ASU Soccer: Sun Devils muster tie against Cougars on Friday

(Photo: Brendan Belfield/WCSN)

A strong bench is perhaps the key for any team to have success. Facing a talented Washington State (10-2-2) defense, Arizona State Soccer’s (8-5-2) bench was the difference in one point instead of none on Friday night.

Graduate student forward Olivia Kearse-Thomas was the super sub who ASU needed to keep the Sun Devils alive. Coming off the bench down 2-0, she made an instant impact finding herself in the right place at the right time. A deflected shot found its way to her feet where she finished off the opportunity to score ASU’s first goal.

Going into halftime the Sun Devils took back the momentum.

A constant presence in the scoresheet for ASU, the comeback wouldn’t happen without senior forward Nicole Douglas. She left her mark on the game by finishing off Kearse-Thomas’ over-the-top pass to even the scoreline in the 64th minute.

Douglas continues to dominate as the nation’s leading goal scorer with 15 so far this season.

ASU is no stranger to deficits and Friday was another test of the team’s strong resiliency.

“We’ve been in this situation before so we know to keep fighting,” freshman defender Lauren Kirberg said. “This is a strong team, we just gotta keep building, keep fighting and put everything on the field because in the end it did work out and we got two goals back.”

With newfound energy on their side, the Sun Devils pestered the Cougars’ net. In the second half, ASU registered seven shots but WSU’s freshman goalkeeper, Nadia Cooper, was up to the task. Making 10 saves throughout the game, Cooper’s most important save came in the 79th minute denying Kearse-Thomas a go-ahead goal.

After a thrilling 2-2 draw in regulation, the two teams went into overtime. Cooper shined again for her team making three saves to avoid a two-goal blown lead. In the end, the two teams shared a point.

While ASU might feel content with salvaging a point after conceding two early goals, head coach Graham Winkworth felt his team would have stolen the win with the chances the Sun Devils created. The 12 shots on goal from ASU weren’t enough to break the deadlock.

“I feel desperately unlucky,” Winkworth said. “We are beating teams on expected goals but unfortunately, they’re being more clinical with their finishes. They’re scoring goals and we’re conceding goals.”

A thorn in the side for the Sun Devils all season has been set pieces. Friday, it was what put the team in a two-goal hole. The Cougars jumped in front early, scoring off of a corner kick. The Washington State defender made a near post run, beat the Sun Devils’ defense to the ball and guided the ball into the back of the net.

Not long after, WSU doubled the lead after freshman goalkeeper Birta Gudlaugs mishandled a cross and the Cougars pounced on the mistake to score the second goal of the game.

“It’s very difficult for us because when you watch the team’s lineup at the beginning of the game it’s 5’9 over there, 5’4 over here,” Winkworth said. “So we do the best we can with our lack of height but set pieces are our kryptonite for sure.”

It took two early goals but Arizona State’s defense locked in to keep the game from getting out of reach. Senior defender Lieske Carleer had her hands full with WSU’s fast and physical forwards. Carleer matched the physicality, winning aerial balls and blocking shots.

Another standout on defense was Kirberg. She tracked down attackers and played long balls for forwards to run onto. Wherever the Cougar players went, Kirberg followed and definitively cleared the ball from ASU’s penalty box. As a result of her performances on the field, she is earning her more minutes in Winkworth’s starting eleven.

“[Kirberg’s] been fabulous,” Winkworth said. “I think she had a really good week and a great week last week as well so she’s really playing well. We’re playing sometimes four sometimes three in the back and she’s really giving me headaches as to who’s gonna play.”

Despite sharing a point with the opponent, senior midfielder Alexia Delgado feels that the Sun Devils’ morale was victorious.

“Being two-nil down and coming back, I think it was a great response from the team and I’m really proud of everyone,” Delgado said. “We help each other and we hold each other accountable that if we believe and put everything on the pitch the result was gonna come.”

The Sun Devils will travel to No. 13 ranked Stanford on Oct. 21 for their next game. If ASU can eliminate goals from set pieces and continue to feed Douglas, a chance at the upset could be in the cards.