ASU soccer went to Tucson to face off against Baylor and lost 1-0 due to offensive struggles and Baylor’s strong press up the field.
ASU soccer loses 1-0 to Baylor in what was a game with not much offensive presence for the Sun Devils.
The Sun Devils, who started the game with a 4-2-3-1 formation, looked to control possession which is head coach Graham Winkworth’s style. Baylor came out pressing up the field in their 4-3-3 formation right from the start of the game.
It was a physical battle for the first eleven minutes trading fouls and possession back and forth.
Both teams put up two shots each in the first twenty minutes in which seemed like a even game in where ASU had edge with possession. Then Baylor went on to start controlling second portion of first half.
Baylor forced sophomore goalie Nikki Panas to come up with big saves in one on one opportunities. Baylor was able to put up eight shots in which six of them were on target while Sun Devils only mustered five shots and three of them on target.
The second half started in similar form as the last portion of the first half with Sun Devils forced to defend a lot.
Sun Devils caught a break when a Baylor goal was disallowed for offsides off of a corner in the 54th minute.
To their dismay, Baylor scored a goal four minutes later off of a free kick from 19 yards away from senior midfielder Julie James.
Baylor from then on dominated possession and chances not allowing the Sun Devils one shot in the whole second half.
The Sun Devils tried to change their tactics in the last fifteen minutes by going with a three back by bringing freshman defender Anna White to center back and letting midfield attack more but were not successful in doing so.
ASU was outshot 12-5 and their lack of offensive chances and possession led them to the lost.
They will look to bounce back Sept. 10th when they go play South Dakota State on the road.