Soccer

Soaring Sun Devils slowed by Cowgirls defense in draw

Heads were low and feet dragged in the dirt as the Arizona State women’s soccer team left the field after Thursday’s game against Oklahoma State. The Sun Devils felt defeated, even though the score didn’t say so.

ASU tied the Cowgirls 0-0 in a game that had spectacular defense, some stellar goalkeeping, and an abundance of missed offensive opportunities.

“We created a ton of chances and weren’t very clinical in front of the goal,” Arizona State head coach Graham Winkworth said. “We missed a bunch.”

The Sun Devils stuck to a game plan that had worked all season for them: get the ball into the wings and let your playmakers go to work. That approach gave them 28 shots on the night. Not a single one found the net.

Oklahoma State sophomore goalkeeper Logan Marks had a standout night against the Sun Devils. Marks totaled nine saves in the game, a career high. Every time it seemed as if ASU was getting any sort of momentum, Marks was there to scoop the ball up and turn the possession back in favor of the Cowgirls.

In the 40th minute of the game, an Oklahoma State handball gave the Sun Devils a penalty kick. Senior forward Tatum Thomason stepped up to take the shot. She was 2-for-2 up to that point on penalty kicks. As Thomason ran up to the ball, Marks was already leaning to the right.

She knew.

As the ball left Thomason’s foot, heading for the bottom right corner of the goal, Marks was there. She deflected the ball, saving the kick and keeping the game knotted at zero.

After the initial deflection, the ball found Thomason’s foot again as she attempted to chase down her miss. Marks, still on the ground, stuck her hand out and deflected the ball once again.

Not only was it a great night for Marks, but ASU’s senior goalkeeper, Pauline Nelles, also kept a clean sheet. After Thursday, Nelles moved up to second all-time on the career shutouts list for ASU with 23.

Even though both Nelles and Marks stopped everything that came their way, their nights couldn’t have been more different. The Cowgirls only put up six shots; virtually nothing compared to the Sun Devils’ 28.

“I think Paulie played a good game,” Winkworth said. “I’m not sure she had much to do.”

Arizona State’s defending third was quiet for most of the game. But that was by design. Oklahoma State wasn’t playing to score. With five defenders back and only one forward, the Cowgirls’ main objective was to limit ASU’s aggressive offense.

“They didn’t come here to try and score a goal,” Winkworth said. “They came here to make sure we didn’t.”

As the clock hit 90’, there was a feeling of disappointment hanging in the air. The Sun Devils’ dropped from first to sixth in their conference. The game was the last before their schedule ramps up with tougher opponents like Texas Tech and West Virginia.

By the looks on their faces, you would’ve guessed ASU had lost 0-4, not come away with a draw.

“[Graham]’s happy that we’re a little bit upset from a tie,” senior midfielder Peyton Marcisz said. “It shows the standard that our team has.”

The Sun Devils look to improve their finishing around the net before Sunday’s matchup against UCF. Despite the short week, Winkworth will have them working hard to hopefully get back in the “win” column.

“This league is anyone’s to take,” senior defender Grace Gillard said. “We just go back, look at the film for this game and we’ll work on what we need to work on, and then go on Sunday and we’ll come out guns ablazing.”