ASU Soccer: Sun Devils earn their first conference weekend sweep

(Photo: Colin Thompson/WCSN)

Three points is three points.

That was the general feeling around the ASU soccer team after their 2-1 victory against the Washington Huskies Sunday afternoon to notch their first conference weekend sweep of the season.

It wasn’t the prettiest of wins for the Sun Devils but they pulled it through nonetheless with two first half goals by freshman Nicole Douglas who has now tallied eight goals in just 10 matches for ASU.

“I think to come away with a win when we only played well for thirty minutes of a game, I am delighted in that sense,” head coach Graham Winkworth said of his team’s win. “I told the team that one of the signs of a good team is grinding out results even when you are not playing your best and that’s exactly what happened today.”

There were spans of slow moments for the Sun Devils throughout the match including the beginning, however ASU was finally able to put some offensive pressure on the Huskies and capitalize in the 19th minute.

German forward Marleen Schimmer put in a perfect through-ball between two defenders to fellow freshman forward Nicole Douglas who took it inside the box and tapped it pass Washington’s goalkeeper for the first score of the game.

“I think (Schimmer) made the pass of the game setting up the goal,” Winkworth said of the first goal of the match and his German forward, “She can do stuff that other players can’t do.”

Although she didn’t put up a goal of her own, Schimmer was a challenge for the Huskies all afternoon. She showed amazing passing and shooting skills including a free kick in the 23rd minute that was 30 yards that barely missed the back of the net hitting the post frame.

Douglas notched her second goal in the 36th minute from a corner by senior captain Jemma Purfield in which Douglas volleyed into the back of the net from the far post.

“I wasn’t really expecting it to come to the back post, but I was ready and I just stayed calm and put it in the back of the net,” Douglas said. Her goal put the Sun Devils up 2-0.

It was a tale of two halves for the Sun Devils as coach Winkworth and the team felt disappointed with their effort.

“In the second half we didn’t come to the races at all,” said Winkworth.

The Huskies would score early in the second half as Washington forward Kennedy Smith found MaKayla Woods wide open in front of the net for an easy cross and an even easier finish for Woods in the 47th minute, to cut into ASU’s lead and make it a 2-1 score.

There were opportunities for both teams throughout the rest of the game but no very serious threats as both teams did not execute attacks as well as they’ve hoped for. Non-accurate long passes and long, easy-saved shots filled the rest of the match.

Washington put together one last run in the final seconds as Smith fired a shot wide of the net which would be the last shot of a match that saw a Sun Devil victory.

ASU will travel to Oregon this week for their last two away matches of their Pac-12 conference schedule to face Oregon and Oregon State.