(Photo: Nicholas Badders/ WCSN)
With three games of Pac-12 conference play gone and done with, the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-4-2, 0-2-1) have failed to capitalize offensively as they would have liked. Especially in a conference as competitive as the one they find themselves in.
This past weekend against No. 5 USC and No. 16 UCLA, the Sun Devils found themselves conceding four first half goals to their opponents, then responding by scoring one goal in the second half in each of those respective games.
“I do not want to be playing second halves for pride,” head coach Graham Winkworth said. “I want to be playing for wins, so we need to start games a lot better than we did today (against UCLA).”
Since conference play has started, ASU has been out-scored by opponents 4-8. The Sun Devils went non-conference play scoring 26 goals total to their opponents’ 11, with 18 of those goals coming from the month of August alone.
Despite not finding the back of the net as often as they would like within conference play, ASU has managed to score a goal in 13 straight matches and have yet to be shutout this season, both in conference and non-conference play.
“With these next few games, we will try to have our offensive players playing higher,” Nicole Douglas said. “Which will hopefully give us the opportunity to create and score more goals.”
Douglas is referring to the absence of Eva Van Deursen and Lieske Carleer, both of whom have been gone on international duty with the Dutch national team. The absence of Van Deursen has forced forwards, such as Douglas, to play more midfield than what they are accustomed to.
Although the absence of key players like Van Deursen and the shifts of positions has affected ASU’s style of play, there has been some positive light despite the losses this past weekend.
The Sun Devil that has managed to keep them afloat is sophomore Marleen Schimmer. The German native has scored six goals in her second season with ASU, which already exceeds her goal tally from her freshman season a year ago.
During their last two games, ASU has produced a combined six shots on target with only two of those actually finding the back of the net. Nonetheless, they are still outshooting their opponents 184-110 on the season with 12 matches in the books.
ASU will continue Pac-12 play by going on their first conference road trip to the Pacific Northwest to face Washington on Thursday. Then, the Sun Devils will pay the No. 15 Washington State Cougars a visit on Sunday.
