TEMPE –Arizona State’s seven-game home stand came to an end on Sunday afternoon at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium, losing 3-2 to UCF. With their first Big 12 conference game this season, the Knights ruined the Sun Devils’ undefeated start.
For ASU soccer head coach Graham Winkworth, the loss will surely be more bitter than usual, as the Sun Devils prepare for a three-game road trip.
“It’s devastating,” Winkworth said. “We were very poor today, particularly in the first half. We didn’t look like us.”
The scoring opened for UCF in the 19th minute following multiple breakthrough attempts. After receiving a through ball directly at her feet, junior midfielder Hanoka Hamano sent another ball to senior forward Liz Worden. She struck the ball from 22 yards out into the top left corner. Despite leaning to her right, ASU senior goalkeeper Pauline Nelles could not make the stop.
The hosts came out of halftime and responded quickly with a goal of their own to tie it up.
In the 51st minute, senior midfielder/forward Tatum Thomason threw the ball in following great pressure. Senior defender Izzy Monck forced a takeaway from about 30 yards out. She passed it down the right wing to an accelerating Thomason. After taking a touch, Thomason delivered a cross to junior defender Lucy Fazackerley, who headed it home.
“She had a great second half I thought,” Winkworth said about Thomason. “Second half was a little bit different … (Thomason) managed to get herself in some good positions, and we moved her around a little bit.”
“Good finish,” Winkworth said about Fazackerley. “Good header. It started with a set piece, she stayed high because we’re losing … she was there to finish the cross and so yeah great finish.”
Despite equalizing, the Sun Devils conceded a few moments later. Pressure from UCF’s build up play resulted in senior defender Grace Gillard committing a foul on the left edge of the 18-yard box. That led to redshirt freshman midfielder Gabi Berchon delivereing a powerful free kick into the top right corner, just over Nelles’s outstretched arms in the 54th minute.
“We didn’t have enough fight today,” Winkworth said. “We’re a team that works extremely hard, the first good tackle came late in the game … we needed more of those types of tackles earlier in the game.”
With the Sun Devils were looking for a spark, sophomore forward Kierra Blundell checked into the game in the 60th minute. Sadly, that spark would not come to fruition.
Nine minutes after Blundell’s entrance, UCF doubled their lead when senior midfielder Hannah Boughton took the ball towards ASU’s attacking third. There, she served up a through ball to sophomore midfielder Ella Holloran, who left it down the right wing. A sprinting Worden crossed it to the Arizona native, senior forward Rajanah Reed, who headed it into the net.
Sun Devils pressure mounted throughout the game down the stretch. Nelles, following a save, quickly passed it forward to Blundell. The reigning Big 12 Freshman of the Year accelerated past a Knight and deliver a through ball down the right wing to freshman forward Tano Uzezi-Itesa .
After a couple quick touches, Uzezi-Itesa pushed a cross into the center of the box. Initially punched away by UCF sophomore goalkeeper Genesis Perez Watson, Thomason chopped the rebound in from close range.
The Sun Devils couldn’t muster up another goal following multiple attacks and even a near shot attempt from Nelles.
“Credit to UCF, they deserve the result today,” Winkworth said. “They worked extremely hard … they were defensively solid along the back four and down that left side, but they did a wonderful job. All credit to (the players) and their coaches. We were beaten by a better team today.”
That was not even the worst news for the Sun Devils, as sophomore midfielder Ella Kettles suffered a serious injury in the 87th minute. Kettles and a UCF defender made contact, resulting in Kettles falling and not moving for over ten minutes. Winkworth continuously went to check on her while ASU players came together in a prayer circle for their teammate.
The Sun Devils now fall to 8-1-2 on the season while the Knights improve to 7-2-1. What could’ve been a game that marked history for Nelles and ASU ultimately slipped away. The Maroon and Gold will visit Cincinnati on Oct. 2 while UCF will host Utah on the same date.
“It wasn’t just tactical, it was also mental things today that just wasn’t good enough,” Winkworth said. “And so I’ll be interested to see how we respond in the next one.”
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