ASU Soccer: Sun Devils outlast Beavers, extend unbeaten streak to nine

(Photo: Trey Lanthier/WCSN)

Arizona State junior forward Cali Farquharson did what she’s done all along.

She found the back of the net to give the No. 18 Arizona State women’s soccer team a 1-0 win over Oregon State on Pink Weekend.

Farquharson scored her 10^th goal of the season to extend Sun Devils’s unbeaten streak to nine games.

“I think winning streaks are things you evaluate when the season is over more so than when you’re in one,” ASU head coach Kevin Boyd said. “We have a little bit of a paranoia that you don’t want to do anything different. You know, I wear the same socks and things like that, so we all have some superstitions. But in terms of paying attention to the streak, we’re not. We’re trying to stay focused on one game at a time.”

Arizona State started off sluggish in the first half struggling to combine passes to create scoring opportunities and hold possession.

Oregon State created three shots in the first 10 minutes of the game. Redshirt freshman midfielder Samantha Moultrie found a hole 16 yards from goal, but her shot under heavy pressure fell straight into the arms of redshirt junior goalkeeper Chandler Morris.

“We were definitely struggling in the first 20 minutes or so,” redshirt junior midfielder MacKenzie Semerad said. “So we knew that I had to come in and make a change.”

ASU picked up the intensity after the midway point, when Semerad came on for junior midfielder Tommi Goodman in the 27^th minute and freshman forward Jessica Raybe was substituted in for Farquharson in the 31^st minute.

“[Semerad] changed things in the first half when she stepped on the field,” Boyd said. “Her energy, speed she was doing things, her ability to cover a lot of ground. I thought she absolutely changed what we were doing in the first half to the positive.”

The Sun Devils tested the keeper for the first time in the 32^nd minute when Raybe, looked to score from 17 yards out. But, both teams ended the half scoreless, with ASU leading the Beavers 6-4 in shots.

“We’re getting a lot of instances where people are coming off of the bench and making us better,” Boyd said.

The team in pink began the second half determined, sending a basketful of shots and crosses OSU’s way.

Arizona State held much of the momentum and possession, 58 percent, for the rest of the game outshooting Oregon State 16-6.

“It was only a matter of time before we were going to score,” Farquharson said. “I felt it coming in the first half, felt it coming in the second half. We probably should have had a couple more to be honest.”

In the 75^th minute, Aly Moon took on a defender from the left edge of the 18-yard box and played a square ball to Farquharson 20 yards away. Farquharson’s shot traveled into the right upper-90 to give ASU their eighth win of the season.

“I wanted to just drive it and hit it as hard as I could,” Farquharson said. “But I ended up miss hitting it, and it went in with good placement.

The 8-1-3 Sun Devils will travel to Washington and Washington State on October 10-12 to continue conference play. ASU currently sits fifth in the standings with five points.

You can reach Anthony Prosceno via e-mail at aproscen@asu.edu or on Twitter at @The_A_Pro.