Oct. 28, 2006
TEMPE, Ariz. - After celebrating the careers of four of its seniors playing in their final home match, the Arizona State University soccer team got down to business and turned in a dominating performance as the hosts defeated the rival Arizona Wildcats, 4-0, Saturday night at Sun Devil Soccer Stadium in Tempe. The victory moved the Sun Devils to 7-8-2 overall and 2-5-0 in the Pac-10 while the visiting Wildcats slipped to 8-8-2 overall and 1-4-2 in the conference.
After honoring seniors Michelle Becker, Kim Bingham, Michelle Deatherage and Katie Mahoney, the Sun Devil offense went to work and force the issue with several strong shots. Then, in the 25th minute of play, ASU found the back of the net as the Sun Devils were awarded a foul 25 yards away from the UA net. Kyleyn Felts took the kick and sent the ball toward the goal where Carly Kallas rose above the defense and redirected the ball in the net with her head for the 1-0 lead.
Nearly 11 minutes later, the Sun Devils struck again, this time using some fancy moves. Alissa Oldenkamp carried the ball down the right side toward the top of the box before sending a pass into the center where Courtney Crane flicked the ball to the opposite side of the penalty area where Lara Kezer collected the ball and fired it in the net for a 2-0 lead at the half.
ASU kept the pressure on in the second stanza with Oldenkamp finding the back of the net in the 59th minute. Felts sent a long pass in from midfield to a cutting Brittney Doty, who headed it over UA's keeper Chelsea McIntyre as she came off her line to attempt to stop the play. Wildcat defender Claire Bodiya tried to the clear the ball down the left side, but Oldenkamp collected the loose ball 25 yards out and sent a laser of a shot into the empty net for the 3-0 lead.
Oldenkamp was not finished, however, as she would add her second goal of the night in the 84th minute.Dante Perea surged forward for a loose ball and as the defense converged on her, tipped the ball to the top of the 18 yard box where Oldenkamp one-timed the pass into the net for the 4-0 final.
Defensively, the Sun Devils helped Bingham record her seventh shut out of the year while asking the senior keeper to record five saves in the match. The Sun Devils now have posted shut outs in all seven of their victories this year while scoring the most goals of the season, bettering their previous high of three set in the first match of the year (3-0 at UC Irvine). Bingham's seven shut outs this year are the second most in a single season at ASU while her career total of 16.5 also ranks second.
The victory Saturday kept the Sun Devils unbeaten in their series with the Wildcats, extending their record to 11-0-1 all-time. The four goals scored ties the most in one match in the series after ASU won 4-2 in the first meeting (1996) and 4-0 during the 1999 campaign, both of which came in Tucson.
The final matches of the regular season await the Sun Devils next weekend on the road as they team heads to the Pacific Northwest to face the Washington schools. The weekend opens with ASU facing Washington State in Pullman for a 2 p.m. contest on Friday before wrapping up the trip with a noon match in Seattle on Sunday against Washington.