Redshirt junior forward/midfielder Mackenzie Semerad races UCLA's Caprice Dydasco for control of the ball during the game on Sept. 26 in Tempe. ASU tied UCLA 1-1. (Photo by Andrew Ybanez)ASU soccer traveled to Utah seeking a much-needed win, and rebounded to snap its three-game losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Utes (8-7-4, 1-7-2).
The chill in Salt Lake City, nearly 40 degrees cooler than an average November day in Tempe, didn't phase the Sun Devils (10-5-4, 3-4-3 Pac-12)
“In terms of the cold, it’s not that cold,” head coach Kevin Boyd said. “If you are one of the players on the field, you are getting to run and it’s actually enjoyable. I don’t think it is a factor.”
ASU missed two of their starters in today's matchup, redshirt junior forward/midfielder Mackenzie Semerad, and redshirt sophomore defender Alyssa Martinez.
“I was confident in our starters,” Boyd said. “Both Martinez and Semerad were out today. They are an important part of our offense, and they were missed, but the players who filled in for them played very well. Everyone played well, but I want to give special mention to (junior forward) Sara Tosti and (junior defender) McKenzie Berryhill. They were both absolutely outstanding.”
Berryhill was a crucial part of the defense today, displaying her usual leadership qualities.
“She is very difficult to beat one on one,” Boyd said. “She makes it hard for anybody to get by her. She times tackles very well. She is so comfortable with the ball. You press her and she runs right by you. She uses your momentum against you. Their forwards got gun shy, and she didn't receive that kind of pressure, so she could take her time setting things up.”
The Sun Devils were playing with a chip on their shoulder coming off their most recent loss, and the added pressure of making the playoffs made for a totally different looking ASU team than the one on Friday.
“Our mentality changed,” Boyd said. “We needed to commit to certain an offense, and we did.”
The Sun Devils would be first to get on the board, with junior forward Cali Farquharson scoring the first goal of the game in the 20th minute, her 13th for the season. The goal was assisted by junior defender McKenzie Berryhill. ASU would go to the locker rooms at half up 1-0.
The Sun Devils would continue to bring the intensity in the second half, constantly attacking the net, something that they did not execute well in their previous game.
Farquharson would score her second goal of the match in the 68th minute of the game, assisted by redshirt sophomore Lucy Lara, putting the Sun Devils up 2-0. This the 10th time in her career that she has been able to score two or more goals in a game.
“Thats who she is,” Boyd said. “She is slippery. She got behind the line twice. I think she is unstoppable in one on one situations. We need to open her up one on one and find her quicker when the team is in an attacking mode. She is a goal scorer.”
Seconds after the goal, Lara would be fouled by senior midfielder Avery Jenkins, who would receive a yellow card because of her aggressive actions. Lara would be walked off by the coaching staff after the injury.
“She's okay,” Boyd said. “She had a little scare, she's had a history of knee injuries, she was worried about her knee, so she came off and we had a look at it, but it’s stable and good.”
Utah wouldn't go down without a fight, with junior defender Megan Trabert scoring a consolation goal in the 76th minute. Trabert was assisted by junior defender Nykell Seymour on the play.
Freshman forward Aly Moon was heavily involved in the offense, despite being shutout of the stat sheet, aside from two shots that were barely stopped by redshirt senior goalkeeper Lindsey Luke, who recorded five saves total.
“I thought Aly was really good, especially in the second half.” Boyd said.
Today's game brought back the Sun Devils into the postseason picture, giving them a much needed confidence booster and a return to their offensive formula, with a matchup with UA looming.
“We needed to get the win, we needed to score goals to remind us who we are,” Boyd said. “We are in a tough spot in our last couple of games. I thought we got tremendous energy from the players today.”
The Sun Devils play their final regular season match against UA at 2 p.m. on Friday Nov. 7 in Tempe.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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