Junior midfielder Tommi Goodman wins a ball against an Aggie defender during ASU's game on Sunday Sept. 7. After an early goal by the Aggies, ASU scored one in each half to win 2-1. (Photo by Sawyer Hardebeck)It took until the 87th minute, but ASU soccer earned a victory over No. 6 Texas A&M, 2-1 on Saturday night to clinch a perfect record in the Sun Devil Classic.
Both teams started out the team very aggressively. Each side notched a shot on goal in the first minute.
Texas A&M would get on the board in just three minutes, with Kelley Monogue finding the back of the net for the Aggies.
ASU pushed across the equalizer late in the first half, with junior defender Rachel Ometer finding the back of the net in the 40th minute off an assist from junior midfielder Tommi Goodman to tie the game at one.
“(Ometer's) been terrific all season," said head coach Kevin Boyd. "She had a goal in Hawaii and then she got a header goal today, which that just hasn't been her, you know. To her credit she's been earning more and more time and she's been doing a great job. She played in the back today instead of up top where we've had her the prior weeks, and I thought she did an excellent job there.”
The Sun Devils defined themselves as a second half team this weekend as both games they played were decided in the second half. The team came out of the locker room looking totally different than they did in the first half, bringing much more energy and intensity.
“Certainly this weekend were showing were a second half team," Boyd said. "A team like that, you're gonna have a hard time preventing them from getting any chances, you just have to minimize the chances that they get. I thought we had sustained pressure upon their goal for most of the second half. I thought we did very well that way.”
Video by Justin Janssen | Sports Columnist
Near the end of the game, ASU was relentlessly looking for a goal. With multiple corners and a copious amount of shots on goal, and the score was still tied 1-1.
This relentless attack would eventually pay off for the Sun Devils as redshirt junior midfielder Mackenzie Semerad headed the ball into the net in the 87th minute, off an assist from Jessica Raybe. This marks Semerad’s first goal as a Sun Devil.
“As my first goal at ASU it felt awesome," Semerad said. "For those couple seconds right before I hit it, I just told myself I just got to stay calm keep your eye on the ball, keep the ball down, and I somehow kept composure and found the back of the net.”
Boyd said he was very impressed with the way his team played as a whole.
“Obviously I couldn't be happier right now,” Boyd said. “We are playing well. We are doing very well for where we are in the season right now. Some of the things that we've been paying attention to I think we are doing.”
Boyd was especially happy with the way the defense played this weekend.
“(Our defense is) miles better," Boyd said. “To be fair, it’s a little unfair to criticize anything about our back line when they just generated two wins, one shutout and one with one goal in a game against the number six team in the country that is legitimately very good. That was hard, but I thought the team handled it extremely well.”
Boyd is not the only one who thought the team has been looking better and better, as Semerad had good things to say as well.
“We are definitely playing together more, we’re rushing a lot more,” Semerad said. “Every game, every practice we are getting to know our teammates better, getting to know how each player plays together, and I think we are finally figuring out a rhythm to where our team is at our highest potential, and I think we are only going to get better from here.”
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
