which the team has been decimated by injuries. After making her first appearance of the season in last Sunday's contest against UCLA, Isabel Dehakiz returned to the starting lineup for the first time since her junior campaign was cut short due to injury last spring. Tahlia Herman-Watt also made her first start of the year. Because of all the injuries they have had, 22 different players have been in the starting lineup for this season. In addition to the loss of the important contributions of each injured player, having so many variations of lineups on the field has not allowed the team to develop the much-needed chemistry that is vital for any team to have success.
"If you look after the injuries we picked up in the spring against Washington, we basically had the same lineup for the rest of the year," Winkworth said. "That sort of continuity led us to the NCAA tournament. We would love to have that type of continuity again, but unfortunately we've been ravished by injuries. I'm so proud of how the girls have handled the adversity because it's very difficult to have a lot of fluidity in the way we play when you haven't played together very much and so, what I did get is a response, from an effort standpoint in the second half. Maybe we'll keep everybody healthy and be able to field people together on a more consistent basis."
With her 14th goal of the season on Thursday, Douglas moved into a tie with Cali Farquharson (2014) and Hall of Famer Stacey Tullock (2000) for second place on ASU's list for most goals in a season. Tullock tops the list with her 17 goals in 1999.
The Sun Devils conclude their trip to the state of Oregon on Sunday (12 p.m. MST) when they face the Oregon Ducks. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Arizona.
Although the Sun Devils (8-4-1, 0-3-1 Pac-12) took six more shots (16-10) than the Beavers (10-2, 2-2), both teams had the same number of shots (four) on frame.
"Soccer, like many sports, is a game of fine margins," ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said following the game. "Tonight, we've done what we've done quite a few times this season, and that's providing the opposition with easy opportunities. If we're going to be successful, we can't gift easy opportunities to our opponents in the penalty area, and that's ultimately what's happened again."
The Sun Devils were undone by a 90-second sequence in the first half in which the Beavers scored two quick goals to take control of the game. After spotting OSU with an own goal in the 19th minute, the Sun Devils immediately came back looking for the equalizer. It was at this point ASU fell victim to a devastating momentum shift as they went from what they thought would be an opportunity to tie the game with a penalty kick to seeing their deficit doubled after the Beavers' counter attack going the other way produced their second goal of the game in the 20th minute.
"We found ourselves in a 2-0 hole," explained Winkworth. "Despite that, I felt like we could have had a penalty kick right after the first goal and it wasn't given. So, straight away they caught us on the counterattack and made it 2-0. It's a game of fine margins. It could have been 1-1 at that point instead of 2-0, but it wasn't given, so it is what it is."
Douglas nearly cut the lead in half in the 35th minute, but a diving save by OSU goalkeeper Bridgette Skiba denied Douglas and the score remained 2-0 at the half.
Olivia Nguyen provided ASU with a spark by creating a pair of shot opportunities in the 60th minute (blocked) and again in the 62nd minute (high) but was not able to find the back of the net.
A pass from Alexia Delgado set up Douglas with another look in the 79th minute but went just wide.
Despite the missed opportunities, Douglas' relentless play did not waver, an approach that paid off in the 90th minute when Nguyen set up Douglas with a look she took full advantage of to score her 14th goal of the season to keep ASU's hopes alive. Unfortunately for ASU, time was not on its side as it was not able to get off any shot attempts in final 44 seconds and for the third time in as many games, the Sun Devils came up one goal short.
"In the second half we did get a positive response from the girls," Winkworth said. "I felt like we were down at their half creating opportunities, but then our goal scoring touched eluded us until the final minute and then it was obviously too late. We did create three or four very good chances in the second half but didn't finish them again and we need goals from other areas besides [Nicole Douglas] and we've got to continue to work on that in practice this week, as we'll work hard, but ultimately, it's in the other penalty area where we lost this game."
Although ASU once again came up short on Thursday, Winkworth stressed how impressed he has been with his team's response throughout a season in which the team has been decimated by injuries. After making her first appearance of the season in last Sunday's contest against UCLA, Isabel Dehakiz returned to the starting lineup for the first time since her junior campaign was cut short due to injury last spring. Tahlia Herman-Watt also made her first start of the year. Because of all the injuries they have had, 22 different players have been in the starting lineup for this season. In addition to the loss of the important contributions of each injured player, having so many variations of lineups on the field has not allowed the team to develop the much-needed chemistry that is vital for any team to have success.
"If you look after the injuries we picked up in the spring against Washington, we basically had the same lineup for the rest of the year," Winkworth said. "That sort of continuity led us to the NCAA tournament. We would love to have that type of continuity again, but unfortunately we've been ravished by injuries. I'm so proud of how the girls have handled the adversity because it's very difficult to have a lot of fluidity in the way we play when you haven't played together very much and so, what I did get is a response, from an effort standpoint in the second half. Maybe we'll keep everybody healthy and be able to field people together on a more consistent basis."
With her 14th goal of the season on Thursday, Douglas moved into a tie with Cali Farquharson (2014) and Hall of Famer Stacey Tullock (2000) for second place on ASU's list for most goals in a season. Tullock tops the list with her 17 goals in 1999.
The Sun Devils conclude their trip to the state of Oregon on Sunday (12 p.m. MST) when they face the Oregon Ducks. The game can be seen on Pac-12 Arizona.