(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)
TEMPE — Unbridled joy would be the most apt description for the scene on the field following No. 24 Arizona State soccer victory over the No. 11 ranked USC Trojans on Thursday night. A flood of humanity and emotion commenced as students stormed the field to revel in a victory that will sit on the mantle of an increasingly robust tournament resume come the Nov. 6th tournament selection day. It was an event graduate captain defender Lieske Carleer had never experienced in the maroon and gold.
“I don’t think in my entire career in these five seasons that’s ever happened before,” Carleer said.
While ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said he’s attempting to avoid postseason considerations, but it’s impossible to ignore the implications of what took place. Winkworth said his program’s 1-0 win over USC will almost certainly guarantee at least an at-large bid for the Sun Devils come November.
“I’m trying not to think about the postseason,” Winkworth said. “But we do currently have two top 50 wins… I would say that if we are in the bubble, or above the bubble… this tonight should, for me, cement it.”
This wasn’t the first time ASU beat a standing top-25 opponent this season. Just two weeks prior it blitzed then-No. 24, Washington State Cougars 5-1, with four of the goals coming in the second half. The Sun Devils match against the Trojans was significantly less free-flowing. The 71st-minute scramble of a touch-off redshirt senior midfielder Hannah Lapeire, who dribbled into the net and proved to be the only difference in an otherwise cagey affair in Tempe.
The ball fell to her over the outstretched hand of USC goalkeeper sophomore Hannah Dickinson, following an inch-perfect cross from junior forward Keri Matthews. Lapeire knew the second Matthews got possession wide, the service was coming soon.
“Every time Keri gets the ball, I know she’s going to put a good ball into the box,” Lapeire said. “We’ve been talking about our midfield getting into the box on the weak side pretty much all week… So, I did whatever I could to put a body on it and made sure it got in the back of the net.”
There can be no mistake made that the stars of the night for ASU were its defensive unit. Headlined by sophomore goalie Pauline Nelles securing her ninth clean sheet of the season, setting the program single-season record. But Nelles was quick to credit her teammates, who helped her achieve the feat.
“It feels great but I’m not the only one,” Nelles said. “I have great defenders … It’s not just me, it’s the whole team.”
It was a defensive unit that was tactically altered by Winkworth specifically for his scheme against the Trojans. For most of the season, ASU has operated out of a 3-back system — a formation with three centralized defenders that stay fairly tight and chained to the back third, rarely venturing forward — that allows for extra players to be allotted to attacking duties. The problem with the 3-back system is that it leaves greater space in the wide areas for the attacking team.
On Thursday, Winkworth opted for a 4-back defensive system, putting two centralized defenders flanked by two outside backs on either side. The result is a sturdier defensive base while ceding some attacking firepower. Against USC, a team with dangerous wingers, the seventh-year ASU head coach said he was willing to sacrifice offensive opportunities.
“I just felt like they’re so talented in wide areas, USC, we didn’t want to play three (attackers) against three (defenders) at the back and risk having to run absolutely miles,” Winkworth said. “So, to have a sold four. It did stifle us a bit offensively. “
A consistent force of the backline last night was Carleer, who focused much of her hounding defensive effort on USC’s junior forward Simone Jackson. In the 80th minute Jackson, who competed for the U.S Youth National Team at the U-20 World Cup in 2022, thought she had turned the corner on the Sun Devil center back and was free into the box before the sliding foot of the Dutch native swept both the ball and Jackson away monetarily ending the USC advance. Much in the same vein, Jackson would find nearly all of her ventures at goal down the stretch promptly shut down by the Sun Devils’ captain.
Ironically, in an intense defensive game, the only yellow cards issued to each side were to Winkworth and USC head coach Jane Alukonis. Winkworth’s violation came as he argued a call that saw him 10 yards into the field of play, irate over a penalty given after a cross was blocked off the hand of sophomore defender Ava Wright, seemingly in the box.
Winkworth pleaded his case that the handball occurred outside the penalty area and after a break to discuss the play, the officiating crew finally deemed that the ball had been handled outside of the box and a standard free kick was issued. It was a relief to Winkworth, who felt the decision could have had major implications on the contest.
“I’m just very thankful that the fourth official saw it from my angle,” he said. “It would have been devastating to have lost or not won the game based upon a decision like that.”
While celebrations were at hand for what is a monumental win for ASU, the task ahead looms even larger. The No. 2 UCLA Bruins, the defending national champions, come to Sun Devil Soccer Stadium Sunday for what could be the biggest opportunity for a statement of intent that Winkworth has had in his tenure.
“I want to enjoy tonight, I’ve got my father-in-law in town,” Winkworth said. “We’ll probably have a rum and coke later to celebrate and then tomorrow morning we’ll wake up and start preparing for UCLA, who are pretty good themselves.”
