(Photo by: Sam Farsky/ WCSN)
When the game clock hit 90 minutes and referee Jonathan Weiner blew his whistle for full-time, it meant much more than just the end of Friday night’s 1-0 Territorial Cup loss for the Arizona State soccer team. The whistle closed the final regular season game for ASU, but more importantly, signified the end of an era for six Sun Devils. It led to a bittersweet feeling in Tempe, as despite losing to one of its biggest rivals, ASU continued its post-match celebration of its seniors.
Four of the Sun Devils’ six seniors featured against Arizona, in defender Lucy Johnson, defender Olivia Coleman, forward Keri Matthews, and midfielder Lauren Kirberg.
“Not the result we wanted,” freshman forward Kierra Blundell said, “Every single senior played their heart out. Every single senior was class.”
After the Wildcats’ opening goal, Johnson, Coleman, and Kirberg recovered well to prevent Arizona from creating more chances. With 12 minutes left, Johnson hustled to track down Arizona freshman forward Rose Calkins, before quickly quelling the attack with a deft tackle.
Even in one of the last matches of her collegiate career, Johnson continued to play for her team, giving Blundell and Sun Devils head coach Graham Winkworth good reason to hold her time as captain in high regard. Blundell called her the “best captain I’ve ever seen in my life,” an opinion seemingly shared by her head coach.
“Whenever the team has faced adversity on or off the field, [Johnson has] stepped up,” Winkworth said, “She’s such a great personality and somebody that’s really mature.
In the last home game of all of their careers, the seniors made sure their impact was felt in the match. A little over a minute after Johnson’s tackle, the Wildcats were again pushing on the attack. Arizona got a ball into the penalty area, but Kirberg stretched out and deflected it in the direction of Coleman who knocked it out of danger.
Although the Sun Devils didn’t find the back of the net, Matthews provided several highlights of her own, as she tallied two total shots. In the game’s dying moments, one of the Sun Devils most tenured players charged down the pitch and found freshman midfielder Ella Kettles on the edge of the box. Kettles couldn’t direct a shot on target, and ultimately ASU didn’t pick up a result against its in-state rival.
Ultimately this 1-0 loss to Arizona ended the regular season for the Sun Devils. Next, they’ll head to Kansas City for the Sprouts Farmers Market Big 12 Soccer Championship to face the Kansas Jayhawks in the first round on Wednesday night.
“It’s been a pleasure to captain the girls, but we’re not done yet,” Johnson said, “Who knows what can happen? It’s tournament football.”
