This article was originally published on March 25, 2023.
The Arizona State Sun Devils (2-5) returned home after a five-game road trip looking to turn things around with home-field advantage and collect their first Pac-12 win of the season against the Oregon Ducks (3-5) on Friday afternoon.
The Sun Devils managed to do just that as they held on in a tight and back-and-forth matchup handing Oregon a 12-9 loss as well as its third conference defeat.
Graduate attacker Kaylon Buckner and sophomore goaltender Katie Vahle were huge reasons why ASU was able to walk away with a win. Buckner collected four goals while Vahle made 13 saves as well as reached a milestone of 200 career saves. This game would have looked a lot different if both of them didn’t step up in the ways that they did.
“Consistent force, she’s a constant for us,” ASU coach Taryn VanThof said. “I think if we give her the pressured shots and the pressured looks that she wants to see, she’s going to make that save for us and you saw that today.”
The Sun Devils looked like they were going to do whatever it took to get a win in the first quarter and the scoreboard showed it as they led the Ducks 4-0 after the quarter.
Sophomore midfielder Bella Ingrao scored two while freshman attacker Lydia Oldknow and freshman attacker Teagan Ng tallied one each.
Oregon couldn’t get anything going offensively and besides a couple of successful box-outs, the Ducks didn’t have an answer for the ASU offensive onslaught.
The Ducks finally got one past Vahle less than two minutes into the second quarter off a free position attempt thanks to senior attacker Alyssa Wright.
ASU came right back with its intense attack in the offensive zone. Buckner collected two goals about a minute apart from each other, extending the Sun Devils lead to five.
Oregon woke up after finding themselves down five and pushed back offensively in the second quarter. They were able to open up the Sun Devil defense that had been tight, making it a 6-5 game with two minutes left in the second quarter.
With 42.2 seconds left to play in the second quarter, Buckner scored her hat trick goal to give the Sun Devils some breathing room.
“She’s one of our leaders out there, she’s a captain, she’s a fifth-year, and when the ball is in her hands good things are going to happen,” VanThof said.
Graduate attacker Katie Brodsky added herself to the scoresheet with 6.5 seconds left to make it 8-5 ASU going into halftime.
“After that one timeout where we got a couple of goals in our net we came back with fire and we weren’t letting down,” Buckner said. “There’s going to be ups and downs in a game and I think we responded very well and I’m just super proud of my teammates.”
The third quarter looked a lot similar to the second quarter. The Ducks kept pushing back and for the first couple of attacks, the Sun Devils defense kept everything to the outside and shut down any chances the Ducks tried to create.
Eventually, Oregon broke through and it started off with a highlight-reel goal from junior midfielder Morgan McCarthy who went coast-to-coast blowing past all the defenders before ripping one into the back of the net.
The Ducks rallied back again, but this time they were able to tie the game up 8-8. McCarthy picked up her second and sophomore attacker Gabby Cleveland contributed with one as well.
ASU got into lots of foul trouble through the third quarter, making it easier for the Ducks to be able to come back.
Miscommunication from the Ducks goalie sophomore Paige Crowther and senior defender Lexie Likins led to a terrible giveaway in front of the net. Brodsky scored her second of the game as she scooped up the loose ball and tossed it into the empty net giving the Sun Devils a 9-8 lead.
8.4 seconds were left to play in the third quarter and before that buzzer went ASU wanted to get one more off of an insane sequence where the Sun Devils controlled the ball off the draw and set up the attack, leading to junior attacker Mina Scott scoring on a buzzer-beater.
Oregon tallied one more goal in the fourth quarter off a bad giveaway from Vahle, but the Sun Devils were able to hang on as ASU scored two more to close the game out.
A little closer than the Sun Devils wanted especially with the show they put on in the first and fourth quarters, but they got the job done and were able to come out with a victory that snapped their five-game losing streak.
“Momentum, it’s all about momentum right, your coming off a high and making sure we are staying with that high and rolling with that high,” VanThof said when asked about how her team can use this confidence to get ready for the next game.
The Sun Devils will look to extend the winning streak to two games as they are set to take on the Colorado Buffaloes Sunday afternoon to close out the two-game homestand.
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