This article was originally published on October 15, 2022.
The Arizona State Sun Devils (2-3-1) hosted the Utah Utes (2-3-1) in an intense shoulder-to-shoulder matchup. Despite the final score resulting in a 0-0 tie, there were some very notable performances and plays on the pitch.
In the spotlight after her impressive game at USC, freshman Enasia Colon found herself having a more significant role for her team during conference play. Last week at USC, she scored her second goal of the season and led the team in shots while only playing three minutes of the match.
The ASU and Utah defenses ran all over the field in an intense defensive match.
Utah freshman forward Kelly Bullock took the game’s first shot, which ASU freshman goalkeeper Pauline Nelles saved. Then, after punting the ball back to the other half of the field, senior forward Nicole Douglas found her way to strike back by taking ASU’s first shot until saved by Utah redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kasey Wardle.
The Utes played a very aggressive match. The official gave the Utes a red card and a yellow card. While dribbling the ball towards the mid-field line, ASU senior forward Olivia Nguyen tumbled onto the ground when Utah senior midfielder Madeline Vergura performed a slide tackle. The official called the tackle a foul and gave Vergura a yellow card.
Later in the second half, the official red-carded Utah freshman defender Ryann Cull grabbed the hair of ASU sophomore forward Keri Matthews and pulled her to the ground after a battle for possession of the ball.
Nelles held the Utes to a shutout by tallying nine total shots saved. But she could not have done it without the help from her defenders. A great defensive play by senior defender Lieske Carleer as she deflected a pass using her head could have resulted in a go-ahead score for the Utes. Another great defensive play from the second half came from freshman defender Ava Wright, who blocked a shot in the box with her torso.
Late in the second half, at the 71:07 mark, an announcement was made that the women’s bathroom in the stadium was out of order. But when many thought the news could not get worse, Carleer went down with an apparent knee injury as she came crashing onto the ground during a break from Utah. Nelles saved the ball from going into the goal just before the medical staff rushed onto the field.
Carleer would exit the game while being carted off the field.
Despite the tremendous defensive moments in the game, the Sun Devils struggled to keep possession of the ball.
Potential key moments were taken back due to a lack of awareness and miscommunication.
Colon volleyed a go-ahead pass to Douglas, giving her only green grass. Unfortunately, the official declared it an offsides foul, and the ball was brought back.
During another Sun Devil fast break, Douglas created space between the defender and herself calling for a pass from Colon. While evading defenders, Colon quickly passed the ball before looking and sending the ball in the opposite direction of where Douglas was. If Colon had passed the ball to the correct spot, Douglas would have had a chance to put the Sun Devils on the board.
“We lacked composure to move the ball around,” ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said, “We weren’t good enough in possession. Good enough defensively, just not good enough in possession. Our defenders should not be as tired as they are today because the team should have kept the ball a little bit longer than they did. But that is a credit to Utah.”
The Sun Devils will travel to Pullman, Washington, to face the Washington State Cougars (2-2-2) on Thursday, October 20th, at 7:00 p.m. MST.
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