(Photo via Xavier Litman/WCSN)
The No. 1 ranked UCLA Bruins (12-0, 4-0 Pac-12) entered Thursday’s match against the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-2-2, 2-2 Pac-12) certainly played to their ranking, finding the back of the net four times and posting a clean sheet in a dominant victory over the visiting Sun Devils.
The Bruins’ offense got going right away, as junior forward Reilyn Turner put home freshman midfielder Ally Lemos’ corner kick just a minute and 51 seconds into the contest. Turner’s strike continued a forgettable trend for the Sun Devils, who have now conceded the first goal in three straight matches.
Things went from bad to worse for ASU just over three minutes later when graduate forward Ally Cook beat Sun Devils freshman goalkeeper Pauline Nelles, putting the Bruins up 2-0.
Despite being up two scores, UCLA didn’t let up and continued to create scoring chances. The Bruins totaled 10 shots on target throughout Thursday’s match, five of which came in the opening half. However, ASU’s defense held strong and kept their squad within two through the first 45 minutes.
A major contributor in the Sun Devils’ own end was senior defender Lieske Carleer, who exited Sunday’s match against Stanford with an injury. However, Carleer didn’t appear to have any rust, as she consistently made key plays to stymie the Bruins’ attack.
One of her best stops of the night was in the 35th minute when Cook possessed the ball outside of the 18-yard box. As the UCLA forward tried to find an open shooting lane, Carleer made a quick tackle, disrupting the play and preventing what could’ve been a golden opportunity for the Bruins to take a 3-0 lead.
The Sun Devils’ defense didn’t recieve much help from their attack, with the visitors’ first shot – a Nicole Douglas try that was blocked – coming 27 minutes into the contest. ASU only mustered four more shots for the rest of the match, one of which was on the mark.
UCLA’s offense stayed red-hot in the second half, picking up two more goals. Lemos, who already logged an assist during the match, showed her scoring ability in the 50th minute with a shot from well outside the 18-yard box that soared into the top-left corner of the net.
The Bruins struck for the final time in the 71st minute when graduate defender Madelyn Desiano chipped the ball over Nelles’ head for her first collegiate goal.
With Thursday’s clean sheet, ASU has failed to score in two consecutive matches, as they were previously shut out 2-0 by Stanford on Sunday. These offensive woes have affected the Sun Devils’ top attacker, Nicole Douglas, who was held off the scoresheet for the third straight contest.
ASU will try to get back into the win column when they take on No. 8 USC (7-2-1, 3-1 Pac-12) on Sunday.
