Freshman forward Cali Farquharson tracks an airborne ball against two Utah defenders during the Sun Devils’ 4-1 win over Utah on Thursday. (Photo by Kyle Newman)Freshman forward Cali Farquharson put the ASU soccer team closer to a spot in the NCAA tournament on Sunday night, scoring the game-winning goal against Colorado with only 22 seconds left in double overtime to give the Sun Devils (9-8-2, 5-4-1 Pac-12) a thrilling 2-1 victory.
The match seemed destined to end in a draw, before Farquharson’s score in the final minute sent the Sun Devils over .500 for the first time all season.
Farquharson took a pass from senior midfielder Courtney Tinnin, and the freshman did the rest.
“I saw space to run into, and I ran diagonally to the ball,” Farquharson said. “I knew a defender was on me, but I knew I could turn her. I just turned quickly and shot it, and it went in.”
Junior forward Devin Marshall scored the opening goal for the second match in a row, this time lofting a header off of a free kick over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net. The score was Marshall’s team-leading ninth goal of the season.
The goal, scored in the 19th minute, had a familiar ring to Marshall.
“It was almost identical to Thursday night’s goal,” Marshall said. “As soon as (senior defender Sierra Joseph) played it, it was the exact same ball and I knew I was going to get on it, and I did.”
The Buffaloes (8-8-3, 2-7-1 Pac-12) earned the equalizer in the 40th minute, when senior midfielder Amy Barczuk corralled a loose ball in the box and drilled it into the bottom left corner for her fourth goal of the season.
Sun Devil head coach Kevin Boyd praised Colorado’s effort throughout the match.
“I give a lot of credit to Colorado,” Boyd said. “They battled hard the entire game and made it very difficult for us.”
The score remained even all the way until Farquharson’s goal gave the Sun Devils, who outshot the Buffaloes 29-18, the weekend sweep.
“This win is huge,” Boyd said. “This guarantees that we will be on the table for getting into the playoffs.”
The Sun Devils have now won three in a row and are unbeaten in their last four matches. ASU has its regular season finale Friday against rival UA.
For now, Boyd and the Sun Devils are going to enjoy the hard-fought win.
“I’m just really happy and relieved,” Boyd said. “We played a really tough game.”
Reach the reporter at dsshapi1@asu.edu
