Devils in Detail
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ASU Soccer: ASU cruises past Cal State Fullerton

By Gigi Micketti

Sep 18, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky looks on during the first half against the New Mexico Lobos at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 18, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky looks on during the first half against the New Mexico Lobos at Sun Devil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Lady Sun Devils were looking to finish out the non-conference season strong with a win against Cal State Fullerton.

Cal State came out strong with a shot on goal and corner opportunity in the first minute of the game, giving them the momentum over a sluggish start from the Sun Devils. Taking advantage of the lagging Devils, Cal State managed to maintain most of the possession during the first half.

The game began to shift to the Devils’ favor with a goal from Lucy Lara in the 21 minute of the game. The attack began with a strong drive up the middle followed by a shot that thanks to a lucky bounce put a point on the board for the Devils. After that goal, possession began to shift in their favor and put pressure on a tiring Cal State defense.

Cal State managed to hold off the attacking Devils for the rest of the half. Midfielder Johana Rosas and forward Sarah Fajnor provided tough competition to the Sun Devil back line, but the strong presence of Mckenzie Grossman at center-back kept the shot count low against the Devil’s freshman goal keeper Emma Malsy.

Coming into the second half the Sun Devils have the quick start with a goal from Adriana Orozco in the first minute of the half. Orozco said after the game that she believes this quick second goal “brought the energy up a ton,” which showed as the half played out.

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Natalie Stephens stepped up for the Sun Devils in the second half with a lot of forward momentum on the Cal State defense, which helped boost the Devils’ offensive attacks.

Power players Jazmarie Mader and Aly Moon were not seen in their normal attacking roles, but rather fell back most of the game as both girls played in more of set-up roles which was critical in the dynamic of the team.

Shots on goal increased for both teams in the second half with five shots from Cal State on Malsy who had said that the biggest difference from high school was the speed of play, but she appeared cool and collected in the box and finished with a shutout for the night.

With the 2-0 shutout win over Cal State Fullerton, the Sun Devils come into Pac-12 conference play next week with the momentum in their favor. Head coach Kevin Boyd thinks that the girls need to, “just keep fully competing,” and that, “every game is going to be a massive battle.” How the Lady Devils step up to these battles will be a massive storyline to watch during in-conference play.

Going into conference next week, eyes will be on Malsy, the freshman keeper, to see if she will get time on the field and if she can handle the high intensity of Division-1 soccer. Attention will also be focusing on Stephens on the offensive side of the ball as she will be working on being able to finish her chances and start racking up goals for the Sun Devils.

The Sun Devils open up Pac-12 play against UCLA next Thursday on the Bruins’ home turf.