The ASU women’s soccer team came into the weekend with high expectations but could not find its offense, losing 1-0 to No. 15 Oregon State on Friday and dropping a 2-0 decision to Oregon on Sunday.
The Sun Devils (8-6-3, 2-4-1 Pac-10) had flashes of solid play, especially in the first half against the Beavers (15-1-1, 7-0), but are hurting themselves when it comes to scoring, ASU coach Kevin Boyd said.
“It’s all about scoring goals, and we’re getting zero production right now,” Boyd said. “We’re playing our age. We’re really young and we look it.
“This team is just shooting themselves in the foot at this point.”
ASU hasn’t scored in the run of play since Sept. 12, a 5-0 thrashing of Nebraska. In the 11 games since then, the Sun Devils have only scored five goals, and all have come off of either corner or free kicks.
Junior defender Kari Shane said the defense played pretty well, but just made a few mistakes that were capitalized on.
“Overall, I think we’re getting a lot better and as organized as we can be,” Shane said. “We’re coming down to the end of it and we need these wins to put us in the best spot possible to make the NCAA’s.”
There will be pressure to win next weekend, but Shane said the team just needs to play the way they did to start the season.
The Sun Devils quickly took control in the first half against OSU, outshooting the Beavers 7-4. However, OSU would find the net in the 44th minute off a long free kick from midfield.
The goal was credited to junior midfielder/forward Melinda Ingalls, who managed to put her head on the kick into the box, although the final touch appeared to come from an ASU player, Boyd said.
“We completely outplayed them the first half, and they would say that as well,” Boyd said. “We had chances, we just didn’t make them dangerous enough.”
The second half took a downward turn for ASU, and the Beavers shut down the Sun Devils, allowing only three second-half shots en route to their 12th shutout of the year.
Against UO, (7-8-3, 3-3-1) ASU opened the game by conceding a goal in the 7th minute as UO sophomore midfielder Scout Libke put a close range shot out past the right side of ASU sophomore goalkeeper Alyssa Gillmore.
The Sun Devils were forced to play catch-up for the rest of the match, and actually outshot the Ducks 10-4, though only two were on goal.
In the 77th minute, UO sealed the win with a goal from senior midfielder Mercedes Walters, who hit a hard shot from 22-plus yards out that beat Gillmore on the left side.
Boyd said the lack of goals was frustrating, particularly after outshooting the Ducks 6-1 in the first half.
“They were productive with their shots, and we were non-existent,” Boyd said.
The Sun Devils return to action next Friday at home against USC. The upcoming weekend marks the last two games of the regular season.
Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu
