The ASU women’s soccer team is focused and ready to take another shot at the NCAA Tournament when they take on No. 16 UC Irvine on Friday night.
The Sun Devils (9-7-3, 3-5-1 Pac-10) made it to the postseason last season, but fell to Wisconsin in a shootout in the first round. This year’s team has some experience now, which can help them improve on last year’s result, ASU coach Kevin Boyd said.
“I think it just helps the nerves side of things, so they know what to expect and what’s going on,” Boyd said. “We know who we are, and I feel like we’re getting greater play out of more players now.”
Despite the trip to California, the team managed to keep the same practice schedule, which can definitely help going into the weekend, sophomore midfielder Taylor McCarter said.
“It’s just another big game, so we prepared the same way that we usually do,” McCarter said. “I’m excited that we get to play under the lights again and keep the season going.”
The Sun Devils had a rough conference schedule after starting the season 6-2-2, but an upset win over No. 22 Southern California last Friday was enough to send ASU to the tournament. Interestingly, the Sun Devils seem to play better on Fridays, going 7-3-0 on those nights, compared to 2-4-3 on Sundays.
The Anteaters (17-2-2) are making their first ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and are hosting games in the first and second round.
UC Irvine had some great results in the Pac-10 as well, earning a draw with Cal and beating No. 15 Oregon State 1-0. The Anteaters fell in the final game of the Big West women’s soccer championship, losing 1-0 to Long Beach State.
The Sun Devils also lost by the same score to LBSU in September.
The Anteaters are led in scoring by senior forward Tanya Taylor, who has 10 goals and nine assists on the season. Junior forward/midfielder CoCo Goodson is second with eight goals, but Irvine can spread the scoring around, and 11 different players have scored for the team this year.
The Sun Devils won’t have to worry about the Irvine offense as much as the defense. The Anteaters have recorded nine shutouts this season, and were perfect during conference play, only allowing three goals in eight games against Big West opponents.
Key for the Sun Devils will be adjusting to the very physical style of play the Anteaters will bring, Boyd said.
“When you play someone like that, you have to adapt what you’re doing to a degree to try and match up to what they do, and you also have to bring out the better parts of your game,” Boyd said.
However, senior forward Karin Volpe said it’s important for ASU to not commit too many fouls trying to keep up.
“They’re supposed to be very good at set pieces,” Volpe said.
If ASU wins on Friday, it will play again Sunday, facing the winner of the Wake Forest-San Diego matchup. However, the team is taking the tournament one game at a time right now.
“Obviously we all definitely want to be here until Sunday, but right now we’re just focusing on Friday night,” Volpe said.
Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu