The weather was immaculate on Thursday night in Tempe, Arizona. As the temperature dropped and the sun fell behind Sun Devil Soccer Stadium with a slight breeze, it was a vast change from the past week of triple-digit weather for Arizonans.
Despite the favorable weather, the Arizona State Sun Devils (6-2-3, 1-2-1 Big 12) fell to the West Virginia Mountaineers (8-2-1, 4-0 Big 12) by a final score of 2-1.
West Virginia kicked things off with a speedy 1-0 start in the 12th minute with a goal from redshirt freshman defender Gianna Koss, assisted by senior defender Annika Leslie. It certainly wasn’t the start the Sun Devils hoped for. Still, in less than a minute, freshman forward Kierra Blundell responded off a feed from junior midfielder/forward Enasia Colon, tying it at one apiece.
The Devils’ lone goal ignited the crowd, which was electric all night. ASU head coach Graham Winkworth appreciated the efforts of Sun Devil Nation, which was constantly on its feet.
“I want to thank all the people that came to support us. I just want to apologize for the performance that we put in for them,” Winkworth said. “Really happy to have the support; that was wonderful, and hopefully, we can put in a stronger performance on Sunday.”
Junior defender Grace Gillard also recognized the crowd, which included Sparky, who made a surprise appearance. Fans were taking photos with the infamous mascot all night.
“Massive,” Gillard said. “They made a huge difference, and I think today we had a bit more people than we normally do. It definitely makes a difference, so hopefully, we’ll get a turnout again on Sunday.”
In the latter half of the first half, the Mountaineers peppered junior goalkeeper Pauline Nelles, resulting in junior forward Ajanae Respass scoring off a corner from Leslie, making it 2-1 and putting West Virginia ahead. With the sheer number of shots the Mountaineers were firing, they were due for a goal, and they got it.
To the Sun Devils’ dismay, they were held off the shot sheet from the 34th minute and onward, which is not a recipe for success, as Winkworth acknowledged.
“What shot attempts,” Winkworth chuckled. ” Their press was extremely well organized, but we didn’t show enough quality in position of the ball. It wasn’t a lack of bravery; we just weren’t technically good enough in position of the ball today, and we failed to defend set pieces. That’s very frustrating.”
The Sun Devils ended the night with five shots and three shots on goal, compared to the Mountaineers’ 19 shots and eight shots on goal; quite frankly, it wasn’t even close.
“We need to go reflect on how we build out and how we get the ball from fronts to backs. Ultimately, we can’t score the goal from right in the back,” Gillard said. “So I think just seeing what wasn’t working and what we can do better, and hopefully, we can sort it out and make more chances again.”
Regardless of the outcome, this was the Sun Devil women’s soccer team’s first time hosting a Big 12 game in school history. As we know, the school moved from the Pac-12 to the Big 12 this past summer. Jumping to a brand-new conference is no easy feat, especially considering the team’s unfamiliarity with each other.
“There’s a little bit more research that has to go into it because when we played USC or UCLA, we knew the style of play that they’re going to bring,” Winkworth said. “We knew the tactics that they like to employ. We’re going into these games a little bit more blind. We don’t get enough preparation time, so it is harder for sure, but ultimately, we’ve got 12 new teams to learn about. Still, that’s no excuse; we should be better than tonight.”
The Sun Devils have a quick turnaround later this week on Sunday as they host the Cincinnati Bearcats (5-5-1, 1-3 Big 12) at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium. Winkworth and company will look to get back on track against the Bearcats, who’ve struggled so far this season.
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