Needing a win to secure an NCAA tournament berth, the ASU soccer team did the exact opposite, unraveling in a 2-0 loss to rival UA.
“(UA) could not take a step wrong, and we couldn’t take a step right,” ASU coach Kevin Boyd said. “Everything they touched turned to gold, and everything we touched went the opposite way. It’s just one of those days.”
UA (9-7-4, 4-6-1 Pac-12) put pressure on ASU (9-8-2, 4-5-2 Pac-12) right from the start. Freshman midfielder Jaden DeGracie scored her first career goal for the Wildcats in the third minute.
DeGracie placed her shot into the far right corner of the goal, outside of redshirt sophomore Chandler Morris’s reach.
“They got very fortunate on that goal,” Boyd said. “It was a half chance in a crowd, that happened to go into a perfect spot.”
The Sun Devils couldn’t counter the opposition’s goal and struggled, particularly converting in UA's attacking third.
Senior forward Devin Marshall collided with UA goalie Gabby Kaufman in the first half. Marshall looked to be hurt, but re-entered the game at the next substitution break.
Later in the half, Marshall appeared to score on a corner kick header from senior midfielder Blair Alderson, but the goal was waved off because of a foul in the box.
The Sun Devils went into the break thinking they outplayed the Wildcats but trailed 1-0 at the half anyway.
“We had chances. We just weren’t smart with our chances and weren’t putting ourselves into good spots,” Boyd said.
However, the second half unraveled for the Sun Devils. Among the problems were no passing rhythm, poor defense on air-balls and allowing too many dangerous opportunities for the Wildcats.
“It wasn’t something they were doing. It’s just felt like it was us. We were just not on,” Boyd said. “We didn’t seem to be able to be capable just connecting passes and technically handling the ball. We made so many technical errors (and) poor decisions.”
The Wildcats played with confidence in the second half. It was their last game of the season and they had nothing to lose, while ASU potentially lost a postseason berth.
DeGracie assisted on her signature “flip throw-in” in the 61st minute. She flipped the ball into the right side of the 6-yard box, and Julia Glanz was right there to head the ball in.
From there, the Wildcats coasted with a two-goal cushion. The Sun Devils were outshot 10-4 in the second half and Morris was under constant pressure.
Neither of UA’s top two scorers, senior forward Jazmin Ponce and junior forward Ali Doller scored in the game. Ponce had eight shots, including three on goal, while the Doller, the former Sun Devil, had two shots and just one on goal.
Neither UA nor ASU are expected to reach the tournament. The Sun Devils were ranked No. 44 in RPI, but are expected to drop significantly. The Wildcats will finish the season with the better record, and had a No. 85 RPI entering play.
Reach the reporter at justin.janssen@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11
