TEMPE – Thursday night pinned two of the top goalkeepers in the Big 12 Conference against each other – and it showed – as Sun Devil Soccer and the Oklahoma State Cowgirls played to a 90-minute, 0-0 tie. Despite the teams combing for 34 shot attempts (Arizona State: 28, Oklahoma State: 6), each team will add one point towards their chase for a regular season conference title because of the outcome.
One of Arizona State’s best scoring opportunities on the night came at the 40:50 mark of the first half, when Oklahoma State was called for a handball inside the attacking 18-yard box. This resulted in a penalty kick attempt for the Sun Devils, who sent senior Tatum Thomason, who entered the match having converted both her penalty kick attempts on the season, to the spot.
Unfortunately, Thomason’s kick towards the bottom, right corner of the goal was saved by Oklahoma State goalkeeper Logan Marks. Thomason immediately tried to send the loose ball into the back of the net, but Marks, again, made the save. Sierra Bergen, then, tried to head home the soccer ball, while Marks was on the ground. But the shot attempt sailed over the crossbar.
The second half was more of the same for the Sun Devil offense as Marks was credited with four of her nine saves during the match’s second 45-minute stanza. The nine saves for the Richmond, Va., native nearly doubled her previous career high, which occurred on Aug. 21, 2025 when she had six against Nebraska.
FROM HEAD COACH GRAHAM WINKWORTH
“I think the girls have done a wonderful job so far this season. So, when a really good team comes in and plays such a defensive setup, I think it speaks volumes about how well the girls have worked so far this season to earn that much respect. I’m disappointed we didn’t win the game, but I’m delighted to know we must be doing something right.”
MATCH NOTES
- Arizona State’s 28 shot attempts on Thursday night marked the most shots by a Sun Devil squad in a Big 12 Conference match since joining the league prior to the 2024 season. Overall, it’s the most shot attempts by ASU in a 90-minute soccer match since being credited with 36 against Toledo on Sept. 18, 2022.
- Thursday’s match marked the fourth time this season that Arizona State has been credited with 10-or-more corner kicks in a match after having 11 against the Cowgirls. The four matches with 10-plus corner kicks in a single season are the most by a Sun Devil squad over the last 13 seasons.
- With the tie, Arizona State extended its current unbeaten streak to 10 consecutive matches, marking the first double-digit unbeaten streak by the Sun Devils since Oct. 31, 1999 to Sept. 24, 2000, when ASU went 12-0-0.
- Thursday evening marked Pauline Nelles’ 23rd career clean sheet, which is now one shy of tying Chandler Morris (2011-15) for the most in program history.
UP NEXT
- Arizona State (8-0-2) will conclude its seven-match home stand on Sunday, Sept. 28, when UCF (6-2-1) and the Sun Devils take the pitch at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium at 1 p.m. MST on ESPN+. UCF comes to Tempe following a one-goal loss (1-0) at Arizona on Thursday, Sept. 25. The Knights began Big 12 play with a 0-0 tie against West Virginia on Thursday, Sept. 18
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