There was some chatter heading into this week’s games that ASU (5-2) should have been ranked in the top 25. It was No. 29 in NSCAA Coaches' Poll.
After losing to the No. 24 Texas Tech Red Raiders, those aspirations might take a couple of weeks to recover, but that’s mainly from an outside view.
A ranking could still occur if ASU accomplishes its primary goals, which are to not lose a home game (3-0 so far) and win a playoff game.
ASU opened the weekend losing a heartbreaker to Texas Tech. When it appeared the teams would be heading into a second overtime, the Red Raiders scored the game-winner with less than a minute to go.
“This was a tough weekend for us all the way around,” said ASU coach Kevin Boyd. “I don’t think we showed the quality that we showed the weekend before.”
ASU’s offense was shutout for the first time all season against Texas Tech, and he wasn’t exactly thrilled with his team after the game. Boyd gave a message to the team on Friday and said the team needs to do a better job of following that.
"There’s certain strategies we’re asking them do, and they’re not doing them," Boyd said. "They need to be more coachable ... and they need to bring their quality level out every time. If they’re struggling, they need to find a way to simplify the game.”
Devin Marshall with a bad shoulder
It looked like a scary situation when senior forward Devin Marshall fell to the ground and landed on her shoulder after taking a shot in the first half against Texas Tech.Her shot, which was ASU’s best chance of scoring, was blocked by a defender next to the goal. Marshall landed on her shoulder and laid on the ground. It took a few minutes, but Marshall got up, and surprisingly remained in the game.
Boyd said after Friday’s game that the shoulder was a concern heading into the game. On Sunday, it didn’t seem to bother Marshall as much.
“It’s just bruised up,” Boyd said. “She’s going to be dealing with it all season. There’s no doubt about that. It didn’t seem to be bothering her today (Sunday). She was much better today.”
Holland Crook gets first goal of season
Senior midfielder Holland Crook has served as a facilitator for most of the season, paving the way for ASU’s offense, particularly on set pieces.She leads ASU with six assists; the rest of the team combined has seven. Against Southern Utah, she finally got her first goal of the season, scoring on a penalty kick.
Boyd said they still need to get her going by having her score in the flow of play.
“We obviously want to see Holland get one in the run of play as well, but she’s turned into quite a finisher when it comes to set pieces,” Boyd said.
Reach the reporter at justin.janssen@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11
