(Photo via Julia Coyne)
26 seconds is all it took for sophomore forward Enasia Colon to restore her team’s lead. Colon’s 85-minute winner dipped under the crossbar from range and left junior goalkeeper Olivia Juarez no chance.
“I saw the opportunity to take a shot; the goalie was coming off her line, so I took it.” Colon said.
In a women’s soccer conference as competitive as the Pac-12, every win is a good win, and Arizona State Women’s soccer (7-2-4, 2-1-1) set out to get back in the win column against Washington (5-5-2, 0-0-4) Thursday night in Tempe.
The match finished 2-1 in favor of the Sun Devils. Freshman midfielder Ella Opkvitne scored in the 34th minute, stamping a dominant first half for her side.
“I was really delighted with our first-half performance. I think it was one of the best 45 minutes we played this season,” Winkworth said.
The second half was more back and forth. Washington found an equalizer in the 85th minute from sophomore midfielder Kelsey Branson before Colon sealed the match with a breathtaking strike. ASU head coach Graham Winkworth was pleased with his team’s performance after a tough weekend against California and Stanford.
“It’s massive, it’s really difficult picking up points, we’ve won two games at home and taken Stanford 83 minutes. There’s not gonna be many teams that do that,” Winkworth said. “We did, though, need to get back on the win column, and I’m delighted that we did it.”
The young Sun Devil squad works to build team chemistry, something Winkworth is hoping to build through efforts on and off the pitch.
“We don’t have to, but we work so hard on our team culture. It’s fun listening to some of the stuff going on behind me and the positivity. They are incredible. We do things to focus on that. We’re going to a Pumpkin patch on Tuesday.” Winkworth said.
Positive team chemistry has been able to propel the Sun Devils’ success this season. Junior midfielder Lauren Kierberg knows togetherness is crucial for this team.
“It’s always one goes we know to cover, and it’s that communication part that we always add. We are good with communicating with each other,” Kierberg said.
The Huskies aimed to press all game, hounding the back line of ASU and forcing the ball out wide. However, that fit right into play as wide midfielders senior Lucy Johnson and junior Keri Mathews continued to find forward options throughout the match.
“I think they gave us the left side; they didn’t want us going down the right, and I think the first goal demonstrated why. I don’t really mind which side teams give us. I think we just adapted,” Winkworth said.
The Sun Devils’ defense unit was outstanding again on Thursday, nullifying the Husky attack despite giving up a goal.
Sophomore Goalkeeper Pauline Nelles was disappointed not to keep a clean sheet, but Winkworth was proud of her performance, including a heroic first-half save that kept ASU in front.
“Paulines like, ‘Oh, I didn’t keep a clean sheet,'” Winkworth said. “Well, the one save she had to make in the first half was worthy of a clean sheet, so that’s part of having one of the best goalkeepers in the country,”
The Sun Devils will look to find a clean sheet in their next match on Sunday against Washington State in Tempe. The match is set to kick off at 12 pm MST in what could be a pivotal match in ASU’s season.
