On top of the shocking upset at No. 2 Stanford, breaking all kinds of Cardinal streaks, ASU soccer coach Kevin Boyd made his mark on ASU history.
ASU snapped Stanford’s 73-game home undefeated steak and 44-game conference winning streak, and with the victory, Boyd (61-56-14) passed former ASU coach Ray Leone (60-45-14) for the most wins in program history.
Boyd might have wanted that win to come Friday against Cal, his former school, but setting the mark against No. 2 Stanford had to feel even better.
He won 121 games in 10 seasons at Cal and took the Golden Bears to eight NCAA tournament appearances.
One of his more significant accomplishments was the successful recruitment of future U.S. national team star Alex Morgan to Cal.
Boyd, though, didn’t get the chance to have Morgan play for him. Morgan played for the Golden Bears program from 2007-10, and Boyd left for ASU in the spring of 2007.
“Lots of different things,” Boyd said on the reason for the move to ASU. “Primarily that’s when we (my wife and I) found out we were going to have a daughter. We felt like Arizona was a better fit, economics and type of life we want.”
Boyd is now the all-time winner at Pac-12 programs. The sport hasn’t been around too long – ASU’s first season was in 1996 – but it’s still a nice accomplishment.
“I still have wonderful memories,” Boyd said. “Cal was a great place to be. I still stay in contact with many of the players that I coached. I sure enjoy getting to see them and hear from them. I’m definitely here now. I don’t know any of their current players.”
Sara Tosti looking for more looks
When sophomore forward Sara Tosti scored the game-winning goal against No. 2 Stanford, the question became why she doesn’t take more scoring opportunities.
“The problem is she doesn’t shoot enough,” Boyd said. “We’ve been talking to her about get shots, get shots, get shots because we believe she’s going to score.”
Prior to the Stanford game, Tosti took just 12 shots in ASU’s 10 regular season games. Against Stanford, she was more heavily involved in the offense and tied a season high with five shots.
“I had a couple shots before (the goal), one longshot, but it kind of went straight to the goalie,” Tosti said. “I’ve been telling myself to keep shooting more.”
The problem is, if Tosti takes more shots, it means some of the other players won't have as many shots, a sacrifice Boyd seems ready to make.
“Her shot is just so dangerous, the way that she hits it, that give her two, give her three (shots), she’s going to score one every time,” Boyd said. “The issue with her is she’s been averaging just a touch over one shot a game. We’ve been wanting her to get 4-6 shots per game.”
Sophomore forward Cali Farquharson has scored a team-best nine goals on the season, though none in the past four games. Senior forward Devin Marshall has six goals on the season, which includes three game-winners.
Boyd said he believes Marshall and Farquharson are drawing considerable attention from opposing defenses, and that Tosti should be able to get more open looks.
It’s quite a nice problem for ASU have. Tosti, who played defense last season and moved forward for this season, gives ASU three prolific scorers who all deserve considerable attention.
Reach the reporter at justin.janssen@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11
