BOULDER, Colo. – The No. 18 Sun Devil soccer team's scoreless streak extended to three games following a 4-0 loss at Colorado on Sunday.
A week ago, the Sun Devils were less than two minutes away from extending their unbeaten streak to six before a late goal scored by the opponent prevented ASU from securing a scoreless draw vs. No. 2 UCLA. Even with the loss to the Bruins, ASU's 1-0 win over then-No. 11 USC on Oct. 19 was enough to propel the Sun Devils to No. 18 in this week's national rankings, six spots higher than the previous week.
Despite Sunday's outcome, the Sun Devils (10-5-4, 5-4-1 Pac-12/16 points) remain in a tie for fourth place in the Pac-12 standings with Cal (7-5-6, 4-2-4/16 points). UCLA clinched the Pac-12 regular season title (15-1-1, 9-0-1/28 points) after it played No. 4 Stanford (14-0-4, 7-0-3/24 points) to a 1-1 draw on Sunday. No. 23 USC (10-3-3, 6-1-3/21 points) clinched no worse than third place after it beat Cal 2-0 on Sunday.
There was little indication of the eventual outcome after ASU played on equal terms with the Buffaloes for 45 minutes on Sunday. In fact, an argument could be made that halftime was the worst thing that could have happened to ASU on Sunday as it allowed time for it to cool off in a contest that was played in frigid conditions – temperatures were in the 20s the entire game with occasional snow flurries.
"Today was very disappointing," ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We opened each half very well controlling possession and creating some chances. Ultimately though Colorado outworked us in the second half which is totally unacceptable.
"We have not been a free scoring team all season but have made up for this with high quality defending and taking pride in it. Today we failed to reach those standards. We have picked up a lot of injuries and sickness in key areas but this is no excuse. Ultimately, we must work harder as a staff and push the team to have better standards than what we demonstrated today. I very much look forward to getting back on the training pitch and fully expect a reaction from the girls this week."
Each team had four shots in the first half and combined for only three shots on goal: Colorado 2, ASU 1.
ASU goalkeeper Pauline Nelles got off to a good start, easily handling a free kick that was taken within scoring distance in the third minute. Later in the half, Olivia Coleman came in to provide support for Nelles to prevent what could have been a dangerous scoring opportunity for the Buffaloes.
Despite the low shot count, ASU got a couple quality looks in the first half.
As the second half progressed, the Buffaloes started to possess the ball for longer stretches of time while not allowing ASU to advance each time the ball arrived at the foot of a Sun Devil player.
The Sun Devils came up with yet another great defensive stop in the 56th minute when a Colorado flip throw created momentary chaos in the box. ASU was able to clear the ball and prevent the Buffaloes from doing any damage.
A defensive own goal by the Sun Devils gave the Buffaloes the lead in the 69th minute. A short time after shots by Savannah Maley (saved) and Lauren Kirberg (blocked) were not able to provide the equalizer, it would take Colorado (12-4-3, 4-3-3/15 points) exactly two minutes to make ASU's chances of getting back into the game exponentially more difficult as it scored goals in the 74th minute and again in the 76th minute to go up 3-0.
The Buffaloes added one last goal in the 86th minute to make the final count 4-0.
Rennie and Yosue led ASU with two shots each. Rennie, Nunley and Maley were responsible for the three shots ASU put on frame.
The Sun Devils will enter the last week of regular season play with an opportunity to claim a share of or sole possession of fourth place in the final Pac-12 regular season standings. They will play their final game of the regular season in the annual Territorial Cup rivalry game at Arizona on Friday at 7 p.m. MST.
A week ago, the Sun Devils were less than two minutes away from extending their unbeaten streak to six before a late goal scored by the opponent prevented ASU from securing a scoreless draw vs. No. 2 UCLA. Even with the loss to the Bruins, ASU's 1-0 win over then-No. 11 USC on Oct. 19 was enough to propel the Sun Devils to No. 18 in this week's national rankings, six spots higher than the previous week.
Despite Sunday's outcome, the Sun Devils (10-5-4, 5-4-1 Pac-12/16 points) remain in a tie for fourth place in the Pac-12 standings with Cal (7-5-6, 4-2-4/16 points). UCLA clinched the Pac-12 regular season title (15-1-1, 9-0-1/28 points) after it played No. 4 Stanford (14-0-4, 7-0-3/24 points) to a 1-1 draw on Sunday. No. 23 USC (10-3-3, 6-1-3/21 points) clinched no worse than third place after it beat Cal 2-0 on Sunday.
There was little indication of the eventual outcome after ASU played on equal terms with the Buffaloes for 45 minutes on Sunday. In fact, an argument could be made that halftime was the worst thing that could have happened to ASU on Sunday as it allowed time for it to cool off in a contest that was played in frigid conditions – temperatures were in the 20s the entire game with occasional snow flurries.
"Today was very disappointing," ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We opened each half very well controlling possession and creating some chances. Ultimately though Colorado outworked us in the second half which is totally unacceptable.
"We have not been a free scoring team all season but have made up for this with high quality defending and taking pride in it. Today we failed to reach those standards. We have picked up a lot of injuries and sickness in key areas but this is no excuse. Ultimately, we must work harder as a staff and push the team to have better standards than what we demonstrated today. I very much look forward to getting back on the training pitch and fully expect a reaction from the girls this week."
Each team had four shots in the first half and combined for only three shots on goal: Colorado 2, ASU 1.
ASU goalkeeper Pauline Nelles got off to a good start, easily handling a free kick that was taken within scoring distance in the third minute. Later in the half, Olivia Coleman came in to provide support for Nelles to prevent what could have been a dangerous scoring opportunity for the Buffaloes.
Despite the low shot count, ASU got a couple quality looks in the first half.
- In the 12th minute, Gabi Rennie's shot from distance was just to the right of the goal.
- In the 37th minute, Suzuka Yosue got into the box and managed to maneuver her body to take a shot after initially having her back to the goal.
- The Sun Devils' best opportunity to take the lead came in the 41st minute, when Brianna Nunley came up with a brilliant defensive play, stealing the ball from a Colorado player and then quickly firing a shot from just outside the box that forced Colorado goalkeeper Jordan Nytes to reach high in order to keep Nunley from scoring.
As the second half progressed, the Buffaloes started to possess the ball for longer stretches of time while not allowing ASU to advance each time the ball arrived at the foot of a Sun Devil player.
The Sun Devils came up with yet another great defensive stop in the 56th minute when a Colorado flip throw created momentary chaos in the box. ASU was able to clear the ball and prevent the Buffaloes from doing any damage.
A defensive own goal by the Sun Devils gave the Buffaloes the lead in the 69th minute. A short time after shots by Savannah Maley (saved) and Lauren Kirberg (blocked) were not able to provide the equalizer, it would take Colorado (12-4-3, 4-3-3/15 points) exactly two minutes to make ASU's chances of getting back into the game exponentially more difficult as it scored goals in the 74th minute and again in the 76th minute to go up 3-0.
The Buffaloes added one last goal in the 86th minute to make the final count 4-0.
Rennie and Yosue led ASU with two shots each. Rennie, Nunley and Maley were responsible for the three shots ASU put on frame.
The Sun Devils will enter the last week of regular season play with an opportunity to claim a share of or sole possession of fourth place in the final Pac-12 regular season standings. They will play their final game of the regular season in the annual Territorial Cup rivalry game at Arizona on Friday at 7 p.m. MST.