(Photo by: Steve Rodriguez/ ASU Athletics)
For the second time this season, the Arizona State soccer team will face off against the No.2 team on the country on the road.
Two weeks ago, the Sun Devils defeated Stanford in Palo Alto, Calif. Now the Sun Devils will look to replicate their success as they take on No. 2 UCLA
“I’ m looking forward to a little more open game because they’re obviously going to be attacking,” head coach Kevin Boyd said. “I think we’re going to go in and play well.
The Sun Devils are coming off of a weekend split in Oregon. They defeated Oregon on Friday, but fell to Oregon State on Sunday.
“Obviously we needed a minimum of a split and we got it,” Boyd said. “I think we learned a little bit more about ourselves on Sunday, about what we need to do now to perform.”
The Bruins (12-1-1) are undefeated in Pac-12 play, and their only loss this season came against North Carolina, who was ranked No. 1 at the time.
Freshman Forward Darian Jenkins leads the Bruins in scoring with eight goals. But, their biggest asset has been junior goal keeper Katelyn Rowland. Rowland has started all 14 games for the Bruins, and has only allowed five goals all season. Her goals against average of 0.36 is second in the nation.
The Sun Devils will need to get help from forward Cali Farquharson if they are to get past Rowland in net. Farquharson leads the team with nine goals, but has struggled as of late. The sophomore forward has not scored since Sept. 15 against Southern Utah.
“It’s going to come. We need [Cali] to hit what she’s aiming for…For goal scorers you’ve got to have confidence. You have to have this comfort and knowledge that you know you’re going to score,” Boyd said. “All scorers go through ups and downs where they’re hitting everything and then they’re missing a few.”
Boyd believes that the quality of their opponents has affected Farquharson’s production.
“The attention on her has gone up significantly. Now she has to work through two, three, and four people to try and get any chance. The chances she gets aren’t open, clean chances. They are, someone holding her while she’s shooting chances,” Boyd said.
The game kicks off at 7 pm and can be watched here
