While the cheers were heard strongly from ASU's 942 crew in the stands during the ASU soccer game on Friday night, the team's offensive lag ultimately resulted in a 2-1 loss at the hands of the University of New Hampshire.
Before the opening of the Sun Devil Desert Classic, New Hampshire opened the series with a 2-2 overall record while the Sun Devils were 1-0.
New Hampshire's strong offensive force would prove to be the difference on Friday as ASU picked up five fouls in the first 20 minutes.
One of the fouls proved costly during the 25th minute when Wildcats junior forward Ally Reynolds secured the first goal of the night.
Just seconds later, the Wildcats pounced again when junior forward Kaylan Williams snuck in the second goal, giving New Hampshire a comfortable 2-0 lead.
The tables then turned during the second half for ASU.
In her debut as a Sun Devil, freshman midfielder Alexia Delgado was able to give her team its only goal of the night.
In the 47th minute, ASU freshman midfielder Eva Van Deursen's perfectly angled corner kick lingered for a second in the goal box before it made its way to Delgado, who wound up and took her goal-scoring shot.
"I was happy with the effort of the second half," said ASU head coach Graham Winkworth. "We spoke about commitment at half time, and that's something that we put out there in the second half."
As the minutes passed, both teams battled back-and-forth. In the 68th minute, Wildcats junior Maddie Murdick was issued a yellow card. ASU racked up a total 13 shots and seven fouls, and the final score would hold at 2-1.
"New Hampshire is a very physical team," said ASU midfielder Casey Martinez. "They came out with passion and heart and they new their plan ... They were really trying to take it to us from the very first whistle and that really showed."
After a tough loss, ASU looks to redeem themselves when they look to host Southeast Missouri State on Sunday 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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