(Photo By: Sam Farsky)
KANSAS CITY — Losing to a rival is never fun, especially on senior night. That was the case for Arizona State Soccer last Friday when it hosted its biggest adversary, the Arizona Wildcats. ASU had numerous opportunities to end their season on a better note, but the team could not capitalize on numerous scoring chances during a 1-0 defeat.
After an emotional night, the Sun Devils look to rebound as the Big 12 Tournament gets underway. Taking place in Kansas City, Missouri, the Big 12 Tournament is likely the only way that Arizona State could find its way to the NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament.
After a great start to the season for the Sun Devils that saw them start 5-0-2 in non-conference play, ASU hit numerous speed bumps against its Big 12 counterparts throughout inner-conference play. After the Sun Devils started 1-1 against BYU and Houston, respectively, ASU only won two of their next nine contests opposing Big 12 teams.
Due to the fact that ASU finished the season with just a 3-7-1 record in inner-conference play, it is speculated that ASU will have to run the table over the next week and win the Big 12 Tournament to secure a spot in the national tournament.
The Sun Devils enter the Big 12 Tournament as a No. 11 seed and will battle it out with the No. 6 seed Kansas Jayhawks in the first round. These two teams squared off just over a week prior on October 20th with Kansas coming out on top in a 2-1 victory.
The Sun Devils will look to flip the script in the first-round matchup, but that could prove difficult due to some of the offensive weapons Kansas possess. Just looking at the previous contest, spectators saw two of the Jayhawks’ three leading point scorers make a difference during their victory.
Redshirt sophomore forward Saige Wimes was a part of both Kansas points, recording a goal and assist during the win. She is currently third in points on the Jayhawks squad with 15 (five goals and five assists).
Junior forward Lexi Watts also found paydirt against the Devils, receiving the assist from Wimes in the 66th minute to break the 1-1 deadlock and put the Jayhawks ahead. She is tied for first on the team with 17 points (seven goals and three assists).
That game was won by Kansas without arguably its best player getting her name on the score sheet. Freshman forward Jillia Gregorski has had a massive impact while in Lawrence, leading the team in goals with eight and tied for the team lead in points along with Watts.
It will be a tough matchup for the Sun Devils. With the number of playmakers on the field for Kansas, ASU head coach Graham Winkworth will look to get his squad playing its best defensive game to stop Wimes, Watts, and Gregorski.
However, the biggest problem for the Sun Devils since the beginning of inner-conference play has been their offense. ASU has just 12 goals in 11 games against Big 12 adversaries. Furthermore, since October, the Sun Devils have mustered just five goals in six games.
It has been a tough stretch overall for Winkworth and company over the past month. Nevertheless, hope is not yet lost for the team from the desert. With the three-headed monster of freshman forward Kierra Blundell (8 goals, 6 assists), junior forwards Enasia Colon (7 goals, 7 assists), and Cameron Valladeras (7 goals, 4 assists), the Sun Devils have a chance to topple the Jayhawks if they can execute offensively.
Outside of a three-game stretch where ASU gave up a total of 13 goals, the Sun Devils defense and goaltending have been rock solid for most of the season. At points this year, junior goalkeeper Pauline Nelles has shown that she can be one of the better netminders in the Big 12, allowing just over a goal per game this season.
This will certainly be a test for a Devils team that is desperate to move on to the second round of the tournament and keep their season alive. These new Big 12 rivals will battle it out on Wednesday, October 30th at 3:15 PM MT in Kansas City.
