The ASU women’s soccer team heads into its final two road games looking for better results after a tie and a loss last weekend in Tempe.
The objective for the Sun Devils (8-4-3, 2-2) is to make the NCAA tournament, and although ASU got an invitation with nine wins last season, the mindset is that the team needs to win two of the last four to be assured of a spot.
Senior midfielder Alexandra Elston said that they’re looking to grab those wins when they face No. 15 Oregon State (13-1-1, 5-0) on Friday and Oregon (5-8-3, 1-3-1) on Sunday.
“We know we need to win to get there, and these are two big games,” Elston said. “We’ve had separate games where our forwards have played great or our backs have played great, but we haven’t really had a whole game together. We’ve got to bring everybody together.”
There’s a good chance of rain both Friday and Sunday, which could be tough for a team used to weather in Tempe, but senior forward Jill Shoquist, an Oregon native, said that it shouldn’t be a problem.
“We have quite a few kids from the northwest, and we’ve been getting some bad weather here, so I think everyone’s okay with it,” Shoquist said. “We had the opportunity to play in it in Washington, and it’s not really going to be a factor.”
The Beavers are currently on an eight-game winning streak and is a perfect 5-0-0 in Pac-10 play this season.
OSU freshman forward Jenna Richardson was recently named Pac-10 women’s soccer player of the week after scoring the game-winning goals against both Washington and Washington State last weekend.
Most impressively, the Beavers have only allowed seven goals so far this year and are tied for fifth in the nation in shutouts with 11, all coming with junior goalkeeper Colleen Boyd in net. Their only loss came against No. 12 UC Irvine, a 1-0 decision back on Sept. 24.
ASU coach Kevin Boyd said the strength of OSU lies in the organization.
“They take what you give them and they keep the ball well,” Boyd said. “I think their discipline is exceptional.”
UO has had a tough schedule so far, and is 1-3-1 in conference play. The Ducks will look for offense from senior forward Jen Stoltenberg, who leads the team with 12 goals on the season. The rest of the team has a combined 11 goals.
Stoltenberg is only one goal away from tying the UO record for most career goals with 33, and will likely surpass that number before the season ends.
Despite a losing record, UO has outshot their opponents 241-180 on the season, and could have a better record if it weren’t for some bad breaks this season, Boyd said.
Boyd also said that despite the importance of these last four games, ASU is going to stay controlled and stick with the mentality they’ve had all year.
“We’re not going to change what we’ve done all year,” Boyd said. “Every game is important, and we try and treat it that way. We’re trying not to make Friday night’s game some weird big game. It’s just not who we are.”
Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu
