Under the 98 F desert sun, WSU soccer (8-5, 1-4) took a 5-1 loss against ASU (8-2-4, 3-1-1) Sunday afternoon in Tempe, Arizona.
Play was tight at the beginning of the opening half, with the first shot on goal of the game coming from WSU’s Margie Detrizio in the 20th minute. Detrizio seized an opportunity moments later and found a goal for the Cougs in the 21st minute.
The senior continues to build an impressive record as one of the strongest offensive players in the Pac-12, now tied for sixth in the conference. Detrizio leads the Cougars with a best of six goals so far this season and is ranked seventh in both all-time goals (24) and points (62) in the program’s history.
Though WSU seemed to hold an offensive advantage in the first half, outshooting ASU 3-1, the Sun Devils returned from a hydration break at the 25th minute with strong momentum. Fifth-year Suzuka Yosue’s shot in the 26th minute resulted in the Sun Devils’ first goal of the match, ultimately ricocheting off a WSU defender in an own-goal.
Following halftime, the women of ASU returned to the game ready to assert themselves. In the 53rd minute, Yosue netted a goal off of a penalty kick following a foul on WSU’s Lindsey Turner, swinging the lead in favor of the Sun Devils.
ASU freshman Emilie Simpson found the net at the 60-minute mark to earn the first goal of her collegiate career, assisted by Yosue.
The possibility of a comeback seemed to slip from the Cougs’ grasp when redshirt senior Keely Copper was given a red card in the 74th minute, leaving WSU down a player and with a hole in their defense.
The Sun Devils would go on to net back-to-back goals in the 77th and 78th minutes, scored by senior Gabi Rennie and freshman Ella Opkvitne.
WSU freshman Alena Watts nearly found a goal in the 88th minute, but her shot toward the bottom center of the net but ASU keeper Pauline Nelles saved the shot. Nelles, a sophomore out of Bonn, Germany, continues to hold the spot of top-ranked goalkeeper in the Pac-12, with Sunday’s game upping her total season saves to 53.
ASU ultimately outshot WSU 8-5. Seven of the Sun Devils’ shots came in the second half.
Sunday’s game puts WSU at an all-time 10-15-3 against ASU and marks the fifth year in a row in which the Cougs have not taken victory in the two teams’ matchup.
The Cougars return to the road to face Cal Bears on Friday in Berkeley, California.
