In its highest scoring output of the season, the ASU soccer team made it six wins in a row with a 4-1 victory over NAU on Sunday afternoon at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
Freshman midfielder Manya Makoski led ASU with two goals, both of which came unassisted on great individual efforts.
The first came as the game winner in the 53rd minute. Makoski intercepted a clearing pass and streaked down the left side of the field in a two-on-one with freshman forward Elizabeth Bogus. Electing to take matters into her own hands, Makoski danced around NAU freshman goalkeeper Andrea Berra and rifled the ball in with her left foot.
"I saw the goalie coming out, and I knew to touch it wide past her and put it home," Makoski said. "It feels really good. I know we lost to them last year, and we wanted to get revenge this year."
Makoski's second goal came in similar fashion. She touched the ball past a defender and shot it off the far post in the 77th minute for her 10th point of the season.
The Sun Devils (7-1-2) jumped on Berra early in the first half. Bogus beat her defender down the baseline and crossed one in front of the net to freshman midfielder Brittany Cooper, who touched it one time to the corner to give the Sun Devils a 1-0 lead.
"It was what we were looking for," Cooper said. "We came in the game knowing it was going to be a tough game. Just to get an early goal was good for us."
The goal marked the third for Cooper, who is tied with Makoski for second on the team in points. Bogus added to her team lead in points (14) with the assist, her second.
But momentum shifted late in the first half when NAU junior forward Sierra Cristiano struck a shot off the crossbar and into the goal during the 35th minute. ASU attempted to clear off a corner kick, but the try was intercepted and one-timed in.
"Our team was disappointed in themselves in the first half," Sun Devil head coach Ray Leone said. "Performance and effort and execution, just the whole thing wasn't indicative of how we believe we can play."
The unassisted tally snapped ASU's goals against streak at 484:05. The Sun Devils had gone five consecutive games without allowing a goal.
"I don't care," Leone said about the streak ending. "We just want to win. But if it's going to end, end it like that because that was a fantastic goal."
ASU junior defender Amy LePeilbet got into the action by scoring her first goal of the season in the 65th minute. She headed a high ball into the left side of the goal off freshman midfielder Kelly Bond's corner kick.
"We've been working on it forever, and Amy's been so close, so we were very excited for her to connect on one," Leone said.
The Sun Devils tallied three times in the second half to give them four goals, the most they've scored in a single game this season.
"It's just good to know that you have the potential to put a number like that in," Leone said. "Some days, it's easier than others. It was a good effort on NAU's part."
ASU is scheduled to begin Pac-10 play at 7 p.m. Friday when hosting intrastate rival UA at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium.
"It's absolutely critical to do well in the last game in your region before Pac-10 play because now it's a nine-game season and it's a whole different thing," Leone said. "I still feel like there's a lot more left in us, and we can do better than we did (Sunday)."
Reach the reporter at casey.pritchard@asu.edu.
