ASU Soccer: Sun Devils prepare for top-ranked UCLA

(Photo: Steve Rodriguez/ASU Athletics)

The Arizona State women’s soccer team will begin Pac-12 conference play Friday, as they take on UCLA at home.

The Sun Devils, who finished seventh in the Pac-12 last year, are coming off of a six game winning streak, and are currently ranked 24^th in the country by the NSCAA.

ASU seems to have fixed many of last years problems, which included trouble finding the back of the net.

Junior forward Cali Farquharson, and freshman midfielder Aly Moon are among the top goal scorers in the nation, with eight and seven goals respectively.

As a team, the Sun Devils have scored 27 goals this season; one more than they scored all last season.

“Our mentality is good. We’re confident. We’re playing good soccer. We’re playing hard,” head coach Kevin Boyd said.

UCLA is ranked first in the country by the NSCAA and is currently 8-0-1 in the season. The Bruins are also coming off the longest winning streak in their program’s history, with 30 unbeaten games.

Their last loss came on September 6, 2013 against North Carolina.

Just this season, UCLA has managed to shut out 7 of its last 9 opponents and has only allowed 15 shots on target during that time.

Last time that these two teams met, it did not go very well for the Sun Devils. The Bruins, who were then ranked second in the country, beat down ASU 3-0 while outshooting the Sun Devils 18-7.

All three of the goal scorers from that game will be present at Friday’s matchup.

However, that doesn’t seem to bother Boyd.

“We know what they’re bringing. We’re already aware of that,” Boyd said. “We’re not worried about anyone who may or may not have scored against us in the past.”

You can tune in to the Pac-12 Network for a live stream of Friday’s game from home, or make it out to Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. Kick off is at 4 p.m.

You can reach Anthony Marroquin on Twitter @tonymarro11 .