Sophomore forward Aly Moon dribbles the ball around her opponent in a home scrimmage against NAU on Aug. 15. (Photo by Emily Johnson)Last season, ASU soccer faced Cal State Northridge in its season opener. The Sun Devils lost 1-0. But a lot has changed since then.
Cal State lost its top two goal scorers, forwards Melissa Fernandez and Stephanie Galarze, to graduation and have suffered in their absence.
Only three players have scored for the Matadors this season, and none of those three have scored more than once.
Entering the game against ASU, Cal State is 2-4-1 and is riding a two game losing streak.
ASU, meanwhile, has won five straight games and one of its best players is coming off her best weekend of the season.
Junior forward Cali Farquharson scored five goals in two games last week, including her second career hat trick, and was named Pac-12 Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week.
“Scoring goals is my drug,” Farquharson said. “If I don’t score them, I go through withdrawals.”
Farquharson is tied for the team lead with seven goals, along with freshman midfielder Aly Moon.
All season long, head coach Kevin Boyd has stressed the importance of being both a first and second half team, as well as the importance of defense.
Earlier on in the season, these things looked like they might be problem areas for the Sun Devils. However, they have proved on multiple occasions and in colorful fashion that they have nearly perfected these areas.
Not only have the Sun Devils began scoring in bunches in both halves but their defense has solidified.
Three of the team's last five games have been shutouts and in the other two, only one goal was allowed.
In that span, ASU has outscored its opponents 17-2.
“I think we are doing an outstanding job,” Boyd said. “When we give the team something to do, they do it. Thats a great to have trait in a team. A lot of other coaches want that in their team, but they don’t have it. This team does.”
With such a high powered offense and such a secure defense, the Matadors are going to have a hard time stopping ASU’s winning streak.
Cal State Northridge is the final opponent the Sun Devils will play before starting Pac–12 conference play.
The Sun Devils play Cal State Northridge at 7 P.M. on Friday Sept. 19 in Northridge, California.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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