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Soccer Battles Through Double OT in Tie with Washington

by thesundevils.com
Mar 7, 2021

TEMPE, Ariz. -- The Arizona State soccer team battled through double overtime with Pac-12 Conference foe Washington (4-0-2) on its national television debut and concluded 110 minutes of play with a 1-1 tie game on Sunday afternoon at Sun Devil Stadium. 

The match lacked not for physicality and action as both teams scored one goal in the first half and subsequently fought to break the equalizer for the next 65 minutes, including two five-minute sudden-death overtimes. 

ASU (5-0-1) saw a handful of opportunities late in the second overtime that went unlucky to keep the game knotted and eventually recorded as ASU's first tie of the season. The Sun Devils outshot the Huskies 18-16 and defeated the UW backline to force keeper saves eight times compared to ASU's four saves. 
 

Due to COVID times, the squad's loudest fans at Sun Devil Stadium became the bench players whose cheering and energy, head coach Graham Winkworth says, played a significant role in the team mentality through a near-90 degree midday match. 

"I'm really happy with the camaraderie within the whole squad. I think a lot of credit needs to go to the players that didn't get on the pitch today because they brought the energy, and the players on the pitch feed off of that... They are absolutely vital to our success," said Winkworth. 

Junior Alexia Delgado scored the equalizer in the 26th minute with an assist from junior Olivia Nguyen. The goal is the first for Delgado this season. 

"Everyone put in a great effort today, and it was a great performance, but of course, we're a little disappointed - I think we deserved more," said Delgado. "We had some clear chances where we could've finished the game, but overall very happy with the team. We've come a long way to where we are, and we're hungry for more.."
 

The tie game keeps ASU undefeated on the season as the Sun Devils travel for the first time in 2020-21 next weekend with visits to Oregon (March 12) and Oregon State (March 14). 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

  • UW landed on the board to take the early lead at the 17-minute mark
  • The ASU defense fought off two opportunities for the Huskies off of corner kicks and challenged the UW keeper with two shots on goal within two minutes
  • At 26:08, Alexia Delgado nailed a shot from outside the box at center that went left of the goalkeeper and lined to the back of the net for ASU's first and only goal
  • The Sun Devils ended the first half in a flurry of shots by Olive Jones and Alexia Delgado that came up unlucky
  • Both teams played hungry for the tie-breaking goal in the second frame, but ASU came out pressuring UW at the 46th minute with a shot from Eva van Deursen that skidded just above the crossbar
  • Giulia Cascapera went on a saving rampage, stopping three shots from UW in three minutes, including two huge saves in a scrum in front of the goal line
  • ASU outshot UW 6-0 in the final 15 minutes but found themselves headed for overtime at the regulation horn
  • Olive Jones dribbled for a breakaway two minutes into OT, but UW's keeper came out of the box and captured the save
  • Freshman Jazmine Wilkinson kicked the final shot of the game that went wide over the top of the netting

A WORD WITH WINKWORTH
Overall impression of the match today:
We've come a long way, and the reason I say that is because Washington, in my mind, is a top-25 program. You look at their results to see that, and also, if you look at their previous games, they dominated those games. So for us to feel like we've lost when we've just tied with one of the better teams in the country, I think that shows we've come a long way. So I'm really happy overall with the performance, but disappointed that we didn't win the game because I felt like overall we probably had the better chances to do so."

On physical battle:
"I was a bit frustrated on the sideline, and I know it's difficult for the referees. They have a difficult job, but I felt some instances could've been given as fouls that weren't and quite a few challenges that were given, but there were no bookings for a long time, so it wasn't putting a stop to it. I was a little disappointed with some of the challenges the players had to withstand, and unfortunately, we picked up some injuries and have to wait until next week for what they look like. Didn't feel or look very good from the sideline watching."

On words before overtime:
"We were fortunate, Olive and Dougie both had good opportunities, and on another day, we'd score. I told them that if they miss a chance like that, they just need to be goldfish. They're very clever creatures because they have such short memories - only 10 seconds. So when you miss chances like that as a forward, you need to be a goldfish and take the next one. I've got a lot of confidence in Olive and Dougie, and on another day, they both score. It is what it is. That's part of soccer. I'm just happy that we started to create those chances in open play. In the last game, I felt like we were a problem for USC from set-pieces, but we weren't creating enough in the open, and today we created a few more chances from open play, and I was happy with that side of it."

 

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