Sun Devils held scoreless against Colorado, losing key Big 12 game

(Photo: Owen Plagge/WCSN)

TEMPE – The definition of a drought is a prolonged period of abnormally low or absent rainfall that leads to a severe water shortage. This is common in the Valley, as the Phoenix metropolitan area is in an exceptional drought category, per the Arizona Department of Water Resources. 

However, the term doesn’t solely apply to local rain patterns. 

In sports, going years without success is one of the most excruciating experiences for teams and fans alike. 

Whether it’s the Arizona Cardinals’ 79-year championship drought, the Cleveland Guardians’ 78-year drought or the Sacramento Kings’ 75-year drought, there’s no shortage of teams waiting for a miracle. 

For Arizona State soccer, its drought comes against the very best teams in the nation.

Since defeating the No. 10-ranked BYU 401 days ago, the Sun Devils have come up short time and time again, failing to defeat a single ranked opponent in that time frame. 

Even more pressing in this ill-fated streak is ASU’s failure to score against top RPI-rated competition, with its last goal against a ranked opponent coming 364 days ago against then No. 9 TCU. 

Sunday’s match was a chance to turn the tide and mend some of the wounds caused by this drought against Colorado, ranked No. 9 in RPI.

Despite it being nearly a year since they last scored against a top opponent, the Sun Devils once again failed to find the back of the net against the Buffaloes. 

Head coach Graham Winkworth believes the scoring issues are similar to the team’s 2-0 defeat to No. 6 Baylor on Thursday, Oct. 22. Against Baylor, ASU created numerous chances but struggled to convert in the final third. 

“We’re getting the ball into the final third. We’re creating chances to put in excellent crosses with wide players. We’re getting into positions to score a goal,” Winkworth said. “But our final cross and our final shot is the same story as Thursday night.

“It hasn’t been good enough.”

ASU (8-6-3, 3-5-1 Big 12) once again squandered a chance to beat top competition, falling 2-0 to Colorado (12-4-1, 6-3 Big 12). While prior losses have set the team back, Sunday may be the finishing blow as the Sun Devils now sit at No. 10 in the Big 12 standings, three points behind West Virginia, which currently holds the final spot in the eight-team conference tournament. 

In large part, ASU’s lack of success comes from its poor offensive output against the nation’s best.

This season, the Sun Devils sit 10th in the Big 12 in terms of conference goal scoring, putting 10 shots in the back of the net for an average of 1.25 goals per game. 

However, none of these goals have come against the top three Big 12 teams: Baylor, No. 8 Texas Tech and No. 14 Kansas. 

These tendencies showed through against the Buffaloes Sunday in a performance that included no goals despite seven shots landing within the frame.

While the struggles are evident, Winkworth credits the defenses his team has faced with making life difficult for ASU’s attack.

“There’s a reason they’re ranked, you know, they’re good,” Winkworth said. “It’s tough to score against ranked opponents with top-quality defenses. I think they’ve played nine. It was eight before tonight’s conference matches, and the XG for the whole conference season against Colorado is in the low 5.2 or something like that. They don’t concede too many chances. So when you’re playing against a team like us that’s really struggling in front of goal, it’s not a good combination for us. All we can do is work hard and try and continue to create chances, which we’ve done again. But we’ve got to get to the final third. But that final cross and that final shot have to be better.” 

With only 18 players available in the squad Sunday afternoon, Winkworth was faced with further issues on a team that was already struggling to finish in front of the net. 

“It’s certainly a challenge,” Winkworth said. “We’ve not been clinical enough all season in front of goal, but we’ve created so many chances earlier in the season that we were still scoring goals. 

“When you play in the Big 12, you don’t get quite so many chances.”

As the season winds down, the Sun Devils face a tall task in order to make the conference tournament.

That starts with a rivalry showdown at home on Friday, Oct. 30, against Arizona, which is currently level with ASU in conference points.

After that, the Sun Devils travel up to Provo to wrap up the regular season and face yet another ranked opponent, this time in No. 17 BYU.

While Winkworth acknowledges the team’s struggles against opponents of the Cougars’ caliber, the team remains focused on the upcoming match against the Wildcats.

“BYU is one of the best teams in the country. They’re incredible. We had a wonderful experience against them last season, but that’s last season,” Winkworth said. “Right now, though, our sole focus is all about U of A.” 

By the time ASU lines up against another top opponent, it will have been 413 days since its last ranked win, which coincidentally came against BYU.

This time around, though, Winkworth has just one ask of his squad.

“Getting the ball in the goal. That’d be nice,” Winkworth said. 

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