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ASU soccer blanks Oregon State for second consecutive victory

Chandler Morris set the school record for career clean sheets as the Sun Devils blanked the Beavers.

Junior defender McKenzie Grossman and sophomore defender Madison Stark prepare to head the ball on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015, at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium in Tempe.
Junior defender McKenzie Grossman and sophomore defender Madison Stark prepare to head the ball on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015, at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium in Tempe.

In the first game of senior weekend at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium, ASU soccer dominated Oregon State 3-0 in what was an efficient match on both ends of the field.

ASU redshirt senior goalkeeper Chandler Morris set the school record with her 24th career shutout victory.

Reflecting on her career, Morris said it was always her dream to play Pac-12 soccer.

"It was a dream come true to be able to come to (ASU)," Morris said. "I just wanted to play my part so I was glad that I was able to contribute while I was here."

Before tonight's match, sophomore forward Aly Moon received a gift even sweeter than the victory. Moon's younger brother Derek, who is a U.S. Marine, returned from bootcamp and surprised her on the field as she warmed up. Moon's brother stood on the sideline for the entire game, cheering his sister on.

ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said the team had involvement in setting up the reunion between siblings.

"She didn't get to go to his graduation from the Marines bootcamp," Boyd said. "What a great opportunity for us to bring him and surprise her."

Between the lines against the Beavers (6-6-3, 2-5 Pac-12), the Sun Devils (6-7-1, 2-4-1 Pac-12) were as dominant as they have been in a long time.

After nearly 14 minutes with no shots between the two sides, a key error by Oregon State goalkeeper Bella Geist led to a goal for the Sun Devils.

Redshirt senior midfielder Mackenzie Semerad sent a through ball toward her teammate, sophomore forward Jessica Raybe, but it was just too long for Raybe and landed in the keeper's hands.

Geist proceeded to fumble what should have been a routine ball, and Raybe got right on top of it for the quick score to put ASU on top 1-0.

With plenty of back and forth between the two teams, primarily in the middle of the field, shots were hard to come by in the first half.

Senior forward Cali Farquharson, despite tweaking her injured left hamstring, danced into the box in the 23rd minute and rifled the ball toward the left side of goal for a high quality chance. Geist hung onto this one, however, and Oregon State stayed alive.

Roughly 15 minutes later, junior forward Larisa Staub put the Beavers on their back heels and fired a screaming shot from the center of the field, just outside the box.

Geist had an impossible angle on the save as the ball whizzed past her outstretched arms and landed in the lower left corner of goal. ASU led 2-0 at that point and for the remainder of the first half.

Staub said she believes her team is back on track after two consecutive wins.

"I think that our effort has been excellent," Staub said. "That's why we've been getting wins."

The second half proved to be just as even as the first 14 minutes, with a higher number of shots but continued physical play on both sides of the field.

In the 69th minute, Moon had an angled attempt from the left side of goal that was on target, but careened off the crossbar. Her brother was jumping up and down on the ASU sideline after the attempt.

Two minutes later, Morris made a tremendous diving save that kept her shutout alive.

Boyd said he's thrilled for Morris and what she's accomplished for the program to this point.

"One of her reasons for coming back was to own that record," Boyd said. "I hope it stands for a long time for her."

Later on in the second half, opportunities came knocking for the Sun Devils, and Staub nearly burst through the proverbial door with an opportunity to bicycle-kick the ball toward goal.

Staub couldn't get around her defender to make the attempt, but she said she really wanted it.

"The timing wasn't there so I just didn't take it," Staub said.

In the dying embers of the match, ASU added a third goal to its collection thanks to the feet of sophomore forward Jazmarie Mader and junior midfielder Lucy Lara.

Mader ran out on the break and had an opportunity to score one-on-one with the keeper, but it ended up bouncing off of the keeper's hands toward the middle of the box.

Thankfully for ASU, Lara was in the perfect position to volley and she sent the ball home to give the Sun Devils their final lead of 3-0.

ASU outshot Oregon State by a margin of 13-6 in the match as a whole, 9-4 in the second half.

Boyd said he's just going one game at a time and expecting a win in every one.

"When we won that one in Washington it was like 'Oh, thank God, the curse is over'," Boyd said. "To get this win tonight, we even got a little bit of luck, which we hadn't seen any of for a while."

The Sun Devils' next match will be at home against Oregon at 11 a.m. on Sunday. The game will be broadcasted on the Pac-12 networks.


Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.

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