ASU Women’s Soccer: Sun Devils draw in harsh weather

(Photo via Reece Andrews/WCSN)

For everyone involved playing one soccer game over two days was a first.

At Sun Devil Soccer Stadium before kickoff, both teams were aware of the thunder and lightning storm in the surrounding Tempe area. Arizona State head coach Graham Winkworth said he would be happy with one half played against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits.

Winkworth got his request as the game was halted due to a weather delay in the 47th minute. After 30 minutes of waiting for the weather to improve, it was decided the game would resume the following morning at 10. After about 15 hours and 90 in-game minutes, the game ended in a 1-1 tie.

The game was able to resume the next day from a predetermined agreement between Winkworth and SDS head coach Brock Thompson rather than canceling the game together.

Winkworth’s message to the players during this odd situation was “focus on the grass.”

“Whenever you’re on the grass, focus on the grass. When you’re in the locker room, focus on the grass, and don’t take your attention away from that,” Winkworth said.

Prior to the stoppage, the Jackrabbits opened the scoring against the run of play as SDS forward Maya Hansen dribbled through multiple Sun Devil defenders on the left wing before slotting the ball near post in the 16th minute.

Arizona State’s good momentum and rhythm of play to start the game were completely thrown off after the goal, with the Jackrabbits taking control of the game for most of the first half.

It was up to sophomore goalkeeper Birta Gudlaugsdottir to keep ASU alive in the game. Gudlaugsdottir made two crucial saves to prevent the game from getting further out of reach.

Despite SDS’s grip on the game, sophomore forward Keri Matthews was the Sun Devil’s best offensive threat. Matthews attacked from the wing and down the middle to even the score. She had the team’s best chance in the first half with a one-on-one with the goalie where she dragged it far left.

The Sun Devils were fortunate to go into halftime only down one goal.

Beginning the second half, similar to the first half, the Sun Devils were aggressive on offense. In the second minute of the half, senior forward Nicole Douglas was at the heart of the charge as she beat defenders and floated in a perfect lob to Matthews, who skied it at point blank range.

A goal to start the second half would have been a dream start for ASU to set the tone, regain momentum and tie the game.

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, the untimely weather delay came right after the team’s big chance.

On Friday morning, the Sun Devils seamlessly picked up where they left off as Matthews had a third good opportunity rattle off the crossbar. ASU did well to keep the play alive in the opponent’s box and pick out Matthews with a great pass where she tapped in the equalizer in the 50th minute.

“It was great,” Matthews said. “I was really happy to help the team, and I think it was needed. We came up with a good response today, and we did what we needed to do.”

The Sun Devil’s goal seemed to settle some nerves as the team controlled the game better and more effectively.

Most of ASU’s best chances were behind them, but the team had the last chance to win the game.

In the 90th minute, a cross into the Jackrabbits’ box found senior defender Lieske Carleer as she rose to win the first header and graduate student Eva Van Deursen buried the second header into the back of the net.

The Sun Devils’ celebrations were cut short as the referee held his flag signaling Van Deursen was offsides ruling out the game-winner.

The last-minute header was the last action of the game as the 90 minutes came to an end.

Winkworth was pleased with the team’s turnaround in the second half compared to the performance from the first half.

“We were more composed, you know, I think we lost our heads when we went one nil down,” Winkworth said. “We couldn’t focus and we weren’t moving and we just weren’t us. We were a bunch of eleven individuals out there.

“Today we played more like a team. Scoring an early goal obviously helps give us the confidence, and honestly, I thought we ran out of time because the next goal was coming, and I thought it had in the last few seconds.”

As a result of the two-day game, the Sun Devils have a quick turnaround with the next game coming up on August 21, hosting the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors.

While the Sun Devils had numerous chances to score, they end the game disappointed. With one less day to prepare, the team has to regain focus for Sunday’s game.

“We’ve got to keep our heads up, and we’ve got to be even better on Sunday,” Douglas said. “There’s always stuff to improve on, and we’re gonna work on that in training this weekend, and hopefully, we can get the result on Sunday.”