TEMPE – For much of the second half, it felt as if the dam was about to break and Sun Devil Soccer was on the verge of netting multiple goals to walk out of Sun Devil Soccer Stadium with three points on Thursday night. But it wasn’t meant to be as Iowa State’s Eme McClenahan posted a 10-save performance between the pipes to ensure a 1-1, 90-minute tie between the two programs.
After first-half goals by each team sent the match into halftime tied 1-1, the Arizona State offense hammered the offensive half of the pitch and was credited with 13 second half shot attempts after having 16 during the first 45 minutes. All while holding the Iowa State (4-5-4, 0-3-2) offense to just four on the evening, including only one during the entire second half.
Following a straight red card to Iowa State’s Aubrey Crawford during the 75’, the Sun Devils were playing with a woman advantage for the remainder of the match. And it showed.
No less than a minute after Crawford’s ejection, Addison Baltodano had a shot attempt inside the attacking 18-yard box blocked. It was the first of three total shots by Baltodano over the next three minutes with McClenahan saving one in the 78’.
Mya Angus and Sierra Bergen combined for five more shot attempts between the 83’ and 88’, including two would-be headers off of Bergen that just went over the bar.
In the closing seconds of the match, Arizona State had one more offensive opportunity with Mechal Green’s shot attempt with 25 seconds left was saved by the body of a Cyclone defender standing on the goal line. The ball bounced back to Peyton Marcisz, who let a one-timer rip and hit off the woodwork and back into the field of play, where a Cyclone player was waiting to gather possession and milk the match’s final five seconds to secure the one-point result for each team.
Scoring Summary
18’, 1-0, ASU, Goal by Mya Angus, Assisted by Lucy Fazackerley and Amy Medley
32’, 1-1, ISU, Goal by Alaina Villa, Assisted by Allison Charleston and Izzy Kapanke
From Head Coach Graham Winkworth
“Obviously, it is frustrating when you dominate a match like that and cannot come away with all three points. Soccer can be a cruel sport sometimes.
“I felt we were excellent during the first half. We played some lovely stuff with the ball, created a ton of excellent chances, but were only able to capitalize once from a corner. Unfortunately, we gifted an equalizing goal to Iowa State as we showed a lack of patience with the ball.
“Out of possession, I thought the girls were wonderful all night and worked incredibly hard. That effort alone deserved more from the match. If we give that amount of effort in our final six matches, then we will get a lot of points from them.
“The second half, we did not start well. We lacked the composure with the ball that we had in the first half. It did improve as the half went on and more gaps were opening up. We, again, created a lot of great opportunities towards the end, but sadly did not show enough quality in the final third to win the match. We have to have more desire in the penalty area. I thought Mya Angus was immense and had a great match. Peyton (Marcisz) was, again, very solid and led the team very well, too.”
“I want to, finally, give credit to the Iowa State goalkeeper, Eme McClenahan. She made a lot of saves tonight and deserved to get something from the match.”
From senior midfielder Peyton Marcisz
“I think we were getting a little bit frantic, because we really wanted to score after having the momentum throughout the second half. We were playing well … we had a lot of shots on goal … things like that. But we were just getting a little bit frantic in front of the box.”
“We always talk about how we have a high percentage of goals when we shoot between the frame, so we wanted to find different ways to make that happen tonight. But I think the match suddenly just got away from us late. (Iowa State) was slowing the match down and we just couldn’t get one into the net.”
Match Notes
- Despite not being able to find the game-winning goal during Thursday night’s match, Arizona State still has not lost a match to Iowa State in the series history.
- With the result, the Sun Devils hold a 1-0-2 all-time mark against the Cyclones, a mark that is 1-0-1 in matches played in Tempe.
- The 29 shot attempts by the Sun Devil offense during Thursday’s match were the most by an Arizona State team in a Big 12 Conference match since joining the league prior to the 2024 season.
- Thursday’s contest was the 27th Big 12 match for the Sun Devils.
- The previous high was 28 shot attempts during a 0-0, 90-minute tie against Oklahoma State in Tempe on Sept. 25, 2025.
- Thursday’s match marked the fourth sellout on the season for Sun Devil Soccer as 1,053 was the announced attendance.
- Arizona State has sold out both of its home Big 12 matches this season:
- Utah (1,130)
- Iowa State (1,053)
- Arizona State has sold out both of its home Big 12 matches this season:
- Thursday marked the second time since joining the Big 12 that Arizona State outshot an opponent by 20-or-more attempts:
- +25, Arizona State 29, Iowa State 4 – Oct. 8, 2026
- +22, Arizona State 28, Oklahoma State 6 – Sept. 25, 2025
Up Next
Arizona State (7-3-3, 2-2-1) will return to the pitch at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 11, when the Sun Devils take on Houston (7-3-3, 3-2-0) at 12 p.m. MST. The Cougars will be traveling to Tempe after dropping a 1-0 result to Arizona in Tucson on Thursday night.
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