ASU Soccer: Morris shines in Sun Devils’ road trip to Washington

(Photo: Steve Rodriguez/ASU Athletics)

The reign of the Northwest came down hard on the Arizona State Sun Devils. After this weekend’s trip to Washington the Devils come home with a loss, and a tie.

First on Friday they came up short to the University of Washington, 2-1. They followed that match up with a Sunday matinee against Washington State and finished that contest in a 0-0 tie. To say the least, this was not the performance the 18th ranked Sun Devils were looking for going into the weekend. However, it’s not all negatives looking back at the battles in the state of Washington.

Despite walking away with a tie, and a loss against an unranked opponent, ASU’s season is not over. The Pac-12 season is just getting started. The Sun Devils still have 6 regular season games remaining, two of which are against ranked teams Stanford (2) and Cal (22). The bottom line is the Sun Devils lows the last two games are nothing to be worried about. Prior to the weekend, the Sun Devils were on a nine game undefeated streak. A remarkable feat, considering they had a tough schedule, which included the No. 1 team in the nation, UCLA, and at the time fifth ranked Texas A&M. If they can avoid losing more than one of their final games, ASU will still be sitting pretty going into the NCAA tournament.

The main key for Arizona State for the remainder of the season is going to be redshirt junior goalkeeper Chandler Morris. She is a having a phenomenal season so far, and for the Sun Devils to come up big against their remaining opponents like Stanford and USC, she is going to have to play well. Morris has been more than solid in net as her third year as a starter. Friday’s loss against Washington was only the second time all season that she had allowed multiple goals in a game. She has come up big game after game this season and has solidified herself as one of the top goalies in the Pac-12.

This was evident in Sunday’s tie against Washington State. The keeper went 120 minutes against the No. 21 ranked Cougars without allowing a goal to a team that has scored 15 goals this season. She had seven saves in the game, and without that the Sun Devils would have left the state of Washington with two critical losses.

Throughout this season there has been a major focus on the Sun Devils’ offensive prowess. Forwards Aly Moon and Cali Farquharson have taken the spotlight scoring 18 goals combined this season. But it is also important to recognize the elevated play of Morris. She has allowed only eight goals in 12 games and ranks in the top 25 nationally in save percentage (.864).

The Sun Devils may not have made the NCAA tournament last year, but if Morris continues to shine, they’ll be right back in it.