The ASU women’s soccer team struck early and wore down the Baylor Bears for a 3-1 victory at home Sunday afternoon.
The Sun Devils (2-0-0) scored all three goals in the first half with an organized, creative showing against a physical Baylor squad (2-1-0).
“I thought that we fought hard together, we played well, and we started connecting the ball,” redshirt sophomore forward Sierra Cook said. “They’re a very direct team, and sometimes you get lost in that and you start playing direct yourself.”
Baylor looked strong during stretches in the first half, putting a lot of long passes up for their forwards and pressuring ASU’s defense, particularly during a 15-minute stretch in the second half where the Bears scored their only goal of the game, a header by junior defender Staz Salinas.
But ASU’s young back line held for the rest of the game, something ASU coach Kevin Boyd was pleased with.
“I thought they looked solid as a whole,” Boyd said. “We’re still a little slow to make decisions and solve problems that come at us.”
Boyd added that the defense showed much improvement over last week’s effort in a win against Northern Arizona.
Senior forward Karin Volpe opened up the scoring for the Sun Devils in the 11th minute, getting a hold of a corner kick taken by senior midfielder/forward Jill Shoquist. Volpe created just enough space to put a foot on the ball, tipping it in off the right post.
“When I shot it, I saw it hit the post and I thought it was going to come back,” Volpe said. “Then I saw it hit the inside of the post and bounce in.”
The goal was Volpe’s second of the season, her first being the last-minute game-winner against NAU.
The Sun Devils struck again just four minutes later. A productive series by ASU ended with a shot from Cook that a Baylor defender deflected just over the crossbar.
Shoquist lined up for the resulting corner kick, which went up and over everyone except for freshman defender Jasmine Roth, who put a solid header straight into the back of the net.
The goal was the first of Roth’s career for the Sun Devils.
“It was definitely exciting to put away a goal as a defender,” Roth said.
After Roth’s goal, however, ASU seemed to back off a bit, and Baylor began to push down the field. In the 20th minute, Salinas’ goal brought the Bears closer, down just 2-1.
Baylor continued to push until Volpe picked up the ball in midfield and started driving forward.
“I took it up the field, and I saw Sierra making the diagonal run, so I just laid it off to her,” Volpe said.
Cook beat one defender and then drove a low shot that beat Baylor junior goalkeeper Courtney Seelhorst to the left.
“It’s what we’ve been working on all week,” Cook said. “Getting past the defenders, keeping calm and just putting it in the corner.”
The goal was Cook’s second of the season and gave the Sun Devils a 3-1 lead at halftime.
In the second half, neither team really had any significant chances on goal, and ASU seemed content to control the ball in the midfield and run down the clock.
“I liked the second half because we clinically did what we had to do,” Boyd said. “I didn’t like it because we didn’t really create and show the great soccer we’re capable of.”
The Sun Devils return to action next weekend with two road games, the first against Charlotte on Friday, and the second against South Carolina on Sunday.
Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu.
