ASU Soccer: Sun Devils hope to end losing streak against Utah

(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)

Arizona State Women’s Soccer (6-3-2, 2-3 Pac-12) is hoping to snap its three-match losing streak against the Utah Utes (6-5-2, 2-3 Pac-12) in the only match this week at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium on Friday.

The Sun Devils started the season undefeated at 6-0-2 with two Pac-12 wins against Colorado and California, but they have lost their last three matchups to Stanford, UCLA and USC, which are all ranked in the top 20.

Head coach Graham Winkworth and his squad has struggled mightily in these matchups as it has only scored one goal in its last 270 minutes of action. Graduate forward Nicole Douglas is a microcosm of these struggles as she has not scored yet in Pac-12 play and her last point was against Colorado on Sept. 23.

Unlike ASU, Utah did not have any trouble scoring in their last match as they beat Oregon State 6-0 on Oct. 9. This gave the Utes their second conference victory after they earned their first Pac-12 win against Arizona by defeating the Wildcats 2-1 on Sept. 23 at home.

The only common opponent that these two teams share is the Denver Pioneers. Denver lost to Utah 2-1 on Aug. 25 and then tied ASU 1-1 in their next match on Aug. 28.

The only ranked team that Utah has played so far this year is No. 2 Alabama, who they tied 1-1 in Salt Lake City on Sept. 4. Utah’s other draw came against the Portland Pilots when they tied 2-2 on August 18 in Portland.

Utah has played a couple of teams that have been ranked this year and received votes in the latest poll. They lost to the then No. 25 ranked BYU Cougars 2-1 on Sept. 17. The Utes lost to another Cougars squad when they were defeated by then No. 15 ranked Washington State 1-0 on Oct. 2.

Junior forward Taliana Kaufusi leads the Utes with six goals and 12 points. Kaufusi has already smashed her career record in goals, which was when she finished second on the team with four last season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Evie Vitali started the first 11 matches of the season, but redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kasey Wardle has started the last two matches. Wardle started against the Oregon schools, in which she allowed one goal to Oregon and had a clean sheet against Oregon State.

Utah is led by Hideki Nakada in his second season as the head coach. Nakada’s squad already has as many wins this season as it did in his first season when it finished 6-10-4.

ASU beat Utah 4-1 in last season’s match, so they are looking for a victory against the Utes in back-to-back matchups for the first time since the 2013 and 2014 seasons.

ASU started the season on an eight-match unbeaten streak but has slipped onto a three-match losing streak. The Sun Devils hope this upcoming matchup against the Utes can start another unbeaten streak.