ASU Soccer: ASU Stumbles Against USC
After a painful loss to Washington State this past weekend, ASU came into their game against USC needing to step up their game against one of the top teams in the conference.
The starting lineup was missing key players as Lucy Lara, Jazmarie Mader, and Aly Moon were all benched due to injuries. Returning from her start in goal against Washington State, Meghan Delany was named the starting keeper for the game over freshman Emma Malsy.
At the start of the game, USC came out quick and aggressive but the Devils were determined to not be taken down easily. The Devils were looking like a completely different team from their loss last Sunday, and were able to connect passes to build up the midfield.
There was more offensive momentum going for the Devils in the first half but not much opportunity came from the attacks.
Sophomore Natalie Stephens put in a strong effort to shake things up against the Trojan defensive line, but neither her attacks or through balls seemed to find their way through the back line.
At the end of the half, the Devils were able to hold off USC leaving the game scoreless. Both teams finished with only two shots on goal which was a statement to the great play by both defensive lines.
More from Devils in Detail
- Sun Devils Primer: Game 2 vs Oklahoma State
- Sun Devil Insight: Quarterback Room
- Arizona State Spotlight: Kenny Dillingham
- Arizona State 2023 Season Opener: Off To A Good Start
- Arizona State vs USC Prediction and Promo (Expect Offensive Fireworks)
The second half opened up with the Trojan offense on the attack. The Trojans were able to connect passes and form combinations past the Devils’ defense which resulted in better looks on goal.
In the 58th minute of play, Trojan forward Katie Johnson received a pass inside the box and took a one-touch shot and scored.
Johnson’s goal led to a strong counter by the Devils with a few shots on goal and solid header by Larisa Staub that was unlucky.
“Their defense was on our forwards the entire game,” Staub said after the game. “We had some good through balls but they were always there to scoop them up.”
Moon made an appearance this half along with Lara, both trying to give the Devils the edge to sink one in the back of the net.
While the Devils kept getting shut down on the attack, the Trojans were able to drive through the ASU defense and scored their second goal in the 76th minute by Sydney Sladek.
The fatigue of keeping up with this top-ranked team was apparent as the second half continued and left the Sun Devils with few chances to get on the board.
The Devils would finish out losing 2-0 leaving the coach and players feeling beat.
“We played really well in the first half specifically,” Coach Kevin Boyd said when reflecting on the team’s effort. “I didn’t think we sustained that in the second half, we started doing things differently…it wasn’t a lack of effort by any means we just got fatigued a bit.”
In reference to the upcoming game this week, coach Boyd said that they need to focus being on better as a whole but he was encouraged by the way the Devils played against USC.
Next: ASU Soccer: Late-Season Roundtable
The Sun Devils will be away this week with games against Oregon State Thursday at 7 p.m. and Sunday against Oregon with kickoff at 1 p.m.