With the ASU soccer team two games under .500 late in the season, it faced a do-or-die situation in Los Angeles.
The Sun Devils needed at least a win or tie in either of the two games to stay alive for the postseason, but they came up short, losing 2-1 in overtime to USC and 2-0 to UCLA.
ASU started strong against USC (6-11, 3-5 Pac-12) with an eight-to-three shot advantage in the first half, but the Sun Devils couldn’t capitalize on their chances.
“We played very, very well the first 70 of 90 minutes and what we didn’t do well is we didn’t finish,” ASU coach Kevin Boyd said. “If you look at our shots in the first half -eight shots and six of them did not go on frame. So we were just missing the target, we leave the game 0-0.
“The problem is the last 20 minutes of the game we let up and we let them come into the game and start playing. So all the stuff we’ve done up until then, even though it’s really good soccer became meaningless because we let them have the last 20.”
In the 83rd minute, USC made ASU pay for not cashing in on earlier chances. Trojan redshirt senior midfielder Ashli Sandoval broke a scoreless tie with a header goal off a corner kick.
The Sun Devils, knowing their season was perhaps hanging in the balance, pressed in the last moments of regulation to force overtime.
A USC foul set up junior midfielder Holland Crook for a free kick opportunity just outside the penalty box with a minute to go.
The kick deflected off a USC defender, but sophomore forward Devin Marshall was right there for the recovery and then headed it into the goal with 38 seconds remaining in regulation.
But ASU could not capitalize on their momentum heading into the sudden death overtime period.
Four minutes into the overtime, USC senior defender Claire Schloemer drilled the game-winner off a cross from about 20 yards away,
“It was pretty frustrating because we had a really good chance a minute before they did,” Marshall said. “We just weren’t able to put it away.”
Downed by UCLA
After ASU dropped a heartbreaking overtime game against USC, they had to either win or tie against No. 7 UCLA to remain eligible for the postseason.
For the first 20 to 25 minutes ASU played well against the speedy UCLA in a hostile environment.
ASU (6-10, 2-6 Pac-12) had an early 6-1 edge in shots, but just like their previous game, they couldn’t put their shots in the net.
“It’s kind of been the (story) of our whole season,” junior goalie Alyssa Gillmore said. “We’ll play really well, just can’t finish our opportunities.”
UCLA (12-1-3, 5-1-2) stormed back and went on an offensive rampage for the rest of the game. The Bruins outshot ASU 17-3 from that point forward and 10 of their shots went on frame.
In the 28th minute, UCLA midfielder Chelsea Stewart placed a shot perfect into the far corner past Gillmore.
Just moments later, UCLA would increase their lead to 2-0. The original UCLA shot was blocked by ASU’s defense, but UCLA sophomore midfielder Jenna Richmond stepped up and put the rebound into the back of the net.
A bright spot for ASU was Gillmore, who had eight saves.
With two losses over the weekend, ASU drops to 6-10 overall with three games remaining. Teams need to finish at least .500 to be eligible for the NCAA tournament, meaning the Sun Devils have been eliminated from contention.
Reach the reporter at justin.janssen@asu.edu Click here to subscribe to the daily State Press newsletter.
