TEMPE– Arizona State soccer came into Thursday night’s game at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium 8-0-1 after beating No. 10-ranked BYU. They faced 4-4-1 opponent, Oklahoma State, which concluded in a 0-0 tie.
The first half started slowly for both teams. The Maroon and Gold possessed the ball most of the time and dominated the stats sheet with 13 shots to four and five corners to one.
Unlike with previous games’ quick first-half goals, the Sun Devils had to adjust to the Cowgirls’ 5-4-1 formation to attempt at net.
“They played a deep 5-4-1, and so there was no space,” ASU head coach Graham Winkworth said. “We needed to have more runners getting in behind from other areas.”
There were two critical shots on target for both teams in the first half.
In the 34th minute, Oklahoma State freshman forward Emmy Hedden shot the ball from the center right side of the 18-yard box, while ASU senior goalkeeper Pauline Nelles transitioned back to position. The low-driven ball bounced off the right goal post for Oklahoma State’s closest attempt at scoring in the first half.
Moments later, Oklahoma State senior defender Jazmin Brown handled the ball in the box for an ASU penalty kick. In the 41st minute, senior forward Tatum Thomason shot the penalty kick near the bottom right corner of the goal, but failed to score as Oklahoma State sophomore goalkeeper Logan Marks deflected the ball forward.
Thomason followed the penalty with another shot that Marks also saved. The third rebound shot by sophomore forward Sierra Bergen flew out of play.
Senior defender and captain Grace Gillard shared some insight on Winkworth’s message to the Sun Devils at half time.
“Keep doing what we were doing, keep finding each other, and then just trying to be creative, finding different ways to play from how we normally work,” Gillard said.
The ball swung like a pendulum in the second half. ASU continued to attack but could not find the back of the net.
“(Only) nine shots on target from 28 attempts,” Winkworth said. “That’s the problem today.”
Individual players including Bergen and Thomason attempted shots a combined 14 times, but were unable to finish.
“I can’t be frustrated with how we were playing offensively, because we had so many chances to win the game,” Winkowrth said. “We just got to do better in front of the sticks.”
The players and Winkworth emphasized that the Cowgirls were there to tie the game.
“We could tell that their mindset was not coming to win,” ASU senior midfielder Peyton Marcisz said. “They wanted a tie. I could hear them on the field talking to their coaches.”
“If we’re disappointed with a tie, then you know we want to win,” Gillard said.
Despite the draw, there were some positives to take away, looking ahead to Sunday’s game against UCF.
“We got four points in conference, and we’re still undefeated,” Marcisz said. “How we respond this week will say a lot for how our team will continue throughout the rest of the season.”
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