TEMPE – The Sun Devil soccer team exploded for four goals in the second half on its way to a 5-1 win over Washington State on Sunday, completing a sweep of the Washington schools for the first time since 2018.
With Sunday's win, the Sun Devils (8-2-4, 3-1-1 Pac-12) moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Pac-12 standings. No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 UCLA and No. 15 USC are currently in a three-way tie for first place with unblemished 5-0 records in league play.
The four goals in the second half came from just about every position on the field: forward Suzuka Yosue (second goal of the season via penalty kick in the 54th minute), defender Emilie Simpson (first goal of the season in the 63rd minute), forward Gabi Rennie (third goal of the season in the 78th minute and Ella Opkvitne (third goal of the season in the 79th minute).
ASU's scoring flurry was a 180-degree turnaround from the first half in which it managed just one shot and its lone goal was officially scored by the opposition.
The intensity of both teams matched the temperatures outside – started in the 90s and only increased as the afternoon progressed – as the Cougars committed seven fouls in the first half, more than half of their Pac-12 leading 11.9 fouls per game while the Sun Devils had four, just more than half of their 7.3 fouls per game (fewest in the league).
The two teams combined for only four shots in the first half. The Cougars (8-5, 1-4) had the early advantage offensively, taking the game's first three shots, one of which found the back of the net, coming courtesy of Margie Detrizio in the 22nd minute.
Although ASU did not take its first shot (Keri Matthews) until the 31st minute, it did not prevent it from from tying the score. Thanks to chaos ASU was able to cause around the WSU goal, the Sun Devils were able to net an own goal from WSU's defense at the start of the 28th minute.
By game's end, the Cougars accumulated twice as many fouls as the Sun Devils (16-8). The game would turn on one of the nine fouls whistled on WSU in the second half. An infraction committed in the box in the 54th minute ended up being the wake-up call for the Sun Devil offense. Yosue's successful try of the ensuing penalty kick gave ASU the momentum it would ride to score a season-high five goals.
The Sun Devil defense limited the Cougars to a paltry five shots for the game, 10 fewer than the 15.1 attempts WSU averaged coming into Sunday's game.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a trip to Eugene, Ore., to face Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on Oregon's live stream.
With Sunday's win, the Sun Devils (8-2-4, 3-1-1 Pac-12) moved into sole possession of fourth place in the Pac-12 standings. No. 3 Stanford, No. 5 UCLA and No. 15 USC are currently in a three-way tie for first place with unblemished 5-0 records in league play.
The four goals in the second half came from just about every position on the field: forward Suzuka Yosue (second goal of the season via penalty kick in the 54th minute), defender Emilie Simpson (first goal of the season in the 63rd minute), forward Gabi Rennie (third goal of the season in the 78th minute and Ella Opkvitne (third goal of the season in the 79th minute).
ASU's scoring flurry was a 180-degree turnaround from the first half in which it managed just one shot and its lone goal was officially scored by the opposition.
The intensity of both teams matched the temperatures outside – started in the 90s and only increased as the afternoon progressed – as the Cougars committed seven fouls in the first half, more than half of their Pac-12 leading 11.9 fouls per game while the Sun Devils had four, just more than half of their 7.3 fouls per game (fewest in the league).
The two teams combined for only four shots in the first half. The Cougars (8-5, 1-4) had the early advantage offensively, taking the game's first three shots, one of which found the back of the net, coming courtesy of Margie Detrizio in the 22nd minute.
Although ASU did not take its first shot (Keri Matthews) until the 31st minute, it did not prevent it from from tying the score. Thanks to chaos ASU was able to cause around the WSU goal, the Sun Devils were able to net an own goal from WSU's defense at the start of the 28th minute.
By game's end, the Cougars accumulated twice as many fouls as the Sun Devils (16-8). The game would turn on one of the nine fouls whistled on WSU in the second half. An infraction committed in the box in the 54th minute ended up being the wake-up call for the Sun Devil offense. Yosue's successful try of the ensuing penalty kick gave ASU the momentum it would ride to score a season-high five goals.
The Sun Devil defense limited the Cougars to a paltry five shots for the game, 10 fewer than the 15.1 attempts WSU averaged coming into Sunday's game.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a trip to Eugene, Ore., to face Oregon on Friday at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on Oregon's live stream.