No. 20 Sun Devil Soccer concludes non-conference play 8-1 as Douglas delivers in 2OT

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The No. 20 Sun Devil soccer team concluded non-conference play with an 8-1 record following a hard-fought 1-0, double overtime win at Colorado College on Friday. Team scoring leader Nicole Douglas' successful penalty kick in the 107th minute ended the contest and extended ASU's current winning streak to three games.
 
"I'm really delighted with the attitude of the team," said ASU head coach Graham Winkworth. "We've been very brave in our scheduling and played a lot of very good teams on the road and the team has embraced (the challenge) and worked extremely hard and managed to pick up positive results. If you had offered me 8-1 at this stage of the season with a fully healthy squad at the start then we would have taken it because it is a really good record. For us to be (8-1) with all the adversity that this group has faced, I couldn't be more proud. They are incredible and they keep finding a way.
 
"All credit to Coach (Geoff) Bennett and Colorado College. This is a really tough place to come and play. It's a very beautiful place to play, but a very difficult place to play. And Colorado College was fantastic today and I think they will do very well in their conference."

MOST WINS AFTER NINE GAMES
2000 – 9-0
2021 – 8-1
2020 – 7-0-2
2014 – 7-1-1
1997 – 7-1-1
1999 – 7-2
 
Statistically, the match was almost exactly even. The Sun Devils edged the Tigers (0-6) in shots (10-9) and shots on goal (5-4) while the Tigers were one better than ASU in corner kicks (5-4). 
 
"We had a couple of chances where we were not quite composed enough inside the penalty area," Winkworth said of ASU's scoring opportunities in regulation. "We needed to show a little bit more quality attacking in the penalty area. That is something we will focus on during the (next) week and something we will continue to work on but I thought we did have a couple of reasonable chances we just sort of rushed in the final third."
 
True freshman goalkeeper Birta Gudlaugs made four saves. Gudlaugs was one of seven Sun Devils who played 90 or more minutes on Friday, joining defenders Callie Darst (107 minutes) and Lauren Kirberg (102), Douglas (100), forward Olivia Nguyen (96), midfielder Jazmine Wilkinson (96) and defender Kiki Stewart.
 
Although the Sun Devils came away with a clean sheet – like on the offensive end – there were some areas where he saw room for improvement, according to Winkworth.
 
"We did some good individual defending at times today, but I don't know if we defended well collectively," Winkworth said. "There was too much space on the pitch at times and it was very quiet. I was a little disappointed with the communication from player to player during the match. I thought that picked up in overtime to be honest and I thought that little detail helped carry us through. We were not as good as we have been in past weeks and the team would say the same thing. That was not our best performance but ultimately they have still managed to grind out a positive result on the road and road wins are difficult to find at this level."
 
Douglas, who led all players with four shots, was fouled while going toward goal in the 107th minute. For the second time in as many games, the senior forward calmly took care of business for her ninth goal of the season, 36th of her career and 13th career game-winning goal moving her into a tie for second place on ASU's all-time list.

CAREER GAME WINNING GOALS
1.         Stacey Tullock (1998-01)                    16
2.         Nicole Douglas (2018-present)        13
            Cali Farquharson (2012-15)                13
            Karin Volpe (2007-10)                         13

"She is starting to get more vocal as well and lead because there are a lot leaders currently missing," Winkworth said of Douglas. "She is starting to take on that responsibility and I'm looking forward to that continuing."
 
Up next for the Sun Devils is the start of Pac-12 play which will begin for them in Seattle, Wash., where they will take on Washington next Friday at 7 p.m. MST.

SUN DEVIL SOCCER REGULAR SEASON RECENT NON-CONFERENCE RECORD (2008-PRESENT)
2021: 8-1
2020: 4-0
2019: 6-2-1
2018: 5-2
2017: 3-4-1
2016: 5-2-1
2015: 4-3
2014: 7-1-1
2013: 5-3
2012: 4-4-1
2011: 4-4
2010: 6-2-2
2009: 7-1-2
2008: 6-2-3