Freshman midfielder Aly Moon dribbles the ball upfield at the home game against Oregon State on Oct. 3, 2014. The Sun Devils tied the Ducks 1-1 in double overtime. (Photo by Stephanie Specht)The Sun Devil soccer team was unable to best Oregon in a 1-1 double overtime match in Tempe that saw two of ASU's stars leave the field injured.
ASU’s top goal scorer, junior forward Cali Farquharson, would come off the field in the first minutes of the game after sustaining an ankle injury.
Despite returning just two minutes later, Farquharson seemed hindered by her ankle throughout the first half and looked less like her usually aggressive self.
She was taken out in the 32nd minute but would start the second half, where she ramped up the intensity of her play. Farquharson seemed to be less irritated by the injury, playing 96 of the 110 minutes.
“I feel good,” Farquharson said. “I think I just need a little rest, a little recovery. I didn't think I was very effective as a forward. I wasn't really myself. I couldn't really go at people.”
The team will assess her injury Saturday, but that she was able to remain on the field was a good sign, coach Kevin Boyd said.
After a scoreless first half, ASU would ramp up its intensity in the second half, creating more opportunities for itself and possessing the ball for most of the half.
Oregon would be first to get on the board after converting a penalty kick awarded after one of many questionable calls.
“There were a lot of questionable calls,” Boyd said. “I didn't think the PK was legit. They had a handball in their box as well, and he did not call that.”
The Sun Devils ramped up their intensity after this goal, fighting to score an equalizer.
“We were better in the second half, but once we got scored on, we got some urgency to us and started looking more like us,” Boyd said. “We needed to give up a goal to actually come alive.”
Farquharson agreed.
“We came out slow, and the goal woke us up, which is unfortunate,” Farquharson said. “At the end of the day we tied it. A tie is not what we want, but we will be fine.”
ASU would continue to get good looks, but the back of the net eluded the team. That is, until freshman midfielder Aly Moon scored a clutch late equalizer in the 86th minute, sending the game into overtime.
“I thought (Oregon) did a pretty good job of making it difficult for us," Boyd said. "We did what we have to do when you are down one, is that you go real direct and start serving the box. Luckily one came in and she got her head on it. Shortest kid on the field gets her head on it and nods it over the biggest kid on the field, which is the goalkeeper. There is no way you are going to save that ball from that close in, so credit to Aly.”
The score remained tied after the first overtime, where Oregon seemed to have the advantage in possession.
Junior defender McKenzie Berryhill would go down hard after a foul by Oregon, but the referee gave a yellow card to Berryhill, who had to be escorted off the field by medical staff. She returned to the game after a quick inspection.
In the final minute, Moon had a breakaway opportunity to score for the Sun Devils, and did not convert, again because of a lack of a call from the referee. Some players might feel guilty about this, but Boyd isn't worried about his player.
“As a player you have to know when to have a really short memory, and when to carry it a little bit,” Boyd said. “She's a great player. She knows when to do which, she's not going to be laden down by that come Sunday. She's bothered by it now for a little bit because she feels like she should have had it and could have won the game. That’s what she should think, that’s how great forwards are.”
Ultimately, Boyd was unhappy with the game's outcome.
"Wins are really hard to come by in this conference," he said. "You cannot show up halfway. You just can’t. You won't get the win."
The Sun Devils host Oregon State at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 5.
Reach the reporter at mtsteine@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @MarcTSteiner
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