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ASU Soccer: Sun Devils wrap up road trip at #2 Stanford

By Rayan Vatti

TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - OCTOBER 10: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky performs on the field during the fourth quarter of the college football game against the Colorado Buffaloes at Sun Devil Stadium on October 10, 2015 in Tempe, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images) /
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After drawing 1-1 versus No. 11 Cal, ASU soccer travels to Palo Alto to face No. 2 Stanford to wrap up their Bay Area road trip.

The ASU soccer team is off to a blistering start in Pac-12 play.

After beating Oregon State in their conference opener, the Sun Devils managed an impressive 1-1 draw against No. 11 California on the road bringing Arizona State’s record to 4-4-2.

However, their matchup against Stanford on Sunday will be one of their toughest games of the season.

Ranked No. 2 in the country, Stanford is 9-1, with its only loss coming at Florida.

Stanford has been exceptional on offense this season, averaging a nation best 4.56 goals per game. That would be the third best goals rate in NCAA history.

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Arizona State’s defense better come ready to play, because Stanford doesn’t mess around. They beat Marquette 4-0, Wisconsin 5-0, Navy and Yale 7-0, and San Francisco 8-0. This team, which plays an attacking 4-3-3 formation, has the firepower to score a lot of goals.

Stanford is led by freshman forward Catarina Macario, who has recorded eight goals and five assists this season.

Fellow forward Kyra Carusa is also a player Arizona State needs to keep an eye on. She has seven goals this season.

Despite having two stars up top, Stanford is very balanced in their attack as 14 different players have scored for them this season.

Stanford’s defense is also very good having allowed only five goals all season, and three of them were to Florida. Contrast that to an Arizona State team that has had some trouble finding the back of the net this season, and it could mean trouble.

If Arizona State is to compete in this game, they will need to play a complete 90 minutes. They must keep possession and limit the amount of touches Stanford’s forwards can get.

In addition, when they have chances to finish, they must convert. On many occasions this season, the Sun Devils have struggled to finish makable shots. They won’t get many chances on Sunday, so when they do, they must take advantage.

Next: ASU Soccer: Madison Stark’s equalizer leads to 1-1 draw vs. #11 Cal

Kickoff for Arizona State-Stanford is Sunday at 1 p.m. PST and the match can be streamed on the Stanford Live Stream.