ASU defender Madison Stark tries a long through-ball at a home game on Friday, Oct. 24, 2014. Cal would defeat ASU 1-0. (Photo by Daniel Kwon)Returning home for a two-game home stand, the ASU women's soccer team got off to a tough start, falling to Cal 1-0 on Friday night.
The Sun Devils' struggles were due in part to changes on their back line.
Redshirt sophomore defender Alyssa Martinez did not play due to a head injury.
“We had a very high functioning back four,” head coach Kevin Boyd said. “But when you take a functioning back four and you have to change it, there is going to be a little bit of a learning curve.”
A miscommunication by the ASU defense in just the 12th minute led to the games only goal as Cal senior midfielder Thelma Einarsdottir found the back of the net.
“We made a defensive miscommunication in the first half that led to a pretty easy goal on their part,” Boyd said. “The error we made wasn't a good one, we have to do better than that.”
Despite this early goal, the Sun Devils’ mentality did not change. They kept their cool throughout the first half, in which they dominated in both possession and shot attempts, but the back of the net eluded them, keeping the score at 1-0 at halftime.
“For the whole game I thought we played well,” Boyd said. “I didn't think our second half was as good as our first half, which has not been customary (for) us, but I still thought we had the better chances in the second half, certainly we got more of them.”
ASU would continue to dominate in possession in the second half, but could not manage to get a decent look at the goal.
In the final minutes of the game, the Sun Devils were desperately looking for an opportunity to score, but could not get the ball into the box.
The game would end 1-0 for California.
“It’s just one of those game where we couldn't find the back of the net.” said redshirt sophomore midfielder Lucy Lara.
Although ASU dominated in possession and shots, with seven, it only had two shots on goal. ASU also had five corner kicks in the match, but could not convert off of their set pieces.
“A couple of our services on our corners weren't in the right spot, they were actually played outside of us, so it was more of a counter opportunity for our opponent,” Boyd said. “Our delivery of the ball had to be a little bit better.”
This isn't the first time ASU has lost against California after seemingly outplaying the Bears.
“(California) seems to be our bogey team,” Boyd said. “I don't know if it’s the fact that I used to be there, but they're our bogey team. Last year we outplayed them and lost 2-1, today I thought we outplayed them and lost 1-0.”
The Sun Devils will have to tighten up and fix any problems on defense before Sunday, when they play No. 4 Stanford. Last season, ASU upset Stanford, who was ranked No. 2 at the time.
“We have a chance at a nice win, a real big win,” Boyd said. “We played them very well last year. I think we match up to them pretty well. They are a good team, but I think we are too.”
Freshman forward Aly Moon was not part of the team that upset Stanford, but looks forward to the challenge.
“We know they are gonna be good competition, but I don't think that intimidates us at all,” Moon said. “It just pushes us to do even better and compete harder.”
The Sun Devils host No. 4 Stanford at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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