The ASU soccer team lost to No. 19 Texas A&M; and defeated Stephen F. Austin, both by scores of 3-1. ASU improved its record to 2-1 and has outscored its opponents 6-4. Here are some notes and observations from this past weekend’s games.
ASU looking to
establish corner kicker
The corner kick provides one of the most lethal scoring opportunities in soccer outside of a penalty kick.
It comes on a set piece, which means the offense has a chance to line up. It's an important play because of the location of the kick and the fact that defenders must stand at least 10 yards away from the ball until it is touched.
Through three games, ASU now has attempted 16 corner kicks, eight against SFA alone, but no goals have resulted from those opportunities.
Just four of those chances have directly resulted in a shot, a number coach Kevin Boyd would like to increase.
“We need to be more dangerous on our corners,” Boyd said. “We’re getting a lot of them, and we’re just not producing right now.”
ASU has utilized two players in its corner kicks, senior midfielders Holland Crook and Rachael Ritter. Crook has taken nine corners and Holland seven.
“I don’t think we have anybody settled in, and that’s something we need to work on,” Boyd said. “A good portion of that is just the service is not very good. It doesn’t matter if it’s Rachael or Holland, we need more consistency.”
Katie Mohr returns
Freshman forward Katie Mohr saw her first action in her career against Texas A&M;, playing in 30 minutes against the Aggies and 33 against SFA.
Mohr is the first forward into the game for ASU off the bench, and Boyd said that she’s going to have to learn on the fly.
“She doesn’t know our system well enough to know where she’s supposed to be,” Boyd said. “She’s going to have to really work hard to bring it up to the level (that we need).”
Lineup continues to evolve
In the first two games of the season, Boyd utilized the same starting 11 but made two switches in prior to facing SFA.
Redshirt sophomore midfielder Mackenzie Semerad and freshman defender Mckenzie Grossman replaced Ritter and freshman defender Larisa Staub respectively.
Boyd said he would start the players he thought were playing best at the time.
“Those players earned their time,” Boyd said. “It was based on Friday night (against Texas A&M;), when I made a couple subs, and they played well enough to earn the start.”
Domenichelli hurts knee
Freshman forward Jessica Domenichelli hurt her knee in ASU’s loss to Texas A&M; five minutes after entering the game as a sub.
Boyd said she would have an MRI “probably” on Monday.
As of press time, The State Press does not know the results of the test or the severity of the injury.
Reach the reporter at Justin.Janssen@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11
