May 11, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State University soccer team completed its 2005 spring season with an exclamation point on Saturday, as they defeated Northern Arizona University, 4-1, in Flagstaff. The scoring explosion in the final match was the culmination of a spring spent focused on attacking play and creating chances to score.
After a back and forth first 15 minutes the Sun Devils got on the board at the 15:25 mark when Haley Stein received a ball inside the box from Manya Makoski and calmly slipped it past the NAU goalkeeper for a 1-0 lead.
Only moments later, Elizabeth Bogus took a ball at the top of the box, turned and fired a shot past the goalkeeper to put the Devils up 2-0. ASU continued their relentless attack and were rewarded with another goal in the final minute of the first half. Right back, Lauren Niblett, dribbled out of the back with only seconds left on the clock, and fired a shot on goal that deflected off an NAU defender and found the back of the net at the 44:30 mark of the first half, giving the Sun Devils a 3-0 advantage heading into the locker room.
Following a brief intermission, the second half began where the first half ended with the Sun Devils on the attack. At the 55:00 mark, Brittany Cooper picked up a ball on the left side of the midfield and after slicing through a couple NAU defenders, served a tremendous ball to the head of Bogus, who found the back of the net for her second goal of the afternoon. The score remained 4-0 for much of the second half, until NAU scored a fantastic goal from 25-yards that found the upper corner of the goal.
In all, the Sun Devils had an extremely successful spring, going undefeated in each of their matches against women's college teams, and more importantly, setting the groundwork for next season.
The 2005 regular season begins with a tough road test as they open at Santa Clara on Friday, August, 26 at 7:00 p.m.