(Photo via Hailey Sasnett/WCSN)
The Pac-12 Women’s Soccer gauntlet is real.
Arizona State has found that out the hard way yet again in 2022, starting off well in the conference of champions, defeating Colorado and California, which displayed its clear ability to punch above average in the conference.
Then they matched up against the big boys of the Pac-12, No. 9 Stanford, No. 1 UCLA and No. 18 USC. None of those games went the way ASU wanted them to go.
Coming off the three losses the Sun Devils (6-3-3, 2-3-1 Pac-12) were looking for whatever they could get on Friday night against the Utah Utes (6-5-3, 2-3-1 Pac-12). A 0-0 draw was certainly a step in the right direction for head coach Graham Winkworth.
“Ultimately, it’s another point,” Winkworth said. “Getting points in this league is extremely difficult.”
On paper, a draw after successive defeats should increase the morale in the Sun Devil dressing room. However, ASU held a man advantage for nearly half an hour after Utah’s freshman defender Ryann Cull was sent off for what appeared to be a retaliatory foul on sophomore winger Keri Matthews.
“I heard there might have been a hair pull,” Winkworth said. “I don’t know if that’s true or not, but that’s what I heard. So if it was then it was the right call. I didn’t personally (get a chance to) see it.”
ASU had almost 30 minutes to make something happen. They tried to become the aggressor in the game, pushing forward more often and making it a clear game of transition, which the Utes completely relished in.
“Sometimes when you go down a player you kind of galvanize the team’s togetherness,” Winkworth said. “Other teams can take their foot off the pedal a little bit and I don’t think we took our foot off the pedal, I just think we lacked the composure to move the ball around in the second half today. We weren’t good enough in possession.”
Utah created many of its best opportunities of the night in moments where they weren’t numerically level. ASU couldn’t control the game, lacking a creative element throughout much of the 30-minute stretch and the full 90 minutes overall.
“I think we just needed a little bit more communication,” freshman defender Andrea Kraetzer said regarding the lack of offensive presence for ASU.
Winkworth nailed it down as more of a problem centered around trying to get freshman midfielder Enasia Colon and graduate forward Nicole Douglas in more dangerous areas.
“We’re trying to get Enay involved a little bit more,” Winkworth said. “Also, when teams have been swarming in front and behind Dougie, she’s having three players on her. So by playing two center forwards and having a 10 as well, we’re trying to free Dougie up a little bit more and get her a little bit of the ball.”
Douglas had few opportunities to come by, but her best came in the 8th and 25th minutes when ASU had two moments created entirely in transition. In the 8th minute, Utah gave the ball right to Douglas, who went 1-on-1 with the defender, dropping her to the floor, before firing a shot wide of the target at the far post. In the 25th minute, sophomore defensive midfielder Lauren Kirberg picked up a bad Utah pass in midfield and pushed a pass forward to Douglas who went 1-on-2 just outside the 18, firing a shot and forcing a decisive early save from redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kasey Wardle.
It was a second consecutive clean sheet for Wardle and the Utes.
“Credit to their goalkeeper,” Winkworth said. “She Pulled off an absolute worldy.”
The Sun Devils enter the back half of Pac-12, having won two games, losing three and now a draw against the Utes. Ahead for Winkworth’s squad is a road trip against the Washington schools, the Oregon schools and a Duel in the Desert matchup with Arizona, with the final three games in Tempe.
The Sun Devils have only five games left and hope to get healthy. Since Oct. 15, they’ve seen injuries to junior defender Lieske Carleer, graduate midfielder Eva van Deursen and junior defender Lucy Johnson –all starters.
“I’d love Lieske to get healthy,” Winkworth said. “I’d love to have (Johnson) healthy. I’d love to have Eva healthy. Saying that we’ve got other players getting opportunities and it’s up to them to step up and take those opportunities.”
van Deursen played for less than 30 minutes against Utah, which could have hindered the effects of ASU’s attack.
“I thought Eva offensively at least helped change the game for the minutes that she was able to give us today,” Winkworth said.
van Deursen was the Sun Devils’ most creative player in her minimal time on the pitch. It’s fairly clear that Winkworth and his staff want to get and keep their players off the trainer’s table.
ASU came into the night ranked 18th in RPI, a metric that heavily determines at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament. How they navigate its remaining five games of the regular season will play a prominent role in its hope, and potential placing, in the NCAA Tournament in a little over a month.
