With more than two hours of play and inclement weather delays, the ASU women's soccer team secured a 3-1 home opener win against the University of Montana at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium on Thursday.
The Sun Devils were scheduled to play the University of Hawai'i and Montana at the Rainbow Wahine Soccer Invitational in Hawaii this weekend, but were forced to cancel the trip after the threatening arrival of Hurricane Lane. ASU instead invited Montana to Tempe for the Aug. 23 game.
During the first 15 minutes of action, the Sun Devils appeared to have a defensive lag against Montana. However, ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said it had nothing to do with the weather or the women, but it was on himself after throwing something new on the team two days prior.
"We were trying to play a little bit too much out the back where we didn't have numbers, but they had more numbers than us and so we were losing possession," Winkworth said.
Montana maintained control of the ball, having four shot attempts in the first 18 minutes that were ultimately saved by senior goalkeeper Sydney Day.
While ASU's defense experienced a hiccup, the offense was alive and thriving with freshman forward Nicole Douglas' two goals and freshman defender Cori Sullivan's assist.
"It was good to start my first official game and to score two goals," Douglas said.
After switching systems in the second half, Winkworth said the Sun Devils were much better in their spacing and he was happy they managed to overcome the adversity that he provided them in the beginning.
Sullivan was able to secure the final goal of the night off an assist by sophomore midfielder Amanda Jones.
ASU will host the Sun Devil Desert Classic with the first match against the University of New Hampshire on Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. MST, and Southeast Missouri State University on Sep. 2 at 1:30 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at Edith.Noriega@asu.edu or follow @Noriega_Edith on Twitter.
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