(Photo: Paige Cook/WCSN)
No. 23 Arizona State dropped its final game of the season to No. 17 USC 15-13 Friday afternoon, the ninth ranked opponent the Sun Devils have faced this season. The loss comes after a five-game winning streak that included wins over then-ranked No. 14 Rutgers and No. 22 Stanford, and overtime wins over Rutgers and Oregon.
ASU, No. 21 Stanford, and USC all entered the weekend tied for first place with a 7-2 conference record. After the loss, the Sun Devils will now finish third in the Pac-12, their highest conference finish in program history. Meanwhile, the Trojans have earned at least a share of the Pac-12 regular-season title, which will be determined after Stanford’s rivalry matchup against Cal on Saturday.
“We don’t really focus on results or anything like that,” graduate attacker Carley Adams said. “I’m just really proud of this team and we get better every day and it shows. I’m really excited about our progress.”
USC got on the scoreboard first on Friday afternoon with goals from sophomore attacker Shelby Tilton and junior attacker Ella Heaney within the first four minutes of play. The Sun Devils quickly struck back with two goals from reigning Pac-12 Player of the Week Carley Adams to tie the game up at two.
Four more goals by the Trojans, including two free-position shots, and one more from Arizona State graduate midfielder Taylor Pinzone, gave USC a 6-3 lead by the end of the first. ASU’s defense was strong in the second quarter, holding the Trojans to only one goal and leaving the score tied at seven at the half, but gave up five goals once again in the third.
Trailing 12-8 going into the fourth quarter, senior midfielder Kaylon Buckner got the Devils back on the board, soon followed by a free position goal from sophomore attacker Mina Scott with nine minutes left to play. Pinzone, Adams, and graduate attacker Emily Glagolev each scored a goal in the final six minutes of play, but it wasn’t enough for Arizona State. Adams finished the day with four goals and one assist.
“We could’ve folded but we kept fighting and chipped away at the end, and just ran out of time,” Glagolev said.
Both teams committed a lot of fouls on Friday, ASU with 33 and USC with 32, but ASU was more successful with its free position attempts, completing four of five attempts, while the Trojans completed four of ten. Offensively, the Trojans were more aggressive, attempting 37 shots (29 on goal), while ASU only attempted 29 (17 on goal).
Freshman midfielder Bella Ingrao was critical to the Sun Devils’ success at the draw due to an injury to normal draw specialist, sophomore Zoe Mazur who was out with an injury. Ingrao secured eight of their 16, while the Trojans as a team also had 16.
“Bella did excellently,” ASU head coach Tim McCormack said. “She didn’t have a lot of experience, but she battles it out every day. We had no doubt in her ability, and there’s no questioning now.”
But despite the loss at Sun Devil Soccer and Lacrosse Stadium Friday afternoon, there were still things to be celebrated as the athletes left the stadium. The team honored its 16 graduating seniors, which included several members of the program’s inaugural roster in 2018.
“What they’ve done and the legacy that they’ve left behind is a stain that will be there forever,” McCormack said. “They set the tone for the way that we want to do this and truly enjoyed every single moment that they had on the field together, Monday through Friday and the fall too.”
“I’m really going to miss just walking out to practice every day, playing our favorite music, and just laughing and having fun with friends,” Adams said. “Every moment I get to be with this team are some of the best memories I’ll never forget.”
“Being together, you automatically have 40 best friends that you can text anyone, and people are always up to get food or hang out,” Glagolev said, “But I think mostly the off the field stuff … those are the memories that other people don’t really see but are definitely going to stick with me the most.”
Although it wasn’t the finish the Sun Devils wanted, it is still the best conference finish in program history. Their accomplishments have brought tremendous growth to the program, one which finished each of its first two seasons with a 6-12 record. In year five, the Sun Devils finished the regular season 9-7, going 7-3 in Pac-12 play. This season, the team defeated Stanford for the first time and earned its first road win in Boulder, Colorado last weekend.
“They set the tone for passion and love for the sport and for being great teammates,” McCormack said. They will leave this place and be great individuals, workers, wives and everything that they’re going to be.”
In the meantime, the Sun Devils will prepare to host the Pac-12 Lacrosse Championships, starting on May 4, and a win during the tournament will earn them an automatic berth into the 2022 NCAA Tournament.
