ASU soccer went head-to-head with University of Denver on Sunday but fell short, losing its first game of the season by a score of 3-1.
The Pioneers (2-4) sent the Sun Devils (3-1-1) a clear message early that they came to play.
“We have to come out hard every game and I don’t think we did that today,” Junior midfielder Aly Moon said.
Head coach Kevin Boyd was concerned his team would take this game lightly and, after the first goal, knew it would be tough to get their mentality corrected.
“I think after the first goal they were surprised because we didn’t come out fully engaged and ready to play,” Boyd said.
With the public address announcer counting down the seconds until halftime, the Pioneers struck again.
Seconds before the break, DU took a free kick that floated into the 6-yard box over redshirt junior goalkeeper Megan Delaney. A one-touch kick from redshirt senior forward Karina Fredette sealed the 2-0 Pioneers lead going into halftime.
Junior forward Jazmarie Mader attributed this loss to a laid-back mentality her team took before the game even began.
“We seemed, in the locker room, like we already had won the game,” Mader said. “We were all pretty relaxed, laughing, and talking about how much we should beat them by and I think it showed on the field.”
The statistics didn’t show a lack of effort from ASU. Before the half, the Sun Devils took nine shots with two being on goal while DU took four shots, two being on goal.
However, the Sun Devils didn’t possess the ball well and played without using their normal passes.
“Our possession wasn’t strong and, when you look at the shots, a vast majority of them came from 25-yards out,” Boyd said. “You’re not going to score on a good keeper from that distance.”
In the 54th minute ASU attempted a comeback. The Sun Devils hadn’t overcome a 2-0 deficit since 2014.
Junior forward Jazmarie Mader sparked the potential comeback, scoring her fourth goal of the season off a left-footed shot inside the 6-yard box to bring the score to 2-1 in favor of DU.
“I think I am feeling very confident in my self and in this team,” Mader said.
On a free kick in the 72nd minute, the Pioneers ran a set-piece play leading to a cross at the goal line and scored yet another goal. DU sealed the Sun Devils' fate on that play, mounting the lead to 3-1.
“Credit to Denver, I think they were very focused and intent to doing everything possible to get a result,” Boyd said.
By the final whistle, ASU took 20 shots total in this game but couldn’t find enough accuracy to complete the comeback. DU handed ASU its first loss of the season 3-1.
“It’s a tough 90-minute lesson and hopefully we don’t have to go through it again,” Mader said.
The Sun Devils will travel down south to Tucson next weekend for University of Arizona's tournament, starting with a game Friday at 4:30 pm against San Francisco.
Reach the reporter at kcvalen1@asu.edu or follow @kvalenzuela17 on Twitter.
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