It’s kind of hard to win when your best scorers can’t score.
The ASU soccer team couldn’t endure extended scoring droughts from senior forward Devin Marshall and sophomore forward Cali Farquharson, and as a result, missed the postseason for just the second time in five seasons.
Prior to conference play, Farquharson scored nine goals, and Marshall five, but in 11 conference games, they each scored just one goal. Both said an increased strength of schedule in conference games caused their respective scoring droughts.
ASU coach Kevin Boyd agreed.
“I think that’s a major factor (conference strength),” Boyd said of missing the postseason. “I’m not trying to put it all on them, but those are two players that score continuously, and I think they had a goal apiece for us the entire conference time.”
In addition, starting senior attacking midfielder Holland Crook scored one goal all season, and it was on a penalty kick. She didn’t record an assist after the seventh game of the season, after recording six in prior games.
In a nine game in-season stretch, ASU’s offense scored four goals, a number that isn’t going to help a team win many games.
“We just didn’t get enough attack out of enough players,” Boyd said. “The quality of our soccer started dwindling on us.”
The Pac-12 Conference as a whole operated under razor-thin margins. Fifth place and 10th place in the league were separated by a mere two points. Meanwhile, nine of the 11 conference games ASU played in were decided by a goal or ended in a tie.
Moving forward, ASU will lose six seniors, including five starters from its 2013 team. Senior defender Kaitlyn Pavlovich and Marshall will be the program's biggest losses. Midfielders Crook, Blair Alderson, Rachael Ritter and defender Jasmine Roth have also all exhausted their eligibility.
The 2013 seniors qualified for the postseason twice in their careers, once in 2010, and again in 2012, but their legacy could be defined by failing to advance in their final season, Boyd said.
“Unfortunately their impact as the senior class is going to be judged by the season, and that’s a sad statement, because they’ve been a very good group for us,” Boyd said. “Our talent’s getting better. I think there’s some mentality lapses that need to be significantly improved.”
Key Games from the 2013 season
L Boise State, 0-2: The loss to the Broncos was the first surprising result of the season. Boyd said the team lacked effort, which is never a good thing.
W Stanford, 1-0: The ASU soccer program will remember this game for a long time as the Sun Devils snapped Stanford’s 73-game home unbeaten streak, second longest in the NCAA all-time, and the Cardinal’s 44-game conference winning streak.
L Oregon State, 0-1: Playing without Marshall because of a yellow-card suspension, the Sun Devils were shut out, starting a four-game scoreless drought. The loss to the Beavers also put the Sun Devils on the bubble for the first time.
T Colorado, 2-2: The Sun Devils argued after the game that officials cost them a win, awarding a mysterious penalty kick to the Buffaloes late. Even the 942 Crew was kicked out of the game for taunting the officials.
L Arizona, 0-2: The 2013 territorial rivalry game marked the first time ASU lost to UA in regulation, and the Sun Devils paid dearly for it, failing to make the NCAA tournament. ASU is now 15-3-1 against UA all-time, but the Wildcats finished the 2013 season with the better record.
Reach the reporter at justin.janssen@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @jjanssen11
