ASU soccer opened up their final home stand Thursday night versus Washington State with the Cougars winning it 1-0 thanks to a goal from Elyse Bennett.
ASU soccer was looking to build off their 2-2 draw at Utah last Sunday as they kick off Senior Weekend.
The Sun Devils played host to Washington State, who were riding high from a massive upset win over then-No. 2 UCLA last week, who were previously unbeaten in Pac-12 play.
Washington State came out flying out of the gates as they peppered Sun Devils goalkeeper Nikki Panas all night with shots, eventually breaking through in the 63rd minute on a header from freshman forward Elyse Bennett.
ASU lost its focus for a split-second defensively as midfielder Sydney Pulver whipped in a cross into the box and Bennett headed it perfectly into the back corner past Panas.
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“I thought the first half went really well,” head coach Graham Winkworth said. “I thought we defended extremely well. We set up to defend extremely well, cash in maybe on a counter-attack, pick up some set pieces, and went close with a couple of those.
“We switched off once in the second half, gotten beaten around the outside and once we get beat, I’m not the type of coach that defends a 1-0 defeat. We are going to throw everything at them, the game is open, and the game becomes a kick-fest.”
Arizona State had their best chance of the match in the 57th minute after defender Madison Stark sent in a free kick into the box to forward Jazmarie Mader, but her effort on goal was saved and pushed over the bar by Cougars goalkeeper Ella Dederick.
The Cougars dominated the match from start-to-finish as they opened the match outshooting the Sun Devils 10-1 in the opening 20 minutes and creating numerous chances.
ASU’s defense was put to work quickly in the fourth minute as the Cougars forced two goal-line clearances from the Sun Devils after a corner kick.
Defender Angela Boyle and Madison Stark each made two great sliding tackles stopping breakaway opportunities for Washington State.
Arizona State really couldn’t generate any offense all night mustering only nine shots while Washington State put up 25 shots, including 18 in the first half.
“We set up in a defensive setup today where we knew we were going to be outshot considerably, but they were so fast and athletic up top, we couldn’t allow them the space behind…,” Winkworth said. “Unfortunately, we got beat around the outside once and let our mark go in the middle, and we had to make the change.”
It was another frustrating loss as Arizona State continues to struggle finishing chances as they haven’t scored a goal in live play since Oct. 8 versus USC.
Next: ASU Soccer: Two Purfield penalties leads to draw at Utah
With the loss, the Sun Devils drop their record to 4-10-3 and 1-6-2 in Pac-12 play as they look to win their final home game of the season versus Washington Sunday at 1 p.m. PST with the match shown on the ASU Live Stream.