ASU Soccer: Sun Devils Dominate Weber State 4-0

After losing to Hawaii Friday, ASU soccer scored four second-half goals to win their final non-conference game of the season routing Weber State 4-0.

ASU soccer bounced back from a tough loss Friday night against Hawaii by crushing Weber State 4-0. The offensive explosion came as a surprise, because the Sun Devils were previously in an offensive slump, scoring just four goals in their last five matches.

The drought continued in the first half against Weber State, leading to a scoreless first period. It was not due to a lack of chances though.

The Sun Devils created 14 shots and 6 corner kicks in just the first half. They were tantalizingly close to breaking through a number of times.

In the 13th minute of action, midfielder Lara Barbieri barely missed the top corner of the goal on a shot from just outside the box. Minutes later, Weber State goalkeeper Sydnie Brough made a diving save to knock away a Jazmarie Mader shot.

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But the most narrow miss was when the ball was chaotically bouncing around the Weber State box when all of the sudden, one of their defenders laid on top of the ball to prevent ASU from shooting.

The Sun Devils were awarded an indirect free kick from inside the penalty area. All 11 Weber State players lined up on the goal line to make a wall. Jemma Purfield got a shot off that would have been a goal, but a Weber State player blocked it with her body. It then bounced back to Purfield who shot another would be goal that was blocked by the foot of a Weber State defender.

Immediately after the halftime break, Arizona State’s luck improved. In the 46th minute, they won a corner kick and defender Angela Boyle out leaped everyone on the field and scored a header. It was her second set piece goal of the season.

“When I’m in the box, I just have my mind set on the ball,” explained Boyle. “Ultimately, I’m just going to push through anyone in my way. That’s just my mindset.”

In the 76th minute, star midfielder Devyn Kelsey ripped a shot from about 30 yards away that landed in that back of the net. A few plays later, Kelsey played a beautiful ball over the top of the defense to a cutting Natalie Stephens for another goal.

“I’m just happy I can get assists to my teammates as well as score goals,” said Kelsey.

Olive Jones headed in the last goal off an assist by Natalie Stephens to make the score 4-0. It was an impressive win by Arizona State, and head coach Graham Winkworth was satisfied. However, he did express his frustration that they don’t always play as good as they did today.

“We’ve been like Jekyll and Hyde this season. We need to see more Jekyll,” Winkworth said. “But today, I thought we played really well in both the first and second halves.”

In addition to improving their record to 3-4-1, the game also served as an important confidence booster for the team heading into Pac-12 play.

“We’ve been having trouble scoring lately, so this really boosts our confidence,” said Kelsey. “We scored four really good goals. They weren’t cheap ones.”

Next up, the Sun Devils start Pac-12 play with a game against Oregon State. But Boyle made it clear that the team isn’t worried about their tough upcoming schedule. She even had the confidence to call out the top team in the conference.

Next: ASU Soccer: Sun Devils lose to Hawaii 1-0 in overtime

“We proved that we are here to compete,” Boyle said. “I think UCLA should fear us. They only beat Weber State 2-0. We are really under appreciated.”