TEMPE – It takes a lot of successful habits to be undefeated this late in September, but ASU soccer has excelled notably in one area, shutting down star strikers.
The Sun Devils 8-0-2 (1-0-1 Big 12) have been dominant defensively, surrendering just 5 goals all season. A large part of that has been keeping the opposition’s top scorers away from the net.
Against nine of 10 opponents, the opposing team’s scorer was shut out. The University of Texas at El Paso was the exception, with sophomore forward Ana Quintero scoring one of her three goals on the season against ASU.
Elite scorers like freshman Ava McDonald and sophomore Amalia Villarreal, who have combined for 10 goals for Texas, were unable to crack the Sun Devils’ defense. ASU’s senior midfielder Peyton Marcisz says her team’s preparation is crucial to their execution.
“I would say a lot of film,” Marcisz said. “Again, seeing what works for them and how we can minimize that.”
Preparation is great, but talent matters too. The Sun Devils have a lot of both. Anchored by senior Grace Gillard, the backline has held opponents to just 3.8 shots on goal per game. Of those, senior keeper Paulline Nelles has 3.3 saves per game.
ASU head coach Graham Winkworth says the game plan doesn’t have to be built around individual players because each of his defenders is so talented.
“It’s good that we’ve got good enough defenders where we don’t necessarily target one player for the opposition,” Winkworth said. “Because, whether it’s on Grace’s side or Faz’s side, or Katie’s in and it’s her side. All of them are good enough to deal with it, so it means we can focus on playing our way a little bit and not have to change our shape.
Winkworth’s defenders feel every bit of their coach’s confidence, applying it to maximize ASU’s output on the field in the simplest way possible. the skills of themselves and their teammates. According to Gillard, this allows them to keep it simple.
“Just do our job, really,” Gillard said. “I mean, me and Faz back there, Katie came on as well. We know who our player is, and we just keep an eye out the whole 90 minutes and just do what we can to stop her from scoring.”
Playing their role was crucial in the draw against Oklahoma State 4-4-2 (0-1-1 Big 12). With the offense unable to score against the Cowgirls’ conservative game plan, defensive perfection was required to preserve ASU’s undefeated record.
It was able to stall out Oklahoma State’s offense using the same tactics it has in its other four shutouts. They combine mind games with physical defense, which Marcisz says is the key to frustrating opposing forwards.
“Soccer is a mental sport, you can get in their head,” Marcisz said. “Not talking, but little fouls and things like that. It’s part of the sport, being physical, not letting them get in front of you, things like that. And that’s worked, honestly, worked a lot for us.”
