Winkworth’s ranked struggles in loss to No. 9 Baylor

(Photo: Dante Tudor/WCSN)

TEMPE – Before Thursday night’s meeting against ninth-ranked Baylor, Arizona State soccer was 6-25-3 against ranked teams under head coach Graham Winkworth.

Two of those losses came this season – a 1-0 fall against then-No. 9 North Carolina and a 2-0 defeat against then-No. 14 Texas Tech.

In a conference that currently features five top-25 teams, a tough strength of schedule is seemingly guaranteed, creating a dire need for ranked wins to finish highly. That’s been apparent since the Pac-12 era.

Winkworth has never finished higher than fifth in conference standings and has made the Big 12 tournament only once. That berth came when the tournament still featured 12 teams.

Now, only the top eight make the field.

The question remained if Winkworth’s Sun Devils pull off a ranked win to get back to the postseason.

For now, no.

ASU (8-5-3, 3-4-1 Big 12) lost 2-0 on Thursday night to No.9-ranked Baylor (13-2-1, 6-1-1 Big 12. The Sun Devils offense struggled, and yet another controversial no-handball call kept them at ten points in the standings. Now, nine points remain available in a race to finish eighth or better.

Winkworth focused on playing better inside the penalty boxes – an area that has brought some controversy.

On Oct. 11, the Sun Devils lost to Houston by one goal. The Cougars scored from the spot after a dubious penalty that Winkworth appealed whether or not there was a handball.

On Thursday, Winkworth challenged another play inside the box. After fourth-year midfielder Emmie Ennis’ cross was deflected out of bounds, the Sun Devil attackers were adamant that the whistle should have blown for a handball. At the next opportunity, Winkworth sent the referees to review the play.

An extended review process ensued, but the referees upheld the call on the field.

“I’m not sure what more you need as a stonewall penalty kick when the game’s 0-0,” Winkworth said.

He was visibly and audibly frustrated with the referees after the game, then made multiple comments about penalty kicks.

“Two weeks ago, I got an email from the conference saying that Houston should not have been awarded a penalty,” Winkworth said. “And now, I feel like we should have been awarded.”

He explained that there should never be favoritism for home teams, but that it was incredibly disappointing to be on the wrong end of season-altering decisions at home.

Moving forward, the team believes. The players and staff know the upcoming schedule and stakes, but are taking it one game at a time.

“The 11 girls on the field are gonna do their job,” Blundell said. “I think we can do it (make the tournament).”

ASU made multiple personnel changes for various reasons, including injuries and sickness. The main change was second-year goalkeeper Izzy Duink replacing second-year goalkeeper Kennedy Zorn.

Winkworth explained that Zorn was not feeling well before ASU’s road game against Oklahoma State last Friday. Duink stepped up and won her first collegiate game, as Winkworth continued to trust her, resulting in Duink starting in goal for the second straight game.

“There was no need to make the change,” Winkworth said. “We’ve got competition in a lot of places on the pitch, and Izzy’s proving that we’ve got competition in goal.”

Duink kept Baylor off the board in the first half, compiling three saves.

“‘You can sit here, you can be proud that we’re nil-nil with number six in the RPI,’” Winkworth’s message at halftime. “‘Or you can say, all right, hold on. We go beat them now.’”

The Bears had their own plan. In the 57th minute, second-year midfielder Olivia Hess sent a high-arcing pass to the back post, and fourth-year forward Theresa McCullough handled it with one touch, then shot a rocket past Duink.

The energy at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium shifted as the ASU faithful’s hope slowly faded after over 50 minutes of scoreless soccer.

Duink’s counterpart, fifth-year goalkeeper Azul Alvarez, denied every Sun Devil opportunity. Alvarez, two-time Big 12 goalkeeper of the week, saved five shots and seemed to scare away other attacking opportunities.

“They’ve got maybe the best goalkeeper in the country,” Winkworth said.

Alvarez and the Baylor defense continued their clean sheet streak against ASU. The Sun Devils haven’t scored against the Bears since 2012.

Third-year forward Kierra Blundell wore the captain’s armband on a night that fifth-year midfielder Peyton Marcisz was sidelined. Blundell leaned on her leadership ability while taking accountability for some flaws she noticed after conceding the first goal.

“One thing I gotta speak with the girls is: there was so much time left,” Blundell said. “However many we need, we’re gonna get it.”

Despite not being able to respond, Blundell was satisfied with the overall effort.

“They’re a good team, but I think we were the better team,” Blundell said. “I think we controlled the game for a lot of the time.”

ASU hasn’t beaten a ranked opponent since Sep. 2025 when BYU came to Tempe. Two of the Sun Devils’ last three opponents this season are in the top 20 of the most recent RPI rankings.

Winkworth’s message to the team remains consistent no matter who is on the other side: “It’s just another opportunity.”

The Sun Devils have lost their last six contests against top-25 opponents dating back to last season. This year, they haven’t scored a goal against any of the three, but that still doesn’t diminish hope.

“We’ve not played a team that’s better than North Carolina,” Winkworth said. “We showed that we can play with them.”

BYU was the last team into last year’s conference tournament, after finishing with 14 points. ASU stands with 10 points after Thursday’s result.

Sunday afternoon, ASU will take on Colorado, a team outside the top 25, but ranked in the top 10 in RPI. To return to postseason soccer for the first time since 2024, Winkworth will have to overcome his historic struggles against top competition. The team believes.

“Last year, BYU wasn’t even supposed to make the tournament … then they ended up winning the whole thing,” Blundell said. “So the message is: anything can happen.”

And just how badly does this team want to play in Texas at the Big 12 Tournament?

“They’re desperate to,” Winkworth said.