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ASU soccer continues road grind with trip to Oregon

Sophomore midfielder Tommi Goodman winds up to pass the ball at a home game in Tempe.
Sophomore midfielder Tommi Goodman winds up to pass the ball at a home game in Tempe.

Sophomore midfielder Tommi Goodman winds up to pass the ball at a home game in Tempe. Sophomore midfielder Tommi Goodman winds up to pass the ball at a home game in Tempe. The Sun Devils have two more match ups this weekend on the road. (Photo by State Press Staff)

Records can be deceiving.

 

The ASU soccer team faces two teams with unimpressive records this weekend, but looking only at the teams' records doesn’t quite tell the whole story.

ASU (7-4, 2-1 Pac-12) faces Oregon (2-6-3, 0-2-1 Pac-12) and Oregon State (2-8-2, 0-2-1, Pac-12) in road matches on Friday and Sunday.

Oregon was competitive in all 11 regular season games in 2013 and hasn’t lost by more than a goal in any game it has played. The Ducks fell to No. 7 Portland in overtime and notched a tie with No. 22 BYU.

ASU coach Kevin Boyd said he is not counting the Ducks out.

“If you look at what they’ve done at home the last three games they tied Washington State, tied BYU and they tied (San Francisco),” Boyd said. “Those are their last three home games. Then they went on the road for the first time this year (last week) and lost 1-0, 1-0. They’re pretty good. They’re not somebody we can look past.”

Sophomore forward Cali Farquharson said every team in the conference is tough, and that the tight results of many games reaffirm the notion that there are no easy games in the Pac-12.

Oregon’s undoing in 2013 has been a lack of offense, as it has scored just two goals in its last seven games.

At this point, past the halfway mark of the regular season, the Ducks’ season is on life support. From here on out, Oregon desperately needs to get back into the win column.

However, it’s probably too late for Oregon State to salvage its season at six games below .500 with just eight games remaining. The Beavers and Ducks haven’t even faced the trio of Pac-12 schools currently ranked in the top 10.

ASU enters play riding an emotional high after defeating No. 2 Stanford on the road.

Sophomore defender McKenzie Berryhill, who Boyd said was “unbeatable” against the Cardinal, said the biggest difference in the Stanford game was playing defense as a unit.

That unity, along with a breakout game from redshirt sophomore goalie Chandler Morris, shut out an explosive Stanford offense.

On the other end of the field, the Sun Devils hope sophomore forward Cali Farquharson can get back on track.

Farquharson scored nine goals in ASU’s first seven games but hasn’t scored in the four games since. Farquharson said she was “frustrated” and would have liked some of her chances back.

“The ball is just not going in for her right now,” Boyd said. “It kind of comes in waves. Her wave is not in right now, it’s a little flat. For her, it just hasn’t gone in. She’s created great chances; she’s picking the right spots; she’s just not quite hitting the spot technically.”

 

Reach the reporter at justin.janssen@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11


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