ASU Soccer: Breaking down ASU’s win in its Pac-12 opener

(Photo: Nicholas Badders/WCSN)

In a hard fought battle to open Pac-12 play, the Arizona State women’s soccer team opened up their conference slate with a 2-1 win over Oregon State.

Head coach Graham Winkworth called this match the best of the season for his team. Tactically, there were a couple aspects of his team’s performance that stood out.

Space on the Wings

Throughout the match, ASU switched back and forth between a back three and a back four. When the Devils played with three at the back, they found a lot of space outside and were able to find success.

Jemma Purfield saw herself flanking the left side of the pitch all night. In her role, she was able to both excel defensively by making many a tackle on OSU winger Paula Leblic and offensively sending crosses into the box and netting a goal herself. Being the dynamic player that she is, Purfield also found a way to contribute offensively.

After battling through some consistent OSU pressure, the Sun Devils began a counter attack. Leblic, who had been pressing ASU’s back line, was caught and Purfield was quickly in space with the ball at her feet.

After an extended run, Purfield found herself entering the Beaver’s box before truly being marked by an Oregon State defender. After an effort to get free Purfield found enough space to fire off a shot that led to the Sun Devils first goal.

Between Purfield, senior captain Madison Stark and senior forward Jazmarie Mader, the Sun Devils pace and athleticism was a key cog in why their offense worked so well.  

Midfield Play

The ASU midfielders played very well in this match. Lara Barbieri, a freshman from Sao Paolo, Brazil, played very well throughout the game, being an anchor defensively while also getting forward on the pitch. The Sun Devils outshot the Beavers 12-2 in the first half and their midfield play was a big reason why.

Alongside Barbieri, redshirt sophomore midfielder Kylie Minifield helped the Sun Devils control possession for the vast majority of the first half, only allowing two shots. Keeping possession and forcing the Beaver’s to chase the game was something that head coach Graham Winkworth wanted his team to do going in.

“When you’re trying to just keep possession of the ball like we did tonight, eventually top teams will tire out because they are doing a lot of chasing and running,” Winkworth said postgame.

While only a few of the ASU shots were on target, the midfielders were constantly sending the Sun Devils into the attacking third allowing them to keep pressure. The Beavers, however, struggled to mount any consistent offense in the first half.

This was the most complete game the Sun Devils have played all season. The mental lapses that plagued them throughout non conferenced were reduced, and offensively they had their most consistent attacking game of the season.

Although they did struggle to put the ball in the back of the net in the first half, ASU still had a lot of chances, with their 10 total shots on goal being second only to the total 14 they collected in the 4-0 drubbing of Weber State on September 17.

The Sun Devil offense, which looked stagnant at times during the non conference season, has appeared to find its flow as the team enters the Pac-12 gauntlet, and with matches upcoming against No. 13 California and No. 2 Stanford coming up next weekend, ASU will need its offense to continue to perform well.

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