(Photo: Michael Gutnick/WCSN)
Arizona State soccer (6-5-3, 0-3-2) was unable to get in the win column in Pac-12 play over the weekend after contests against the Washington Huskies and No. 15 Washington State Cougars. Here’s a look into how both matches played out on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.
Washington:
On Thursday night, the Sun Devils fell behind early and were unable to muster a response for the remainder of the affair.
Huskies midfielder Olivia Van Der Jagt scored the only goal of the contest in the fourth minute on a cross set up by a blazing counterattack. Senior defender Lisa Jensen fired a through ball to senior midfielder Isabella Castro, who sliced down the left side of the pitch. Castro sent a grounded cross from outside the box to Van Der Jagt, who slotted the ball just past ASU freshman goalkeeper Giulia Cascapera.
Washington continued to apply the pressure for the remainder of the contest, outshooting the Sun Devils 24-6. Cascapera responded to the offensive onslaught with a new career-high of 10 saves, one of which was a penalty kick attempt in the 85th minute, besting her previous high of eight saves against Utah.
Four of the six Sun Devil shots were shots on goal, and no player had more than one shot on goal apiece.
Before Thursday night, Arizona State had scored at least once in every contest this season. This time, the Huskies defense managed to corral ASU’s approach and snapped their 13-game scoring streak.
Washington State:
In the Sunday afternoon matinee, Arizona State’s offensive woes continued. ASU was only able to exert four total shots compared to the 27 put up by Washington State.
Despite the high number of shots faced, the Sun Devil defense turned in a solid performance, forcing the Cougars to take difficult shots, most of which were wide of the woodwork.
Junior defender Taylor Culver missed the match due to a red card in Thursday’s matchup against Washington, however, freshman Lieske Carleer, who returned on Thursday from Netherlands national team camp, filled in for Culver.
However, for the second game in a row, the standout of ASU’s defense was goalkeeper Giulia Cascapera. The freshman added on to her solid performance against the Huskies, this time making nine saves out of the 10 Washington State shots on goal.
ASU looked as if they had pulled ahead in the 71st minute when sophomore midfielder Eva Van Deursen, who also returned on Thursday from international duty with the Netherlands, found pay dirt. However, the goal was called off due to an eager ASU offense that was caught offside.
For the remainder of the contest, each team traded extremely close opportunities. Just before the end of the first overtime period, sophomore forward Marleen Schimmer controlled the ball in a one-on-one breakaway attack but fired the shot wide left.
After 110 minutes, neither team was able to find the back of the net during the scoreless tie in Pullman.
Next up for the Sun Devils is a road matchup in Boulder against Colorado this Saturday at 1 p.m. and can be seen on Pac-12 Networks.
