ASU Soccer: Sun Devils get first conference win of the season

(Photo: Kristina Vicario/WCSN)

The Arizona State soccer team earned its first conference win against the to No. 18 Washington Huskies in double overtime.

Sun Devil midfielder Whitney Kanavel’s penalty kick in the 106th minute sealed the 2-1 victory for ASU.

In the first half Arizona State scored early, gaining the lead in the 12th minute. Sophomore forward Jessica Raybe gained possession of the ball just inside the 18-yard box and Washington was slow to pressure. With the open space Raybe placed the ball into the bottom right corner.

After a lot of back and forth, the Huskies countered with three seconds left in the first half. Freshman Pascale Dumesnil was the only sub used the entire first half and scored for the Huskies. The freshman midfielder scored on a breakaway about 20 yards out from the 18.

The second half started off with many missed chances for ASU. Sophomore forward Aly Moon was called offside with what could have been another early goal for the Sun Devils. A few minutes later, Raybe got a break breakaway and was fouled just outside the box made after a cutback. The free kick was taken by Farquharson and it was just right of the the near post.

However, at the end of regulation, both teams were unable to finish, sending the game into overtime.

With both teams only having one match this weekend and ample time to recover, it was a very chippy match even before the overtime.

In the first overtime period, both teams seemed to feel like their backlines were under pressure, resulting in a lot of back and forth play and very little possession.

At the end of the first overtime Washington State almost had a repeat of the last minute goal in the first half, but Wheeler’s header was just over the top of the net.

The second overtime period started off with the Huskies earning a corner kick early that they failed to capitalize on. In the 106th minute, senior midfielder Whitney Kanavel made a long pass to forward Jessica Raybe who was then fouled on her breakaway by the Washington goalkeeper Megan Koufeld. The foul resulted in a red card for Koufeld and redshirt sophomore keeper Sarah Shimer had to come in for the penalty kick. The Sun Devils took the win when Kanavel scored on the penalty kick, for her first goal of the season.

This was an important win for the Sun Devils and a large morale boost since their last win was on Sept. 11.